KALYAKORN's Point of View

My Take on Confucius

2011-04-05T00:29:00.000-07:00

A Reflection on the Seminar on Confucius (1 April 2011)
By Kalyakorn Naksompop
Written on 1 April 2011

Yesterday, if you talked to me about Confucius or Master Kong (Kong Zi), I would have seriously rolled my eyes thinking you’re “one of those people” – you know, the people who like to say that every woman is supposed to stay home and respect their husband or that children have to submissively listen to their parents regardless of what’s right and what’s wrong because it’s their “duty”. Thanks to A. Korsak Dhammacharoenkij and K. Nopporn Thepsitthar, who spoke at a seminar on Confucianism held by Executive Go Club, I now understand that those people are just self-claimed Master Kong’s worshipers who have actually twisted the real teaching of this Chinese noble to protect their role as “the man” of the society. Yes, I’m talking about the belief that men are more important than women, which has deepened in Chinese culture for long. Evidence? Remember how One-Child-Policy had impact the imbalance of male and female population in China? And people said that a big part of this belief is Confucianism. I must confess that even I once blamed it on Master Kong but now I know I was wrong.

One of the fundamental principles Kong laid in his philosophy is the balance in the society, also known as social harmony. This harmony can only be maintained if everybody in the society knows their duty and is committed to their duty with respect to one another. This includes the duty of men and women, parents and children, and leaders and their people as expressed in his words, “There is government, when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is father, and the son is son" (Analects XII, 11, trans. Legge). The bottom line is everybody has to be happy and the only way everybody can be happy is to maintain this harmony.

“How?” one may ask. Kong proposed that social harmony begins with the understanding of ethics. It is when you know your role in the society and perform your duty with the best of your ability in the right manner – not to step over other people’s foot and neither to under do nor overdo your job. What happens when one knows his/her role but doesn’t do his/her job? Take what’s happening in Libya as example. Gaddafi knows he’s the leader of the country. He has authorities in his hands. What he does can and does affect his country and its people. In other words, he knows he has power but has he been using it rightly? I would say no. Did he fail to perform his duty as the leader of the country? I say yes. My guess is Gaddafi has completely forgotten that he can only be a leader when there are followers. Once he forgets his duty, people are not happy, they don’t feel the need to perform their duty, the harmony then disappears, and many other problems are to follow.

Comes with ethics is morality. In fact, morality is a very big word in Confucianism that stresses on how one should act towards others. Kong’s philosophy circles around humans and their relationship with one another. To make the relationship “work”, one must recognize that everybody is equal. Since everybody is equal, everybody deserves equal respect and that everybody should be treated with respect – as much respect as you want to be treated from others. Hence, the Golden Rule: "do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you."

If Confucius believed in equality, it’s not possible for him to teach men to value only men or mothers to value only sons. Nevertheless, new questions arose: what went wrong? Why is the view on gender of Chinese, whose culture was built around Kong Zi’s teaching, so….. controversial?

When One-Child-Policy was much more strictly enforced, it was common to see dead female bodies on random streets. What can this tell us? Daughters are not as much appreciated as sons? Because women are not seen as important as men? This is definitely not equality.

Again, what went wrong?

Looking back at Master Kong’s teaching, I’ve realized one thing. Confucianism accentuates the duty of every individual: leader as leader, worker as worker, father as father, and wife as wife. Depending on how you look at it, his teaching can be interpreted in many ways. One is that women are supposed to stay at home. If women are to stay at home, men are to work and to financially support the family. Men are then automatically viewed as providers while women are supporters. If this is the case, to the eyes of the society, who do you think are more important: provider or supporter?

As a woman who strongly believes in equality and with respectful consideration that Master Kong also strongly believes in this very same principal, I admit that I too see this as a kind of discrimination. If everybody is truly equal, why are women limited to stay home and why only men are entitled to work outside?

However, Confucius lived thousands of years ago. In his time when it was much tougher, men were the priority of the society since their physicality more fitted to be the provider. Though to him, women are not just supporters as he saw that the duty at home was as equally important as the duty out of home, many might fail to recognize this fact and chose to interpret his teaching the way it benefits them best.

But even with this argument, my question remains: isn’t separating duties by gender a kind of discrimination?

Then, I remember. One of Kong’s teaching was about how different people have different talents and are good at different things. Keep in mind that in his time, people with fighting skills, literacy, or any other skills necessary to serve the emperor were being valued more. However, Kongzi were able to overlook that social norm and recognized that individuals should be encouraged to pursue in what they are good at. Therefore, if there are women who are good at something other than house work and are willing to step outside to work like men, I believe that Master Kong, as liberal as he was, would have opened to their ability than their gender. The man spent years teaching people about equality. There is no way that being man or woman matters as long as one performs their duty with dignity and in the best of their ability.

So, the problem with Confucianism is definitely not Master Kong’s actual philosophy. In fact, I’ve learned that it is rather treasure for many later generations what he left in his teaching. Then, what went wrong? Hint: we have to look at who twisted his teaching, in what context, and how that benefits them.

How Do You Know What You Want To Be

2010-11-04T12:40:00.001-07:00

By Kalyakorn Naksompop
Regarding the speech given to students from British Columbia International School
at Stamford International University, Thailand
November 7, 2010

I was asked to give an "inspiring" speech to a group of high school students from British Columbia International School, who visited our campus last week. I was very nervous because there are plenty of things I can say but I don't know if it's going to be any inspiring at all. I tried to think back about my years in high school. What was it like? How did I feel? What were other problems in life besides the stories of puppy love and stupid break ups? Then, I remember...

