NaiGreg

Sawasdee Khrup, TV CM Friends, and fellow adventurers into mortal peril with every drive, ride, or walk down a so-called sidewalk,

The one thing I think I can contribute to this discussion (ventilation ?) is to distinguish between labeling road behavior that appears dangerously out-of-control, suicidal, homicidal, as "stupid," or as a reflection of "culture."

imho Thai driving is not a reflection of anything cultural: it is emergent behavior in a "zone" of absence of culture, specifically: norms.

It is also a "zone," imho where the emotional repression (from a western perspective) characteristic of Thai culture is no longer regulated by the highly-developed norms of social interaction in face-to-face encounters, and in behavior in small groups which (do we need to repeat this ?) involve a "collusion" to maintain a "smooth social surface," in which, at all costs, direct confrontation is to be avoided, and "face" is to be maintained. So, in the relative anonymity, and the relative absence of salient norms, the violence and aggression in Thai culture (imho no less, no more, than in any human society) can be expressed openly.

Those of you who think this country is a peaceful land of Buddhists who practice meditation: well, from my point of view, you are in some Thai version of Disneyland I would propose to you that modern Thai culture is, in general, a culture of hyperactive over-stimulation (what does it mean when the national recreational drug of choice is yaa baa ?), a culture of distraction, and lack of concentrated focus. And a culture, in tremendous ferment, in which greed is a major driving force.

Well, not to forget the "stupid" aspect: yes, I, like many of you, judge Thai driving behavior as "stupid," even "insane." But, I do not believe that the causes of the behavior I observe that creates these value judgments within myself (as a westerner) are, in fact, a result of any general lack of "intelligence," per se.

I believe they result from the absence of culture, in a modern arena of interaction devoid of normative situational control, and an eruption of aggression, furthered by the anonymity of driving, from the deepest subterranean aquifers in the Thai subconscious.

I leave it up to you to evaluate my working hypotheses that the most dangerous drivers are those with the newest, largest, and most expensive cars, and that driving is the major form of birth control in Thailand, as well as a mechanism for culling the weak and lame.

India 1975: Delhi: not only the traffic just as crazy as here, but the average traffic jam I was in had bullock, or water-buffalo, driven carts, mixed in with buses so jammed with people that twenty people would be literally hanging off the open doors, plus tuk-tuks, motorcycles, over-loaded trucks, and, in addition, everyone blowing their horns constantly. And then, the double-decker buses zipping around the great traffic circles (designed by Edwin_Lutyens in the 1930's) so fast that once a month or so, I'd read one had fallen over from the centripetal force.

best, ~o:37;

I wonder sometimes if xenophobes should leave their homelands at all.  It is claimed that travel is broadening, but it seems that it can be narrowing as well.

We find ourselves in a society that is leapfrogging from following bullocks around fields to driving high speed cars on fairly modern highways without generations and generations, let alone resources, to train themselves to drive.  We who've had a century's worth of ancestors to evolve rules and raise us to follow their learning and yet we expect all others on the planet to be 'wise' in our ways in a fraction of the time?

They're climbing enormous learning curves (OK, sometimes curbs) here, steep everywhichway.  I think that everyone who's not a newbie in Thailand should know that there's a risk involved in transportation - other places are worse yet on this pellet of muck.

I can recall clearly once upon a time in America, when a fellow quite drunk, after driving fast into a trolly island's steel abutment, would suffer nothing worse from the police than a scolding while said officers assisted the looped couple to their home.  No seat belts, so my mom had a scar on her nose for a while.

Sheesh!

The price would put me off 30-40k a semester for prek. Most places that offer bilingual are more like 20k a semester.

I have taught some of the graduates from there and they do alright. I wouldn't call it top tier but it is a viable option for parents.

My problem with bilingual programs is their inefficiency. For example the concept of CBI content based instruction is that the student has prior knowledge of the subject in their native language and then studies the subject in a foreign language that will allow for a cognitive connection between prior knowledge and language acquisition. However in the Thai model because students have to study 12-14 subjects a week, students will have a lesson for science in Thai talking about plant cells, then the NES will give a lesson the next day on animal cells. It isn't like the students are learning the vocabulary and the concepts in both languages.

Personally, I would never send my bilingual daughter to a bilingual school. Our daughter studies in a Thai program. She is one of the top students in Thai. She is also the best in English because we focus on her English studies at home. I am not saying that my way is the only way but after years of research into second language acquisition, we made our decision. The Thai model of bilingual programs and even international schools is more about marketing rather than based on effective linguistics or academics.

mowgus, on 2012-03-17 09:31:04, said:

Thailand is a wonderful place to live if you can adopt that most Buddhist of all principles, "no attachment to outcome"  Anyone will tell you that that attachment will only bring suffering.

Taskin was the first Thai politician to realise that a constituency existed outside Bangkok.Thai Rak Thai was the first government to introduce a pension scheme, a national health scheme, rice stablisation price scheme, village grants to set up community industry and other rural based schemes. So whatever you think about Taskin, I can assure you the majority of Thais will welcome Taskin back with open arms.