Showing 1 - 10 of 10
The fiction of history
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 22/09/2014
» I want my name down in the history books. I want to be known for my huge contribution to Thailand and mankind. I have no idea what that contribution could be, but does that matter?
Teach our children how to think
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 07/09/2015
» Politics and religion may be taboo conversation subjects, but the subject of education in Thailand is always a great way to get the ball rolling. Everyone has a story to tell and everyone has an opinion to give. Not much of it is positive. The recent announcement by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) that schools are going to reduce class hours from eight hours a day to six in order to give children time for more extra-curricular activities has caused a lot more concern than praise. I don't think the quantity is going to make any difference, if the quality of teaching is not up to standard and you're not going to get quality teaching in the classroom if you can't pay teachers a reasonable salary. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Just to put things into perspective, according to figures from the 2015 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Switzerland is the country with the most well-paid teachers.
Real lives and dream girls
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 13/10/2014
» Last week's Bangkok Post Forum, titled "Economic Reform: How Will It Be Achieved", provided me with a rare opportunity to get together with some old friends over dinner. And although the gathering was made up mostly of business people who are interested in what direction Thailand is heading in the next year or so, and how our tax reforms and drought solutions and public transport expansions are going to be implemented, my attention was directed at a certain member of academia who for me encompasses all that is admirable about womanhood.
Back to the drawing board
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 23/06/2014
» I don’t envy the NCPO for their task of reforming the country’s mess. We weren’t always so bad. Thailand was always a very nice place to live, and the number of expats opting to settle down in Thailand in their young or not-so-young age is a testament to that.
Sustaining happiness in the Land of Smiles
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 30/09/2013
» Are you feeling happy today? That was one of the questions asked for the World Happiness Report which was launched earlier this month by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute, Columbia University. It's interesting in that the world is suddenly realising something the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has known all along, that "Happy people live longer, are more productive, earn more, and are also better citizens".
AEC spells another English conundrum
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 29/07/2013
» In two years, the Asean Economic Community will be up and running, and we will be looking towards borders than are not only limited to our immediate neighbours - Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia, but further out as far as the Philippines to the east and Indonesia to the south.
Broken records
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 09/09/2013
» Thailand has an obsession with superlatives. We want to be featured in the Guinness Book of Records as having achieved something beyond what anyone else in the world has ever done, whether it is the record for the world's longest kiss, mass hula-hooping, mass massage, mass water pistol fight, photo mosaic.
Taking a pew on the new loo law
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 29/04/2013
» Don't be surprised if your office suddenly issues a bulletin on toilet etiquette.
Omnipresent omnishambles
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 19/11/2012
» I have learned two new words today: omnishambles and gif.
Language of frustration
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 27/02/2012
» It's been slightly over a month since former British prime minister Tony Blair flew in and gave the "2012 Speaking English Year" programme a boost by giving some local schoolchildren a short tutorial in pronunciation.