I remember how a lot of my friends and I struggled. We did not struggle in high school, but we struggled during the time we were in high school thinking about our future: what we wanted to be and what we wanted to do. I thought I had the passion for one thing then found out it was not real. Then, I tried so many other things until I found my love for art. I fought with my dad since he wanted me to be an economist or a lawyer. I remember when my dad asked if I wanted to be an artist and I told him "I don't know" simply because I honestly still did not know what to do with art. All I knew was I love art and that it was the only thing I wanted to do.

After high school, I took a year off just to study for the Thai entrance exam although I was already accepted by a very famous art college in Pasadena. I wanted to get into Thai government university because I wanted to learn more about Thai society since I never had that chance growing up in an international school. I finally got accepted into the university I wanted.

4 years passed by, I graduated with an art degree.. still not knowing what I wanted to do. I tried hosting TV and radio shows. I tried producing TV shows. It was fun and all, but I knew something was missing. I became a journalist because my dad wanted me to. I hated the job. It dragged me to the dark sides of the world that I don't want to see ..at least, not all the time. Then, I opened a company with my sister selling sculptures of our original designs. It was very fun. But still, something was missing.

One day, one of my best friends asked me, "Earn, why don't you be a teacher? You'll be a great one." That's when it just CLICKED! That's how I decided to start my master in education and became an educator. And I love my job! I love teaching and I love being a teacher. I've found my passion.

So, that's what I told them because I know some of these high school students are struggling to find what they want to be or what they want to study. I told them that it's okay if they're lost because it's normal. It's just a phase in life. I mean for those already have set a goal, awesome. Go for it. For the rest who are still confused, they can just stop thinking about the future and focus on what they like or what they want now.

The funny thing is that most high school students are only about 15-18 years old. They are very young, yet they are pressured by their parents and the society to have to think about "what career they want to have" when they've been introduced to only a few profession, such as doctor, journalist, businessman, teacher, scientist, artist, lawyer, or something along those lines. How can they make any decisions when some of them don't even know there are jobs like commercial diver, logistic planner, fixer, etc. Most of all, some of them may still be confused about what they want to be because the job they will end up doing in the next ten years probably does not even exist today.

Fifteen years ago, who would imagine that creating social network websites like Facebook or Twitter can be a career. Ten years ago, no one ever heard of iPhone. Today, a friend of mine is opening a company to create applications just for iPhone and iPad.

So, I said, "Try different things. Ask yourself if you like math, science, art, or any other stuff outside school. Once you find what you like, just focus on that because most of the times things that you do better are things that you love to do."

I told them they still have plenty of time. The future is yet come and they still have such a long way to go. I want them to take their time to dream and to explore.

In the end, I said, "People define happiness differently. What's your definition? You have to find what makes YOU happy. That's how you can find your passion."

The World's Goals for Future with Education

2010-09-20T07:01:00.001-07:00

By Kalyakorn Naksompop
Written on August 26, 2010
Last edited on September 20, 2010

Many times, when people talk about education, they relate it to the matter of politics and economy, but mostly and most importantly to humanity. This is because education is the “most fundamental building blocks of human development” (The World Bank, 2010). It is a formative process of passing on the knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to the next. An impact of education is greatly. When given the opportunity to learn, people tend to contribute to the development of their lives. Once their lives are improved, people can then contribute to their communities and their countries, which finally affects in the betterment of this world. Therefore, it is essential to look at this matter on a global context because “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” Nelson Mandela (GCE, 2010).

Realizing that education is about the future, international groups who have been working on issues relating to humanities, such as UNESCO and Campaign for Global Education, seem to target at campaigning for improvement in education. They believe that education can be used as an instrument to end poverty and to improve human’s well being and that “every human being should have the opportunity to make a better life for themselves” (UN, 2010).

Because education is about improving lives, the number one goal right at this moment is to end hunger, which links to another most recognized goal in education that I found very exciting, the global primary education. This goal targets at ensuring that everyone will be able to complete the basic education of primary school. One of the biggest concerns when it comes to an issue of humanity is the literacy. When one can read, one has more choices in life. This means that it opens more doors for the poor to break out of their poverty. Another concern is about the well being. Schooling doesn’t only mean the opportunity to learn how to read and write, but also to learn about how to improve own life because it “helps children develop the skills they need to make themselves heard in the world and to make positive changes in their lives” (Oxfam, 2010). For example, children who have completed primary school are less than half to likely contract HIV as those who have not (UN, 2010).

Though the world recognizes the significance of education, the reality is not that simple. Logically, every single person in this world should have accessibility to schooling. However, 771 million adults worldwide are illiterate while 72 million children in the world’s poorest countries are still out of school (Oxfam, 2010). Clearly, this is why global primary education is one of the most targeted goals for many international NGO's.

Another problem that has been ongoing since we could probably remember is gender equality. Yes, even in education is no exception. Hence, women around the world, especially those in poorer countries, tend to have less power, money, and access to education and they are “more likely to live in poverty, simply because they are women” (ActionAid, 2010). It is true that the gaps between girls’ and boys’ enrollment have been closing, yet the issue of discrimination against women is still obvious (UNFPA, 2003).

