Showing 1 - 4 of 4
A silly syllabus
Oped, Postbag, Published on 04/11/2020
» Former Education Minister Somsak Prissananantakul favours providing students with a better understanding of history (BP, Nov 3), so long as a process known as chamra prawattisat be undertaken, in which academics with differing opinions come together to agree on a standard interpretation. This proposal sums up much of what is wrong with Thai education, and perhaps Thai culture as well. Why have a standard interpretation of history? So it can be crammed down students' throats for later regurgitation on command? History is like a photograph. It captures events from a specific angle, with a specific depth of field, and perhaps through various filters. Why not expose students to multiple interpretations and let them, through discussion, identify the biases in each and, in the process, develop critical thinking skills?
Land of intrigues
News, Postbag, Published on 24/09/2019
» Under PM Prayut Chan-o-cha's leadership since 2014, there have been mysterious incidents that have led political junkies to rack their brains trying to solve them.
Airline in distress
News, Published on 22/09/2018
» Re: "Govt prods THAI about plane buys", (BP, Sept 21).
Perils of police reform
News, Postbag, Published on 08/07/2017
» I'm glad that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is reforming the police at long last, but he shouldn't reinvent the wheel. In 2006, then-prime minister Gen Surayud Chulanont, former army chief and member of our beloved King Rama IX's Privy Council, appointed retired Pol Gen Vasit Dejkunjorn, former chief of police, to head a distinguished commission for this very purpose.