Japan news: Homelearning in Thailand
Covert
Hi everybody,
By popular request, I am sharing with you the following (rather positive)
story about homelearning in Thailand.
The story originally appeared in a Japanese newspaper recently, and was
featured in our Japan news digest for last week. The Japanese press as of
late has been generally receptive to, and respectful of, the practice of
homelearning -- both in and out of Japan. This story is further evidence
of that.
The Daily Yomiuri newspaper typically does not maintain its website links
for very long, and since some people have been asking to see the story in
its entirety, I repost it here strictly for informational purposes.
Hope you enjoy it,
Brian Covert
(KnoK NEWS)
Osaka, Japan
-----------------------------------
[The Daily Yomiuri - Monday, 30 October 2000]
PARENTS IN THAILAND EXPERIMENT WITH DO-IT-YOURSELF EDUCATION
[by] Seiji Hasegawa
Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
BANGKOK -- Last November, the Thai government introduced a home school
system that allows parents to educate their children at home. Since then,
a total of 50 families, either dissatisfied with the cramming style of
school education, fearing the spread of drugs among students or trying to
keep closer contact between family members, have started teaching their
children at home.
Yutthachai Chalermchai, a 45-year-old magazine editor who works from his
home in Bangkunon, 20 kilometers south of Bangkok, is one of the
pioneering parents. His two sons, 14-year-old Saipan and 12-year-old
Sarntor, decided in May to study at home instead of going to school.
"I was disappointed in the schools, which put too much emphasis on
cramming knowledge. They don't respect children's opinions, so it is
impossible for children to learn at school how to think or live on their
own," Yutthachai explained. He cut his work hours in order to make more
time for his sons.
Now their typical day starts early in the morning with walking and
swimming for exercise. Later, they visit a science museum and participate
in various volunteer activities to learn about politics, economics and
social studies in a direct way. Yutthachai takes charge of his sons in
all these activities.
His wife is responsible for teaching them English, and the boys learn
mathematics from Yutthachai's dentist friend and Buddhism and traditional
Thai music from their grandfather.
"We have come closer to each other and have more conversation than
before. I also noticed my sons have developed a stronger sense of
responsibility through participating in volunteer activities. They have
enough academic skills, too," Yutthachai explained.
"I used to do only what the teachers told me to do when I was at school.
Now I can try my hand at all sorts of things. I can make friends with
people of different ages through the volunteer activities," Sarntor said.
Thailand revised its education law last November and granted equal status
for home schools and ordinary schools. If parents apply to the Education
Ministry, the ministry decides whether the applicants are capable of
providing education at home. This depends on what ideas and environment
the parents can provide for the children, not on the parents' academic
backgrounds.
The home school curriculum is left up to the parents. If they provide the
children with six years of primary school education, three years of
middle school and three years of high school, as in ordinary government
education, then the children are regarded as having completed ordinary
schooling and are allowed to take entrance examinations for universities.
However, it is difficult to ensure that children educated at home reach
an adequate academic standard. The ministry is discussing detailed
regulations such as obliging the parents to submit to regular inspections
by ministry officials.
"Parents have the right to educate their own children. We would like to
keep an eye on the home school system as an experiment for education
reform," a ministry official in charge of the project said.
Chotchoeng Chutinthorn, a 55-year-old medical doctor living in Bangkok,
is credited with starting the first home school in the nation. He
educated all three of his children at home.
"When I started, it was completely illegal. But I don't regret what I
have done. Some people say children who have not experienced group
behavior cannot adapt to society, but my children have grown up without
any mental, physical or moral problems," Chotchoeng said, emphasizing his
success.
He now travels the country to give talks about his experiences.
However, the home school system may be something to which only the rich
can aspire. "The idea of home-schooling is wonderful in the sense that it
enables parents to provide their children with the best educational
opportunities," said an official of the education policy research
institute at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. "But I am not sure if
the system is suitable in this society, in which it is common for both
members of a couple to work outside the home."
The nation's experiment in educational reform has just started out, and
it will be several years before anyone can judge whether it has been
effective.
