University

[invisible girl]

Do you know some university in HuaHin and what do you think about it?Sorry I can't say about it's name.But when see some student wear uniform ,I can't believe this uniform for student.

[Jankou]

If I can get myself to some university in Hua Hin Or Bangkok, I will demand that I can use the uniform but this doesn't mean that I am some kind of pervert

[invisible girl]

But I know some student in university use uniform for earn special job because some Thai guy like and feel good to have girlfriend younger.

[lomuamart]

Do you know some university in HuaHin and what do you think about it?Sorry I can't say about it's name.But when see some student wear uniform ,I can't believe this uniform for student.

The thing is that all the students at university are around 18 yr old. They're adults, so how do you think they feel being told to dress up like schoolchildren with uniforms?
Of course they're going to rebel.

[long-in-thailand]

Do you know some university in HuaHin and what do you think about it?Sorry I can't say about it's name.But when see some student wear uniform ,I can't believe this uniform for student.

The thing is that all the students at university are around 18 yr old. They're adults, so how do you think they feel being told to dress up like schoolchildren with uniforms?
Of course they're going to rebel.

One of the saddest things I see in Thailand is the unrelenting demand for conformity. Uniforms are everywhere in the society. While they might have a place in certain professions such as armed forces, police and car-park attendants expecting a university student to be uniformed merely shackles the brain and stifles the intellect.

I have given up trying to get tertiary level students to think for themselves. I am constantly reminded of the scene in Life of Brian where he tries to tell the crowd that they are all individuals. En masse they shout back "we are all individuals". And with classic Pythonesque irony, the one true individual shouts out "I'm not".

Thailand is a country about the same size as the UK. It is a constitutional monarchy like the UK - it has so much in common with the UK. And yet it is being held back by conformity. One day I hope Thailand wakes up to its potential.[/quote]

[Norseman]

Thailand is a country about the same size as the UK.

Thailand is more than twice as big as the UK!!

[redzonerocker]

probably more than twice the size of the uk norseman, but, about the same, population wise.

[BaaBaa.]

probably more than twice the size of the uk norseman, but, about the same, population wise.

Area:
Thailand-514,000 sq km
UK-244,820 sq km

Population:
Thailand-61.5 million
UK-60.5 million


Not a bad estimate Redzone.

[redzonerocker]

baa baa,
add on a very conservative 1 million illegals in the uk & the population estimate would be spot on

[dtaai-maai]

One of the saddest things I see in Thailand is the unrelenting demand for conformity. While they might have a place in certain professions such as armed forces, police and car-park attendants expecting a university student to be uniformed merely shackles the brain and stifles the intellect.

I have given up trying to get tertiary level students to think for themselves.

Couldn't help but see most of the flood of postings from l-i-t over the last day or so, and I have to say I disagree with most of them. Partly because I'd like to see some comments on one or two of the many positive aspects of life here, otherwise I might begin to think you're one of those whingeing farangs who really shouldn't be here at all.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if this thread started out as a wind up, but there's an interesting point here. And l-i-t made it.

The demand for conformity is surely an age-old Asian cultural trait that is part of the make-up of society here and in many other countries in the region. It goes against the grain of most of us from the West, who are used to dissenting voices and loud criticism of all forms of authority. I wasn't here fifty or a hundred years ago, but I'd wager a substantial amount (at least 50 baht) that the demand for conformity is less strong now and will continue to decline over the years. As will many traditional "British" traits, like politeness, stand-offishness (have I just invented a word?), courtesy, etc.

It's not the uniforms that stifle the students' intellect, but the mentality behind it. l-i-t made the point himself in another thread somewhere (something to do with bar girls and PhD research...), that those with most potential often don't get the educational opportunities here that they should. Quite right too. But I also teach at a university in Thailand, and I give my students (as do most of my farang colleagues) the choice of wearing uniform or their own clothes to class. Most of them choose their own clothes, but that doesn't help them to think for themselves, because they haven't been taught to do so. Free thinking, however, also has the drawback of some people thinking themselves intellectuals when, basically, they ain't.

I suppose the points I'm trying to make, in my clumsy way, are:

1. l-i-t; if you've truly given up trying to teach your students (tertiary level, or any other level, in any country in the world) to think for themselves, stop teaching.

2. Comparing size has never been a profitable exercise (between males, certainly), and you surely can't be serious in comparing the political influence of the monarchy in the UK with that in Thailand.

3. More generally; there are many Thai nationals who think "out of the box," and I'm sure many of them take a look at forums like this. Surely it would be better if they were encouraged by the positive views, rather than discouraged by the negative.

4. I don't see myself on any kind of mission to change the way of life here. I'm not implying that anyone else does, but I'm here by choice, and if ever I feel that life could be better elsewhere, then I'll be off to elsewhere.



Oops, nearly forgot...

[lomuamart]

Good post dtaai-maai,

[Vital Spark]

Nail firmly hit on head DM.

I give my students the option (of wearing a uniform), and I generally find that those who come to class in what they refer to as 'private clothes' are more responsive and tend to think out of the box. The uniformed conformists are lovely, and quiet, and quite frankly a bit dull.

VS

[long-in-thailand]

Thailand is a country about the same size as the UK.

Thailand is more than twice as big as the UK!!

Area-wise I agree with you - sorry I did not make myself more clear. Thailand is about 500,000 sq km to the UK 250,000 sq km. Area-wise Thailand is about the same size as France. The gist of my argument was in regard to 'human resources'. The population of the UK is about 60 million people and the population of Thailand is also about 60 million people. Both countries have almost the same in terms of 'human resources' but differ hugely in how those people are treated and employed for the good and betterment of each country.

Car park attendants with the IQ of Einstein, wearing nice uniforms but with no possible opportunity to express that intelligence are not helping the country.

[long-in-thailand]

Good post dtaai-maai,

Wow, I didn’t realize all the other ones had flown in above. If I must disagree with the Moderator it is to say that dtaii-maii did not make a good post but he/she made an excellent post (with some disagreements).

Erm…. I have lived in Thailand for twenty years and really the positives do out-way the negatives – Thailand is home. I am far from being a whinging Farang. If I was I would have moved on. But at the end of the day there is no news in good news. And (sadly, negatively) Thai people only usually like to hear the good news. (Except when it involves seeing some gruesome murder that did not involve them or their family – then it is entertainment in a magazine such as 911).

To go back to DM making a good point, I entirely agree that the society is changing and is different from fifty years ago. But in this day and age it is not changing quickly enough. I do not want to see Thailand left behind by Vietnam and Burma. But this is in danger of happening with complacency. Complacency of the natives and of us aliens who merely echo that this is THE perfect place on earth etc etc.

I am not a teacher in the strict sense. Have never seen myself as such. But I have been expected to supervise MSc and PhD students and I must confess I have given up – I have gone back to doing pure research. In this I do not consider myself a failure as a teacher. I have been beaten by the system. But I hope that some might observe what I do and take note. It has happened, once. And I consider that my success.

I give talks/seminars at international meetings in jeans and t-shirts to make a statement to my accompanying Thai colleagues. I am therefore pleased that DM and VS are in a position to give their students the option on what to wear to class – good on you. In my mind you are truly helping things to move forward. I wonder though if you teach at a state university or private university. My experience has only been with state universities (Mahidol, Chula, KU, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and PSU).

But to return to the original theme of this topic ‘Invisible Lady’ seemed somewhat upset by a uniformed student that she (I assume she) saw was wearing a uniform that she (or he) deemed inappropriate – for whatever reason. If all universities or colleges of higher education followed the example of DM and VS then there would be no problem.

[lomuamart]

You know what?