Comparing to men, nearly twice as many women over age of 15 in least developed countries are illiterate while two-thirds of children who are out of school are girls (UN, 2010). The real challenge is probably to change the perception that women do not need education, simply because they do. Every human being, despite their race, gender and belief, deserves equal rights. Thus, this problem is still there. This is why it has been recognized and has become another goal for future with education, which is to reduce gender disparity and to empower women.

Another interesting Millennium Development Goal directly deals with the environmental problems. The topic of environmental sustainability has been widely discussed in recent years, probably due to the uncommon natural disasters that have occurred more frequently lately. This has raised serious awareness among people around the world as more people are being hurt and damages are being seen as the result of decades of exploitation of natural resources. Often, the people who get affected the most are those who are already vulnerable, which are the ones who depend on natural resources for their livelihood (UN, 2010).

Though this issue seems to be less related to humanity, as the others are directly about reaching out with education and health care, the issue of sustainable practice is actually about improvement and development of what we have, which eventually ties up the issue of well-being of the entire humans. Therefore, this problem is undeniably also about humanity, which is why it is recognized as one of the Millennium Development Goals. Hence, because “reducing poverty and achieving sustained development must be done in conjunction with a healthy planet” (UN, 2010), it is crucial that the future education integrates the principles of environmental sustainability into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources.

The interesting part is that all of these goals, including the rest in the Eight Millennium Development Goals, are set to be achieved within 2015 and this is already 2010! We only have 5 years left. Will we be able to accomplish?

Personally, I don't really care about what year these goals will accomplish as long as they do. However, the significance is how many countries agreed with these Millennium Goals, which means that the world (well, at least the authorities anyways) have promised to do something, and we are not even half way there. The question is do we really care about education? Do we really care about the future? Do we really care about other people? We know that we cannot leave this matter only to the authorities because we have and no progress has really been seen. So, maybe it's time that we should really step forward and take some actions?

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REFERENCES

ActionAid (2010). What we do: Ending Poverty. In ActionAid website. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 from http://www.actionaid.org.uk/100004/what_we_do.html

GCE: Global Campaign for Education (2010). In GCE Retrieved. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 from http://www.campaignforeducation.org/

Oxfam (2010). Education. In Oxfam International. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 from http://www.oxfam.org/en/campaigns/health-education/education

The World Bank (2010). Education. In The World Bank education. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 from http://bit.ly/d5O5rq

UN: United Nations (2010). In End Poverty 2015 Millennium Campaign, the UN Millennium Campaign. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 from http://www.endpoverty2015.org/

UNFPA: United Nations Population Funds (2003). State of World Population 2003. In UNFPA, United Nations Population Funds. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 from http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2003/swpmain.htm

Wikipedia (2010). Millennium Development Goals. In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved on August 23, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Development_Goals

Culture and Education

2010-09-07T00:35:00.000-07:00

By Kalyakorn Naksompop
Written on February 12, 2010
Last edit on September 7, 2010

It’s undeniable that culture heavily affects the design of curriculum, which affects the education as a whole. In fact, a curriculum always emerges as a reflection of a culture. But when we say “culture” here, it doesn’t necessary refer to only culture of “Thailand” or “America”. The culture that affects a curriculum can be referred to culture of today, whether it’s culture of the school itself, the culture of that particular community that the school is located in, or the regional culture, in combination with the future culture that the community and the country want. Therefore, when looking at a curriculum, you can learn about the characters of people within that culture as well as how they think about themselves now and how they want the next generation to be like.

When talking about curriculum design, one thing needed to be brought up is the impact that a government has on its country's education. I must admit that I used to only think about education as in students, teachers, textbooks, and parents; and that is as far as I would go. However, as I get to know more and more about education, I cannot overlook the power of the authorities and how it greatly affects education of each country. This makes me somehow wonder what the true meaning of education is.

We always talk about how we educators are so important that we are the people who significantly affect the future of this world. We also talk about various educational philosophies – saying that what we believe will change the face of the world. But from history, we know for a fact that the curriculum is designed by the government. Somehow, the government, in a way, literally uses education as a tool for propagandization to pass on the belief in which government wants people to believe to the next generation. For example, even with scientific proof that Columbus was not the first to discover America, yet American teachers are still teaching that he was because they have to. That is how it's written in the textbook.

Another example, which I found truly interesting, probably because it's close to my background, is the history of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. When I was in primary school, I learned the history written by Thai, which refers to Laos as our sister or brother while Myanmar is our enemy because they burned down our old capital, Ayutthaya. When I visited Laos, it was the first time in my life to learn about the other side of the history, where Laos calls us the devil who burnt down their capital, Vientiene. Likewise, Myanmar chose to skip its some of its history, particularly on the part when they attacked Thailand and burned Ayutthaya down. So, it seems that each country has its own version of history depending on how they want the later generations to perceive the history. This is where the authorities play the biggest role in education.

With that being said, it is probably even more critical to rethink about our role as educators. Don’t get me wrong. I still believe that we do carry a big responsibility. What we do will eventually affect our world one way or another. However, in the system, we are one of the smallest bodies in education, yet we are the ones to directly practice the curriculum on our students. But even when we are the smaller bodies, is it possible for us to do something so that our students do not have to become the victim of propagandization? Are there any ways to hint students that there is another side of the truth? That I can’t really tell you but maybe Columbus did not discover America? That maybe Laotians don't love us as much as we thought they do?

