Showing 241 - 250 of 256
Think more carefully
News, Postbag, Published on 15/02/2016
» T Hinker ("Abused by the men in orange", Postbag, Feb 14) is accurate in referring to the corrupt commercialism of Thai Buddhism. But when he refers to Buddhism as a "simple philosophy of naive intent" it is he who is being naive.
Their own worst enemy
News, Postbag, Published on 14/02/2016
» Re: “Army prepares to step up rocket-system technology” (BP, Feb 13).
Coal has black future
News, Postbag, Published on 23/01/2016
» Coal is having a rough start to the year, but there are still some voices that continue to tout its benefits for humanity. Sopon Pornchokchai, in his article “Is Greenpeace being flexible with the truth?” (Bangkok Post Sunday, Jan 10) claiming coal is cheap, safe and abundant, is one of them.
Skytrain eyesore
News, Postbag, Published on 19/01/2016
» It was interesting to read “B2bn tram in the works for Phuket”, (BP, Jan 18).
Losing our religion?
News, Postbag, Published on 16/01/2016
» With the exception of a few forest monasteries, the majority of Thai Buddhists are mired in materialistic and nominally religious pursuits to such an extent that the fundamental teachings of Buddhism and its real practice have been obliterated by a tidal wave of amulets, rituals, merit making and commercial enterprises.
Khlong of death
News, Postbag, Published on 11/01/2016
» Living in a condo overlooking Khlong Saen Saep, I was delighted when the BMA decided to widen the walkway alongside the canal to allow locals to walk and enjoy this wonderful resource.
Teachers told you so
News, Postbag, Published on 03/01/2016
» Re: "Thais fear AC English barrier" (BP, Jan 2).
Free speech vs culture
News, Postbag, Published on 02/12/2015
» Re “Don’t trivialise censorship”, (PostBag, Nov 29)
The TEFL challenge
News, Postbag, Published on 14/11/2015
» The initiative to train Thai teachers in TEFL teaching to reduce the reliance on foreign teachers sounds promising, but the Ministry of Education is missing the point. English language tuition here is driven by the commercial sector, with parents paying enormous levies for their children to learn from native speakers, preferably Westerners. In other words, they expect a "white face" for their hard-earned baht. It’s superficial, and explains why there’s widespread discrimination against qualified Philippine teachers who work for lower wages, en masse, and solve the problem. But the TCT now expects them to have a Master's in Education before licensing them. In May, there was a crisis-like TEFL teacher shortage, which caused the industry to become flooded with gap-year students qualified with cheap "online" TEFL certificates. Those trained properly with a 120-hour practicum-driven course generally do a better job than locals, and teach using modern and effective methods. Thai teachers clearly have their work cut out for them if they are to compete.
Stop classroom corruption
News, Postbag, Published on 08/11/2015
» We are constantly being told two things here in Thailand. That education needs to be reformed so young people can learn to think for themselves, and that corruption must be defeated to allow for greater equality in society and permit Thailand to become more competitive in the international area. To expedite these goals I would like to make the following suggestion. Eradicate corruption where it is doing the greatest harm — in schools.