GoldMember Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 I was just thinking.If you go to South -east asian nations like Indonesiia,Singapore,Malaysia,,Laos,Vietnam and you chat to educated (even many totally uneducated...taxi drivers come readily to mind) prople.They seem to know a remarkable amount about the politics,economies,cultures of Europe,the USA plus a lot more.Go to Thailand and beyond some knowledge of Manchester utd(or whatever team is flavour of the month) thats about it.Sure the countries mentioned have colonial ties but that was decades ago and new generations have come and gone.(Besides Thailand does have a peripherally colonised past....:France to the east and the British permanent annexation of the south) But it does beg the question....what exactly is taught at schools and universities about the outside world ? Certainly on TF when political debates rage (middle east/usa being the usual fall guys)...you rarely see much comment from Thais.Is it because of their/your more pacifist nature ,they/you dont know or simply dont care ? Just curious..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderstorm Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 ""what exactly is taught at schools and universities about the outside world ?"" Teacher: can you give me a developing country? Student: New Zealand . Teacher: ??? why you think so ... Student: because they have no skytrain ... Oh, please ... don't let me get started on that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiCKeDBiRD Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 .... today in a car with my Mate.... We talked about motorbike-taxi ...... I mean ... Oh well ... there lined the future career of our Thai Men .... if the best they could ever do is to grow up to be a motorbike-taxi... No Offence ... I dont mean to offend them about their career BUT... imagine if the majority of thai men were being too lazy and only wanting to do an easy peasy job... which requires no skills, no education and with less complication using only a few parts of their brain, and they were happy with 300 baths income in a day... sigh.... -WB- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loburt Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 2,500 people (at least) murdered in Thaksin's war on drugs. 85 dead at Tak Bai. 124 during the Krue Sae attacks. Hundreds more in ongoing violence in the south. October 14, 1973. The Thammasat Massacre. Black May. One of the higher murder rates in Asia. Thais are pacifists? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderstorm Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Teacher: name a country in the tropical climate zone. Uni. student: I like my country because I believe that Thai are good people .. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderstorm Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Teacher: name 4 countries in SE Asia Uni. Student: Japan, England, America ... and I think Norway ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderstorm Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Teacher: can you give a few examples of the effects of modern science on your life ... Uni. student: Thai people not believe in science... have Buddha ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderstorm Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 A student showing a physics book in Thai .. Teacher, showing interest in the book ... Student: Thais physics .. Teacher: what is Thai physics? Student: physics for Thai people ... Teacher: what makes you think that there is a special physics for Thais? Student: not same Europe ... Teacher: ... puzzled .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldMember Posted March 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 2,500 people (at least) murdered in Thaksin's war on drugs.85 dead at Tak Bai. 124 during the Krue Sae attacks. Hundreds more in ongoing violence in the south. October 14, 1973. The Thammasat Massacre. Black May. One of the higher murder rates in Asia. Thais are pacifists? Well when compared to the attrocities that go on in say Indonesia that kill 1 million plus every decade or so,that went on in Cambodia uinder Pol Pot ,,or whats going on in 1/2 of sub saharan african or many central/south american banana republics not to mention the middle -east ,former/present Soviet republics etc etc.etc..then relatively speaking, yes Thais are very much pacifists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderstorm Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Course on "Physical Sciences" Overview of the most important developments and achievements in science ... Student (very angry): why never have Thai people? Teacher: ... baffled ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderstorm Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 ... still baffled ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiCKeDBiRD Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 dont get me started with switzerland, windmill and... most of farangs are supposed to be either from a-me-ree-ka or ung-krit lol ... Your post really reminds me of my debating with Sugar Dada a while back.... a-me-ree-ka = some farangs there thought that a-me-ree-ka is the whole world.:roll: ung-krit = some farangs there live in the box... opps.. island.. :shock: -WB- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loburt Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 2,500 people (at least) murdered in Thaksin's war on drugs.85 dead at Tak Bai. 124 during the Krue Sae attacks. Hundreds more in ongoing violence in the south. October 14, 1973. The Thammasat Massacre. Black May. One of the higher murder rates in Asia. Thais are pacifists? Well when compared to the attrocities that go on in say Indonesia that kill 1 million plus every decade or so,that went on in Cambodia uinder Pol Pot ,,or whats going on in 1/2 of sub saharan african or many central/south american banana republics not to mention the middle -east ,former/present Soviet republics etc etc.etc..then relatively speaking, yes Thais are very much pacifists. Give me a break, Fred. That's like saying Ted Bundy killed at least 50 women, but The Son of Sam only killed six, so The Son of Sam is a pacifist. As far as Thais having less interest in the outside world than other peoples in Southeast Asia, I feel you're probably overstating the differences. Sure, a lot of Singaporeans will probably know a lot more about the world at large than many Thais. But Lao taxi drivers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldMember Posted March 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 dont get me started with switzerland, windmill and... most of farangs are supposed to be either from a-me-ree-ka or ung-krit ....reminds me of the Philippines and if you send a postcard to Austria.It usually ends up somewhere like Brisbane.Mind you.Do the same from UK and the same probably happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldMember Posted March 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 2,500 people (at least) murdered in Thaksin's war on drugs.85 dead at Tak Bai. 124 during the Krue Sae attacks. Hundreds more in ongoing violence in the south. October 14, 1973. The Thammasat Massacre. Black May. One of the higher murder rates in Asia. Thais are pacifists? Well when compared to the attrocities that go on in say Indonesia that kill 1 million plus every decade or so,that went on in Cambodia uinder Pol Pot ,,or whats going on in 1/2 of sub saharan african or many central/south american banana republics not to mention the middle -east ,former/present Soviet republics etc etc.etc..then relatively speaking, yes Thais are very much pacifists. Give me a break, Fred. That's like saying Ted Bundy killed at least 50 women, but The Son of Sam only killed six, so The Son of Sam is a pacifist. As far as Thais having less interest in the outside world than other peoples in Southeast Asia, I feel you're probably overstating the differences. Sure, a lot of Singaporeans will probably know a lot more about the world at large than many Thais. But Lao taxi drivers? Well LB looks like we have to beg to differ on the pacifism issue Re: overstating differences.Certainly from personal extensive trips over the years to countries like Malaysia and Indonesia i am consistently impressed by local knowledge of external affairs ..Just something i've noticed for a long long time.Maybe its something in the educational water? Ok you win on cabbies.Maybe BKK ones are marginally ahead.Its a close call .Lao drivers better at fiddling fares(presumably a French legacy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moo_noy Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 not exactly?.Thai universities are very open to teach the student of outside world, we do need to study hard from the western ,Chinese , Japanese t ext books which are translated to Thai, and of course most theories of politics were not born in Thailand , they were from the philosophers in a very long time ago, though Thai new generation academicians try to define and make their own theory to be studied ,still we need to learn Marxism ,Sigmund Freud's theories or another outside world thing , and its very practical in everyday life the problem is every time i go to the politics issue in TF, i have found myself is not good enough to discuss with another English native speaker members in English, most time that i tried to post my comment, it would be another member such as Rob36 ,zeusbheld,Loburt post their opinion before and one or more in them are kind of speaking what i have thought , before i finish spell checking , looking in dictionary, everything seemed to be well done and couldnt agree more from what one's say Thais are not ignorant, not talking about education, i have found some taxi drivers who listen to the radio news and make conversation of politics to me and its not only about inside thailand, it can be Bush bashing, bird flu ,situation in Pakistan, being succeeded to the throne of little Japanese princess.. its kind of hard for many Thais to discuss the academic issues with the westerners, i had the chance to be in UN 11th congress and saw the Thai speaker who finished doctor's degree could describe the presentation in English very well because they did memorize and read those information but unfortunately they could not answer any audience's question about the presentation at all ( there was no interpreter) though they have full of knowledge that should be shared... so instead of making myself in little trouble of dictionary, i prefer to be the observer and try to learn from the