I would say yes.

This is why we have also been talking about the new kind of education, where critical thinking is emphasized and where students are encouraged to become learning persons. For this very reason, we need to really pay attention in our instruction whether it helps students or not and in what way. It is exactly why teaching students how to think by and for themselves is even more essential than ever.

Our Oridinary Power

2010-08-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

I'm just ordinary, and so are you! But we can do so much with this ordinary power of ours. We could create wars and distorted society, didn't we? So, why can't we use this power for the betterment of this world?

We can start with our most fundamental ability of LOVE!

You know how to do that, don't you?

Why is Finland's Education Number One?

2010-08-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

The secret behind the success of Finnish Education is TRUST.

Time for Revolution - Not Reformation

2010-06-04T04:12:00.000-07:00

New video from Sir Ken Robinson

2010-02-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, education just comes naturally through life experience. But you do need a perspective to turn that experience into a life lesson.

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By Kalyakorn Naksompop
February 23, 2010

CONNECTING to and for STUDENTS

2010-02-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

By Kalyakorn Naksompop
Written on February 5, 2010

A professor of mine mentioned in his class that for some reasons, as students move on to high school level, they’re expected to be good at everything. I found this very true and could totally relate to what he said. One very interesting point was made about how each subject are taught separately and not connected to each other. It is very obvious that the curriculum for each subject area is usually designed to fit the content of that particular subject but not really to each other. Yet, high school students are expected to be good in all areas even when everyone knows that there’s no way people can be perfect. It’s only natural for a person to be expertise in one or two things, good in a few others, and has absolutely no ideas about the rest. Therefore, it would only make sense if the school helps its students by connecting each subject. Then, students who thought they are only capable of being artists can realize that they may have a tiny part of themselves that are too while students who are scientists can learn more about their musical side, and the mathematicians know that they too can be athletes.

One thing teachers must remember is nobody is perfect. It’s ok for students to be bad at some certain subjects that are not their fortes. In the end, a person doesn’t need to be good at everything to succeed, isn’t that true? Do we really think that Albert Einstein can compete with Michael Jordan in basketball? Or do we really think that Paul McCartney is an even better chef than Gordon Ramsay? Well, who knows? It may be true, but does anybody care if Einstein can bounce the ball or McCartney knows how to pan fry a duck? I don’t believe so because we only look at their best capabilities and we admire them for that.

Having this connection not only helps students in relating what they learn in different classes, but also helps them to understand how this knowledge relates to life outside of school. This is because students are then able to see that knowledge of one subject is not only about that subject, but is possible to be applied to other subject areas in school. Hopefully, as they practice this ability to connect often enough, students can as well learn to use this very same principal later in life.

Somehow, as we discussed about connecting and applying knowledge of one subject to another, I could feel that there’s a link between this idea and the theory about Multiple Intelligence by Howard Gardner. Gardner purposed that there are at least eight types of intelligences that he recognized, including 1) linguistic, 2) logical-mathematical, 3) spatial, 4) bodily-kinesthetic, 5) musical, 6) interpersonal, 7) intrapersonal, and 8) Naturalist. Although most of the books we found only talk about these 8 intelligences, I remember an interview with Vanessa Race, one of Howard Gardner’s students (who happened to become Thai celebrity for her knowledge on such subject) on Thai national TV a few years ago. Vanessa accentuated during the interview that her teacher said these are only 8 intelligences that he had recognized, but he suggested that there should be more areas of human’s intelligences since he strongly believed that humans are capable of so much more.

Having heard about this theory reminded me even more how a teacher should use various techniques in teaching a subject. We (educators) always talk about how different students have different learning styles. Is it possible that they have different learning styles because they have different types of intelligences? If so, is it right to stick to one style of teaching that encourages only linguistic or logical-mathematical intelligences? I don’t believe so. This is exactly why we should develop such curriculum that allows students with different intelligences to be able to learn at their bests. One way is to create a curriculum that connects each and every subject. Therefore, students know that they can apply the subject that they are good at to other subjects that are not their fields. Meaning, they can use their intelligences, which are not necessary linguistic or logical-mathematical, to learn in all areas.

After all, every student should have equal right to access their learning. How can we say that we provide every student equally if we only use curriculum that’s only suitable for students with certain types of intelligences. Isn’t it true?

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REFERENCES

Armstrong, T. ‘Multiple Intelligences.’ In Thomas ArmstrongRetrieved February 3, 2010 from http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm

Race, V. (September 5, 2007). An interview by TV show ‘Ta Sawang’, broadcasted on ModernNine TV. In Wisdom Inside. Retrieved February 3, 2010 from http://th.wisdominside.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=377&Itemid=67

Smith, M. K. (2002, 2008). 'Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences'. In INFED: the encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved February 3, 2010 from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm

*Illustration from http://www.childfirst.com.cn/gifs/en_soundcurr05.gif

Creativity & Play

2010-01-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

Another video about creativity that I found very interesting. It's a speech (with many valid points) by Tim Brown, CEO of the "innovation and design" firm IDEO. Well, enjoy!

WHY IS THAT?