[Copyright 2000 The Yomiuri Shimbun]
By popular request, I am sharing with you the following (rather positive)
story about homelearning in Thailand.
The story originally appeared in a Japanese newspaper recently, and was
featured in our Japan news digest for last week. The Japanese press as of
late has been generally receptive to, and respectful of, the practice of
homelearning -- both in and out of Japan. This story is further evidence
of that.
The Daily Yomiuri newspaper typically does not maintain its website links
for very long, and since some people have been asking to see the story in
its entirety, I repost it here strictly for informational purposes.
Hope you enjoy it,
Brian Covert
(KnoK NEWS)
Osaka, Japan
-----------------------------------
[The Daily Yomiuri - Monday, 30 October 2000]
PARENTS IN THAILAND EXPERIMENT WITH DO-IT-YOURSELF EDUCATION
[by] Seiji Hasegawa
Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
BANGKOK -- Last November, the Thai government introduced a home school
system that allows parents to educate their children at home. Since then,
a total of 50 families, either dissatisfied with the cramming style of
school education, fearing the spread of drugs among students or trying to
keep closer contact between family members, have started teaching their
children at home.
Yutthachai Chalermchai, a 45-year-old magazine editor who works from his
home in Bangkunon, 20 kilometers south of Bangkok, is one of the
pioneering parents. His two sons, 14-year-old Saipan and 12-year-old
Sarntor, decided in May to study at home instead of going to school.
"I was disappointed in the schools, which put too much emphasis on
cramming knowledge. They don't respect children's opinions, so it is
impossible for children to learn at school how to think or live on their
own," Yutthachai explained. He cut his work hours in order to make more
time for his sons.
Now their typical day starts early in the morning with walking and
swimming for exercise. Later, they visit a science museum and participate
in various volunteer activities to learn about politics, economics and
social studies in a direct way. Yutthachai takes charge of his sons in
all these activities.
His wife is responsible for teaching them English, and the boys learn
mathematics from Yutthachai's dentist friend and Buddhism and traditional
Thai music from their grandfather.
"We have come closer to each other and have more conversation than
before. I also noticed my sons have developed a stronger sense of
responsibility through participating in volunteer activities. They have
enough academic skills, too," Yutthachai explained.
"I used to do only what the teachers told me to do when I was at school.
Now I can try my hand at all sorts of things. I can make friends with
people of different ages through the volunteer activities," Sarntor said.
Thailand revised its education law last November and granted equal status
for home schools and ordinary schools. If parents apply to the Education
Ministry, the ministry decides whether the applicants are capable of
providing education at home. This depends on what ideas and environment
the parents can provide for the children, not on the parents' academic
backgrounds.
The home school curriculum is left up to the parents. If they provide the
children with six years of primary school education, three years of
middle school and three years of high school, as in ordinary government
education, then the children are regarded as having completed ordinary
schooling and are allowed to take entrance examinations for universities.
However, it is difficult to ensure that children educated at home reach
an adequate academic standard. The ministry is discussing detailed
regulations such as obliging the parents to submit to regular inspections
by ministry officials.
"Parents have the right to educate their own children. We would like to
keep an eye on the home school system as an experiment for education
reform," a ministry official in charge of the project said.
Chotchoeng Chutinthorn, a 55-year-old medical doctor living in Bangkok,
is credited with starting the first home school in the nation. He
educated all three of his children at home.
"When I started, it was completely illegal. But I don't regret what I
have done. Some people say children who have not experienced group
behavior cannot adapt to society, but my children have grown up without
any mental, physical or moral problems," Chotchoeng said, emphasizing his
success.
He now travels the country to give talks about his experiences.
However, the home school system may be something to which only the rich
can aspire. "The idea of home-schooling is wonderful in the sense that it
enables parents to provide their children with the best educational
opportunities," said an official of the education policy research
institute at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. "But I am not sure if
the system is suitable in this society, in which it is common for both
members of a couple to work outside the home."
The nation's experiment in educational reform has just started out, and
it will be several years before anyone can judge whether it has been
effective.
[Copyright 2000 The Yomiuri Shimbun]