discussion and yeah i rather post my comment in the thread 'where to go on a date?? or ?which type of me women love??, much easier lol how many tuk tuk drivers or friends have you talked about why the book "Anna and the King" is banned.Why? are the reasons valid? is it an accurate account? or is it just entertainment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biachung Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 ""what exactly is taught at schools and universities about the outside world ?""Teacher: can you give me a developing country? Student: New Zealand . Teacher: ??? why you think so ... Student: because they have no skytrain ... Oh, please ... don't let me get started on that! arhh , but we have the skytower lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldMember Posted March 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 I've found the average Thai plenty smart and able to meet my conversational needs. I've never been impressed by my fellow Americans or Europeans who are recent graduates that merely parrot the political science, sociology or whatever jargon they've recently picked up. I think the attitude in this thread is leaning towards eurocentricism, thinking that what we know and jab about to each other is the most important and relevant and somehow makes us erudite.How many here enjoy the culture of Thailand, the many things that are NOT present that are present in the west? Many are subtle, deeply buried in the lifestyle. I can think of dozens of examples but don't want to blab too much here. I find most of the Americanized debates redundant and tiresome, this is the very reason most of us have invested time in learning about Thailand. I'm not saying if one doesn't like Thailand they should get out as has been said to me in the past when I mention critiques, but keep a balanced view. Hmm i think you misunderstand the whole point of the thread.Its got nothing to do with smartness nor "me better than you" stuff..yakkety yack.Its about why Thailand,a reasonably developed and respected member of ASEAN seems to be heavily (but of course not entirely) populated by those who lack interest and/ or knowledge of the outside world ,where as other members of a vaguely similar economic stature seem to know a lot more.All becomes the more apparent in this age of rapid regional expansion and with an aggressive&savvy industrialist at the helm.It just seems a bit unusual.Thats all. ps Americanised debates can never be redundant and tiresome with Georgie boy in charge and his partner in crime shooting lawyers up the butt .Those guys (and the Simpsons) are irreplaceable . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O123ok Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 In a society where the mantra "kit mak mai dee" is chanted by most and the term "roo mak" is seen as a vague insult... is it any wonder ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O123ok Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Mmmm... perhaps I should elaborate on that last comment: Although Thais don't have a monopoly on ignorance of what goes on outside of their borders, it's undeniable that their lack of general knowledge of things non-Thai is quite shocking. Independence, language, economics (which impedes the opportunity to travel) and a mono-cultured society certainly contributes to this, but as FF points out, these are characteristics that aren't exclusive to Thailand. I think the point to consider in conjunction with education is Thailand's unique culture as this is the only thing that separates Thailand from other similarly developed countries. Thais, generally speaking, relish things that are "sanuk" and readily reject things that are "mai sanuk". Topics such as politics, economics, science, history and philosophy aren't seen as fun and therefore are rarely speculated or debated unless it directly infringes upon their day-to-day lives. In contrast with other cultures where questioning authority/ judgements are seen as a gateway to better understanding something, to Thais this is nothing more than confrontation and disrespect; which we know are avoided at all costs in order for all parties to save face. If you can't fully question and understand what is going on in your own back yard, you'll have little chance of grasping what's happening on the other side of the world. Individuality and originality, which opens the door to diverse thought, are not seen to be 'fashionable' traits here either, so in effect, herd mentality overrides existentialism. Ambitions are generally limited to material wealth and having a good time, whereas the pursuit of knowledge comes low on the list of priorities. The Thai version of Buddhism probably has something to do with it as well, but I'm keeping those comments to myself as my utter hatred of all religions (especially hideously corrupt ones) are guaranteed to get me carded. They say that ignorance is bliss... maybe that's why Thais are so happy all the time. Maybe we should 'learn' to be more like them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunee Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 Mmmm... perhaps I should elaborate on that last comment:Although Thais don't have a monopoly on ignorance of what goes on outside of their borders, it's undeniable that their lack of general knowledge