2010-01-17T05:38:00.000-08:00

It seems a little strange to think about the importance of emphasizing thinking ability in school and how this issue has been recognized widely among educators. In fact, there have been numerous studies dedicated to find ways to boost up this cognitive ability. Yet, throughout history we see many or most schools haven't been practicing enough methods that would encourage this ability in students. The strange thing is not the idea of understanding the importance of this matter, but is rather the fact that even when everyone seems to know, not enough people have put the ideas into action. Why is that?

What is even more strange is that it's not because we don't know how. Socrates, whom everyone respected as a great thinker from ancient Greek, recognized that a way to stimulate rational thinking is by using a form of inquiry and debate base on asking and answering questions. That was thousands of years ago. So, even before we see all these modern studies about how to increase the cognitive power, we might already have some ideas, but we chose not do it. Why is that?

Education in different places was formed for different purposes. However, the education system that we're now using world widely was designed in 19th century (Robinson, 2009) . Yes, it's about the time we first heard the word "industrialization". The schools back then were found in order to produce workers, not thinkers, to suit the changes in society, mainly for economic reasons. With such design, students were trained with skills to work, not to think as individual. But that was more than 100 years ago. Nonetheless, not enough people seem to be worried about the fact that our world has tremendously changed while our education system has paused since 1900s. Why is that?

Is it too difficult to stimulate rational thinking?

Does it require too much from the educators?

Or is it easier not having to change what has been existed for more than 100 years?

Or is it just easier to control people who cannot think?

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REFERENCES

Garlikov, R. The Socratic Method: Teaching by Asking Instead of by Telling. In Richard Garlikov. Retrieved December 17, 2009 from http://www.garlikov.com/Soc_Meth.html

Phillips, C. (2003). Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy. Cambridge, UK: The Lutterworth Press.

Robinson, K. (2009). Transform Education? Yes, We Must. In The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 14, 2009 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sir-ken-robinson/transform-education-yes-w_b_157014.html

The Role of Socratic Questioning in Thinking, Teaching & Learning. In The Critical Thinking Community by Foundation for Critical Thinking. Retrieved December 17, 2009 from http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/the-role-socratic-questioning-ttl.cfm

A Thought on DISCOVERY LEARNING

2010-01-15T00:07:00.000-08:00

How can students be engaged to lessons being taught in class? Isn’t that one of the most asked questions among educators? Many thinkers tend to believe that one way to do that is to engage students with active learning process. With this learning style, students are encouraged to learn through experience by building on their prior knowledge “to search for new information and relationship based on their interest". Such method, according to Jerome Bruner, is called "discovery learning".

What teacher can probably do, for example, is to assign a project that allows each individual to focus more on sub topic of their choice. The obvious positive side to this method is that students can each develop their learning process based on their learning style at their own pace. It allows each individual to find what's the best way to learn about what they want to learn. In other words, students are asked to do what they want to do. As a result, learning becomes more fun and motivation in classroom is highly promoted. Moreover, students can develop "self system" where they can practice to think and do things for themselves.

This is actually a very interesting method to suggest to teachers, especially today where students can be even more easily distracted from class with all the modern technology that we all know of. In some schools, each student brings a lap top to class. How can teacher know if each student is paying attention to class? It's not very easy, isn't it? Even if the teacher walks around the room to make sure students are doing what they're supposed to do, students can just easily switch the pages on their computer screen back and forth. Then, the solution is probably not the attempt to detect the not-to-do, but is perhaps the attempt to encourage the fun side of learning. Therefore, students can be motivated to learn from within. That's when their attentions to the lessons will come naturally.

2009-12-25T05:30:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas (^_^)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Reflection on Thai National Curriculum

2009-12-24T14:54:00.000-08:00

By Kalyakorn Naksompop
Written on December 24, 2009

Last week, I had the opportunity to learn some interesting information about Thai curriculum in comparison to California curriculum from my classmates. As listened to the information given by my classmates, it was impossible for me not to get personally involved, simply because I spent more than half of my school life in Thai education. It's always more difficult for "outsiders" to really criticize Thai education. I, however, believe that I have every right to do so. I am Thai who was born and raised in Thailand. I went through normal Thai schools until elementary, fortunately went to international school, then back to Thai government university. Literally, I am the product from this educational system.

Being in Thai schools is never rough (unless, of course, you have your own opinions and love to share them). Just need to lay low, be ordinary, only remember what you are taught, and do what you are told. For final exams, you need not to fear because it's all multiple choices. Just know what strategy to use when you have to guess for answers. After final exams, if you feel like throwing everything you learned in classes away, it is ok because you will not need it anymore. Well, at least, not until you have to start preparing for the big Entrance Exam, which is far yet to come.

That's basically how I got through my elementary (pratom) years.

Then, I went to international school for probably the most unexpected reason: my older sister was asked not to continue in high school because her grades were not "high enough". Despite what the school said, my father knew my sister is smart and believed that it was not her fault. He decided to put his daughters in another school where they can be educated with different system and curriculum, which he thought should be more "appropriate".

My sister took half a year studying English, finally got accepted as an ESL student, and was moved to regular class after one semester. Then, she became top of the class, tutored her friends after school, and graduated with an honor roll. Now? She's about to open her second restaurant in Los Angeles. So, she's certainly not stupid. Moreover, she's doing just fine.

You see. If the same girl failed in one school but turned out to be top in another school, there must be a problem somewhere.