of things non-Thai is quite shocking. Independence, language, economics (which impedes the opportunity to travel) and a mono-cultured society certainly contributes to this, but as FF points out, these are characteristics that aren't exclusive to Thailand. I think the point to consider in conjunction with education is Thailand's unique culture as this is the only thing that separates Thailand from other similarly developed countries. Thais, generally speaking, relish things that are "sanuk" and readily reject things that are "mai sanuk". Topics such as politics, economics, science, history and philosophy aren't seen as fun and therefore are rarely speculated or debated unless it directly infringes upon their day-to-day lives. In contrast with other cultures where questioning authority/ judgements are seen as a gateway to better understanding something, to Thais this is nothing more than confrontation and disrespect; which we know are avoided at all costs in order for all parties to save face. If you can't fully question and understand what is going on in your own back yard, you'll have little chance of grasping what's happening on the other side of the world. Individuality and originality, which opens the door to diverse thought, are not seen to be 'fashionable' traits here either, so in effect, herd mentality overrides existentialism. Ambitions are generally limited to material wealth and having a good time, whereas the pursuit of knowledge comes low on the list of priorities. The Thai version of Buddhism probably has something to do with it as well, but I'm keeping those comments to myself as my utter hatred of all religions (especially hideously corrupt ones) are guaranteed to get me carded. They say that ignorance is bliss... maybe that's why Thais are so happy all the time. Maybe we should 'learn' to be more like them. Thais have only "Balloon" brains, the sizes and the shapes just like peanuts not like other nationalities huge wavy brains, we never allowed to listen or see anything outside our world (Thailand), we're taught only thai langauge, eating thai food, listening thai songs, don't speak with strangers and look in their eyes. Thailand never been a colony of any western countries before so we don't know or interested to know what happens outside our borderline. You are right that we are very ignorant and pround of our ignorances thats why we are so happy all the time. As I mentioned above, what else do you expect us to know and acting like the same developing countries or your civilized countries ppl do? Please help filling more brain in my empty skull :idea: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankenburner2 Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 Before I comment: I don't think Fred is implying Thais are stupid (and neither am I!)....just that he wonders exactly "what" is taught in Thai schools? I've been teaching here for two years and have often been surprised about the general lack of knowledge concerning things I learned in grade school. For example:Ask a Thai... 1. which way is North, he may point west. 2. Which continent is canada on? he may say Europe. (ask any geography question really) 3. How many people live in Thailand? you'll get answers ranging from 10 million to 50....but rarely anywhere near the actual. 4. "how do i get from *xxxx* to *xxxx*?....ans: take a taxi. 5. my favorite thing is asking them the following: How much 45 + 15?.....just watch the pencil and paper come out as they try to figure it out... ...so it's not just things outside Thailand borders......and I too often ponder..."exatly what are they teaching in Thai schools?" ps. ALL of my students are adults! pps. in no way are these observations intended as an insult....I very much enjoy living in Thailand, I really enjoy teaching Thai people. They are quite open-minded to learning about these things from beyond their borders.....like sponges in fact..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeusbheld Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 ps Americanised debates can never be redundant and tiresome with Georgie boy in charge and his partner in crime shooting lawyers up the butt .Those guys (and the Simpsons) are irreplaceable . they made john stewart a superstar. i doub't he'd be in a position to host the oscars without them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeusbheld Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 I've found the average Thai plenty smart and able to meet my conversational needs. I've never been impressed by my fellow Americans or Europeans who are recent graduates that merely parrot the political science, sociology or whatever . where do you find these americans? :shock: most of the americans i meet back in the US aren't aware that anything exists oustide the borders of the USA, let alone what might go on in that void... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ling_dtua_khaao Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 Give me a break, Fred. That's like saying Ted Bundy killed at least 50 women, but The Son of Sam only killed six, so The Son of Sam is a pacifist. But if you're rounding to the nearest 60, Bundy killed 60 and Son of Sam was innocent.... --Ling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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