For my part, it was not the same roller coaster ride. But thanks to my sister, I found myself having fun and eager to learn what is taught in class for the first time. I started to raise my hands and answer questions. I also learned to state my opinions and finally learned to develop the likes and dislikes for each class. That was a big step for me. Knowing likes and dislikes means you have learned about what you want. You then develop the motivation and passion for what you "like". Through this process, you are able to look back at yourself, find who you are and what you want in life. The key is to know how to think for yourself. This is probably the most valuable knowledge I ever received from a school.

Then, I went back to Thai education by applying myself to the most famous art university in Thailand and all the memories literally came back to haunt me. In high school, my works used to be about story telling and concepts. It's my nature when creating art pieces. I didn't have the best skills or techniques when first attended university, but I knew how to create stories through my works. That, however, did not seem to be what my teachers wanted. I remembered a class called "Composition". The first week, when all my friends did something quite similar to each other: concentrating on the lines and colors, I did something totally different: making two art pieces using concept "Life and Death". Loud and clear, my teacher said, "This is not the time to explore on concepts or stories yet. I want you to focus on improving all the basic skills first. Then, you can move on to conceptual stuffs later." So, that was what I did for two entire years: practicing my techniques and forgetting all about story development. I was finally allowed to start developing my own concepts and stories in the third year. Somehow, two years of not practicing ability to think really got to me. In the first few months, I stuck. I could not think the way I used to. Even when I learned to think again, my thoughts could not flow like the way it used to. As it turned out, my techniques were improved while my creativity was killed. Worth it? I don't know..

Nonetheless, what struck me more than the fact that I was not allow to think was to see how most of my friends struggled when it came to thinking, analyzing, or creating. Many times, when students were asked to write report and present the topic to the class, many of my friends did not know even know what to do with the topic. The thing is I don't believe that my friends are stupid. Looking at what they can do when they know how to do something, they are certainly some of the most creative people I ever met. What is the problem then?

To be clear, I am not trying to say that only international schools can offer best curriculum by any means. I am just trying to point out what it is that I saw having experienced in different school systems and curricula. With the stories I told you, don't you agree that there must be something wrong?

You see. As I was taught to question, to brainstorm, and to analyze, my friends were taught to shut, to listen, and to memorize. That is a big difference. I was taught and trained to think while my friends were taught to do what teachers tell them to. But once they moved to college level, teachers suddenly asked them to think by themselves. Yes, there are special people who may be able to jump from 1 to 10, but what about the rest?

I personally believe that people are born with the ability to think and be creative, but they must practice to use this ability under the appropriate environment. To be honest, I don't believe that what most classes in Thai schools provide is the appropriate environment, judging from what I saw and had been through. I also believe that the big part of the problem is the people resources. In other words, Thai educators are not able to pull out this ability in students. Well, that's what I used to think. Listening to some of the facts my friends presented, I found that maybe the root of the problem is not at teachers anymore, but is more likely to be at the system. Yes, teachers can be a little more supportive in students' ideas and opinions. However, we must remember that it was how they were taught when they were students. What they do in class reflect their belief, their culture, and their background. They act base on what they know.

Thus, the problem is not only the people, but it must be something bigger. Perhaps, it's the entire system that makes Thai education ineffective. For example, looking at Thai National Curriculum, it does not provide enough information for teachers in doing their job. Meaning, teachers are off to do whatever they want. What are the odds when teachers are not provided with enough details, guidelines, or criteria on what they are supposed to do? Well, some great teachers may use this opportunity to bring their curriculum to the level no one has ever reached before. Other good teachers may try to find out what should be taught and how, then create the curricula that are appropriate to their students as well as the instructions. What about the rest? Well, they can do whatever they want. There is no way anyone can judge whether they are doing good or bad since there's no criteria to base on. In other words, there is no guideline for anyone, either the teachers or the schools. Meaning, there is no standard nor system to control the content being taught as well as the capability of people who teach. Due to this fact, no matter how beautiful objective of Thai curriculum seems, it will never be effective. Besides the problem mentioned above, such lack of guidelines result in huge gaps between schools throughout the country. In the end, whom has the damage been done to? Well, who else but the students that we called "future of the nation".

THE SUN IS GREEN

2009-12-16T02:28:00.000-08:00

A Reflection on Sir Ken Robin's TED Talk in June, 2006.
By Kalyakorn Naksompop
Written on December 16, 2009

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

If I say the sun is green, what would you say?

Of course, if you have seen the sun, you would probably think I'm crazy because the sun is supposed to be red or yellow. But if you really look at it, you would probably see the same thing I'm seeing. It's not the sun that is green, but it is my imagination that made it green. It is not the fact, it's just a thought.

However, that is not the way we run the classrooms, isn't it? It is obvious that the education now is developed out of knowledge of today. We we made assumptions of how education should be using researches and philosophies, not to forget about traditions of the education. Nonetheless, what we found today will become history as soon as the sun sets, which basically means that we developed the system of education based on history and beliefs. Yet, what we are doing as educators is to prepare our students for the future. The future that is yet to come. The future that even we are uncertain of. The future where what is right today maybe wrong then. Who knows, the sun may really turn green tomorrow.

Thus, the question is, what knowledge do we have to pass on to our students?

Brutally, the answer is probably no, we don’t actually have any of today knowledge that we are sure to be relevant 30 years from now. Then, what is our job? What is our role as educators, particularly as teachers? Is teacher a lecturer? Is teacher an instructor? Is teacher a facilitator? Well, if we don't have absolute right knowledge to teach, what can we lecture them about?

In this case, being a facilitator seems to be a little more appropriate for our job description. The key is probably to facilitate the learning for learning. In other words, we should equip our students with foundation for their life as a whole, where learning can continue throughout life in a self-directed manner. “The central task of education is to implant a will and facility for learning; it should produce not learned but learning people,” Ayn Rand. Our job is to facilitate students to develop their motivation in learning as well as their abilities to process the learning.

As mentioned above that the task is to implant the facility for learning, what is it that we have to do to facilitate the learning? Allow students to develop the personal growth, perhaps? Yes, there is the system where we still have to provide information and facts from text books, but do you think we should also leave some room for students to be themselves, express their thoughts and play with it a little bit? Meanwhile, they may have time to look back at themselves, learn about who they are, know what they want, and would eventually learn by themselves that learning is one way to achieve their goal.

As reading this, some people may start to nod their heads as educators around the world are also starting to appreciate the thought of educating the whole child. Not only we have to focus on literacy, we also need to focus on creativity, as Sir Ken Robinson said, "creativity now is as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status." Unfortunately, though many schools and teachers are aware of this fact, the accentuation of creativity is yet not widely practiced. In 1999, a report on the importance of promoting creativity and culture in schools were sent to English government. A year later, a response made by the government, agreeing with the report. Today, "there has certainly been cultural activity in schools but even the strongest champions of creative and cultural education would have to admit that the report - called All Our Futures - has not dominated schools policy" (Baker, 2009). This is just one example of how the idea is already out there but has not been practiced.

Now, a much simpler example. We sure do provide enough time for students to practice on reading, writing, calculating and all those, but do we leave enough space for students to practice their creativity in classrooms? Do we have enough room for them to think and practice their imagination?

I remember an art class I had in kindergarten. The teacher taught me to paint the sun with red, water with blue, and mountains with green. I don’t remember if anyone asked why, but we were told it is what is it. This is the simplest example of how we are taught to be so limited in our imagination. A lot of times, education does not leave room for the learners to see what “it” can be because they were told what it is or what it should be even before they can start thinking about it. I was told the sun is red even before I could think about what color the sun could be. Once information is given by someone you believe to know more, in many cases, you just assume that it is the fact. No more questions needed to be raised, no more thinking needed to be processed because the answer is already there for you.

But even if I really thought the sun was green, do you think I would dare not to paint the sun red? The funny thing is we often hear someone says, "everyone is born creative." Isn't that true? Don't you agree that children are always creative? They always find ways to be so imaginative. Is it possible that because they "know less"? Since children know less, they see less boundaries when it comes to thinking or imagination. We were probably used to be as creative and as imaginative when we were smaller. Somehow, through education, we were put into, as Robinson said, right-or-wrong system and all the capability of being creative just seemed to fade away as we became someone who's afraid of being wrong. "If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original" (Robinson, 2006). Nonetheless, that is how the education is until these days. We were told what is right and what is wrong. We were told the sun is red and the water is blue. What happens if you do the wrong things, you know that teacher can deduct your points and you would fail. And you if you keep on doing the wrong things, you would keep on failing and failing until you can become a failure. That is scary. It is always scary to be a failure. Then, it becomes a loop of not being able to think freely and be creative because you're afraid to fail. And what will happen to your creativity?

Well, if painting the sun green should make me be a failure, then I would always use red and only red.

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REFERENCES

Baker, M. (2009). Benefits of Creative Classrooms. In BBC News, One-Minute World News. Retrieved June 9, 2009 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8064306.stm

Naksompop, K. (2009). Personal Philosophy: Creativity, Individuality, and Reality, Reflection on Personal Growth. Graduate School of Education. Assumption University.

Robinson, K. Sir (2006). Ken Robinson Says School Kills Creativity. In TED, Ideas Worth Spreading. Retrieved December 14, 2009 from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Schools Kill Creativity

2009-12-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

Sir Ken Robin

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

Some valid points Sir Ken Robinson made about education. After all, educators are preparing students for the future that even themselves are uncertain of. What is important then? What kind of education do children need so that they can survive? What kind of knowledge should be taught?

The Dream Class

2009-11-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

I was asked to describe the strategies hope to be practiced in a class (of my choice) in an illustration to answer a question in one of my final exams. I thought the question was a bit silly, but I love what I could come up with.

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Illustration by Kalyakorn Naksompop
Created in September, 2009

New Thinking for Education of the New Era

2009-11-24T07:27:00.000-08:00

Over the past few decades, the world has changed dramatically due to the advance development of technology. This technological revolution is having a major impact world-wide. “It has increased competition within and between countries and has placed a high value on intellectual capital” (QCA, 2000). People of new generation must be able to keep in pace with the world that is moving rapidly towards a “hyper-individualized era” (Frey, 2007), where people value more of originality and individuality while pay less interests in products similar to those already existed. Hence:

“One of the defining features of contemporary life, and increasingly of the future, is the accelerated pace of change. The world never stands still. Its swift changeability has turned into a constituent feature of global historical development. Even in private life, change tends to oust continuity and stability. We have entered a transitional period marked not just by the calendar watershed but by a historical divide beyond which there lies a lot of uncertainty” (Kinelev, 1998)

As the change is occurring, all educators are confronted with “how to prepare youngsters so that they can survive and thrive in a world different from one ever known or even imagined before” (Gardner, 2006, p. 17.

With this being said, I personally believe that to educate is to provide the foundation for child’s personal growth as an individual in association with reality. To survive in the world that changes rapidly, one must be different and unique. He must have the ability to bring out the best of himself (individuality) and take it to the next level with creativity, but not to forget the truth of reality. Educators must help by facilitating children to develop these abilities at the cognitive level. Children must be educated with knowledge that doesn’t apply only in classrooms, but that is something they can relate to continually throughout life. Only in this case we can call education successful.

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE
To prepare children for the changing world with diverse information, education should not provide students with only what they should learn now, but must equip them with foundation for one’s life as a whole, where learning can continue throughout life in a self-directed manner. “The central task of education is to implant a will and facility for learning; it should produce not learned but learning people,” Ayn Rand. Educators must facilitate the learners to develop their motivation in learning as well as their cognitive abilities to process the learning.

Through education, children should develop their understandings of why education is important and how can it relates to them now and in the future. These understandings are developed when the understanding of self is developed, or in Maslow’s terms, when self-actualization is developed. This is because, only then, one knows what he wants in life and is driven inwardly to seek for knowledge for he can succeed that goal. Thus, educators must as well prepare children with ability to process the knowledge by themselves. They must be taught to “know-why” and “know-how” (Morris, 2006) by knowing the ways to connect to information, to access that information, to evaluate and analyze, to think critically, and to find answers on their own.

INDIVIDUALITY
Though everything seems to change as the result of advancement in technology, one thing that has always been the same throughout time is how the society is diverse. Society is made up of different characters of human beings. Each human being is unique and original as for one behaves based on the image of self, out of intentionality and values (Kurtz, 2000). This is because human is an autonomous being (Huitt, 2001). Human is independent and has the ability to take responsibility of his own education (Porter, 2007). Educators, therefore, must help the learners to understand this fact and facilitate them for they are able to develop the personal growth as an individual.

How a person develops an individual growth associates with two factors. One is the child’s “innate capacity for growth as they strive to become all they can be” (Porter, 2007). Another is one’s experience from the outside in reflection from the inside. A child’s character has been determined since he was born, but starts to develop as he responds to environment experienced throughout life. It is purely within the abstract of the mind in reactions with the environment, as one gains perception towards each particular situation he goes through.

As for child’s uniqueness and individuality, educators need to understand and accept the fact that their students are different from one another. One method may suit a group of students while another may need a totally different approach. Moreover, since human is an independent autonomous being, students have the right to choose and would only choose to learn what they want to learn. Educators cannot force students, but must create motivations with a curriculum that would interest students and engage them to the lesson. Students then voluntarily involve in the class and are able to learn the concepts given to them. Teachers must keep in mind to be open and flexible.

REALITY
As mentioned in the previous section, an individual growth developed from innate (mind and perception) of a person in association with one’s reaction and response to the outer experience. Yet, “if one’s views are biased, one’s development won’t go in the right direction” (Liem, 2005). Thus, another important element should be emphasized in education is the understanding of reality. In reverse, reality itself is “the interaction of an individual with environment or experience” (Ornstein & Levine, 2006), which comprised of dependently originated phenomena (Wikipedia, 2009). People learn by reflecting these associations between themselves and the reality. To guide students towards good direction is, then, to “broader their perspectives, in a circumspect way – sincerely and correctly” (Liem, 2005).

In addition, humans are socialized animals that always interact with one another. The fact is humans are autonomous beings, who are living together within society, on a planet that spins on its own. Moreover, although humans are independent, the existence of lives and all things are dependent (Buddhist Philosophy, 2009). There is always a cause and consequence. Therefore, only the understanding of self is not enough. One needs to comprehend the reality of the world while learn to love oneself and embrace who he is as an individual as he respects others who are as well different and individual.

CREATIVITY
Creativity can be defined as the ability to create new and meaningful things with originality. It is a product of idea, action, or object that is new and valued, in which depends on the cultural context (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). Creative people are simply the ones who are able put ideas into a new perspective. In the past few decades, the importance of this ability has been widely discussed among the educational and psychological community (Wissink, 2001). This is probably because the advancement of technology has brought the crowd to realize that the world always moves forward. People of this changing world expect to always see something new and different. New generations are required to be more creative than ever that they must be free from chains of old thoughts and classic aesthetics. Nonetheless, this should not be a difficult task since every human is already different and unique. Hence:

“Creativity is possible in all areas of human activity, including the arts, sciences, at work at play and in all other areas of daily life. All people have creative abilities and we all have them differently. When individuals find their creative strengths, it can have an enormous impact on self-esteem and on overall achievement” (NACCCE, 2000).

Thus, education should play an important role in encouraging creativity which young people already have. New thoughts, ideas and options must strongly be exposed to students. Curriculum should allow students to explore. Students should be challenged to step out of the box and be different, but still stay true to who they are. “Serious creative achievement relies on knowledge, control of materials and command of ideas. Creative education involves a balance between teaching knowledge and skills, and encouraging innovation.” (NACCE, 2000).

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By Kalyakorn Naksompop
Written in August, 2009 as a part of the report "Personal Philosophy"

Earn Kalyakorn + Her Art Works

2009-11-24T06:18:00.000-08:00