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In one recent posting, I gave advice to a young high scholler who seems frustrated with his present situation. He seems to want to be up there somewhere in his academic career, but he's struggling to finish his high school. He is active at a webboard in which people studying or working overseas share their experiences. I advised him in Thai with the following philosophical notes:


"äÁèÁÕ·Ò§ÅÑ´ÊÙè¤ÇÒÁÊÓàÃ稷ÕèÂÔè§ãË­è
äÁèÁÕ¤ÇÒÁÊдǡʺÒÂä´éÁÒâ´Â»ÃÒȨҡʵÔ
äÁèÁÕ¤ÇÒÁÊÁËÇѧä´éÁÒâ´Â¤ÇÒÁÁÑ¡§èÒÂ
áÅÐäÁèÁÕ¹éÓµÒã´ÁÕ¤èÒµèͤÇÒÁÊÓàÃç¨ ËÒ¡äÃé¡ÒáÃзÓàªÔ§ÊÃéÒ§ÊÃäì"

There are no shortcuts to a great success;
There is no comfort or convenience stemmed from the absence of mindfulness;
There's no rewarding achievement out of a poor effort;
And there's no tears contributing to success unless there are constructive deeds.

Thais love communicating their complicated ideas through thoughtful sayings or poetic expressions. Sometimes we are regarded as less critical in the way we look at things and as weak in justifying our ideas. On the contrary to these perceived weaknesses, I feel that sometimes too many words are worth less than some short, thought-provoking expression. A phrase full of wisdom may encourage the audience to think more and more deeply than a complete lecture!

Freire's notion of reflecting and acting, or praxis, seems to work well in transforming. Reflecting on issues around me has helped me become a more skilled thinker to see the hidden agendas and subtlety of the world. Then, acting (verbally, physically) will help to refine the thoughts and distill them into wisdom. Wisdom that is achieved by passionate and profound reflections and by acting in the real world of problems is philosophical and yet very practically useful as a walking stick at least for a wandering soul, or work in progress, like me.

]]> General http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=62 Fri, 3 Feb 2006 11:08:29 -0500 http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=61 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates. I particularly like the part about his virtue in relation to friendships among people. Friendships that are cultured through consturctive dialogs, I believe, can bring about peace and progress among us humankind.Here's what Wikipedia provides:

Socrates believed that the best way for people to live was to focus on self-development rather than the pursuit of material wealth. (Gross 2). He always invited others to try to concentrate more on friendships and a sense of true community, for Socrates felt that this was the best way for people to grow together as a populace. His actions lived up to this: in the end, Socrates accepted his death sentence when most thought he would simply leave Athens, as he felt he could not run away from or go against the will of his community; as above, his reputation for valor on the battlefield was without reproach.

The idea that humans possessed certain virtues formed a common thread in Socrates' teachings. These virtues represented the most important qualities for a person to have, foremost of which were the philosophical or intellectual virtues. Socrates stressed that "virtue was the most valuable of all possessions; the ideal life was spent in search of the Good. Truth lies beneath the shadows of existence, and that it is the job of the philosopher to show the rest how little they really know." (Solomon 44)

Ultimately, virtue relates to the form of the Good; to truly be good and not just act with "right opinion" one must come to know the unchanging Good in itself. In the Republic, he describes the "divided line", a continuum of ignorance to knowledge with the Good on top of it all; only at the top of this line do we find true good and the knowledge of such.


I am still left wondering, though, what "unchanging Good in itself" is! The Good, especially One that is not defined by God or based on Piety, must be something very tricky and subtle. I have been struggling to frame "the common good" that educators across the globe can aim for and integrate in different education systems under different cultures influenced by different religions or the absence of them (secularism).

I am wandering, but definitely not aimless.
]]> General http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=61 Tue, 17 Jan 2006 05:19:40 -0500 http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=60 Tribalism? Racism? Ethnocentricism? Ignorance? Justice? Respect?
What's to blame? Who's to blame? What can we do to stop this destructive trend that is echoed around the world? France? Holland? Indonesia? Thailand? .....

STOP rage and violence, people!

If you have not heard of the news, you may check http://www.smh.com.au/.

Check the following headlines:

- The hordes came with guns and iron bars
- An angry ride into the dark side of mateship
- Abandoned drink laws rushed back
- Australians racist? No way, says Howard
- Blinky Bill, the face of race hatred
- Treat us like dogs and we'll bite back
- Poll: What's most to blame?
- Race riots spread to suburbs
- Cars smashed in Cronulla violence
- 'What is Australian anyway?'
- Thugs ruled the streets, and the mob sang Waltzing Matilda
- Worst possible outcome - vigilantes rip unity to shreds
- United in condemnation, divided over the causes
- PM refuses to use racist tag
- Nasty reality surfs in as ugly tribes collide
- Neo-Nazis in race riots: police
- Ethnic tensions troubling the whole neighbourhood ]]> General http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=60 Mon, 12 Dec 2005 12:49:05 -0500 http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=59 http://friends4peace.thinsan.com ) and emphasizing that gratefulness, or gratitude, elicits positiviteness and progress among people. Let me share the letter here again.

Sorry for cross-posting.
Please ignore it if you are not interested in peace and friendships.

Dear Professors and Friends,

I hope this finds you all in the best shape and a happy mode during the Thanksgiving week. This auspicious season always brings me some peace and good feelings about the world, as I realize again that there are so many things in the world to be thankful for: good friendships, the opportunity to learn and grow, enough food, warm clothes when it's cold, clean water, love of different forms, a good family, and so many things around me. At the same time, I do not forget to remind myself that there are others in a different situation down the negative continuum as well. Do I know enough about them? Should I help them feel a little more grateful in ways that I can? After all, I believe that grateful people are happier and more likely to do more for others.
So, have you made someone more grateful today?

Well, the Friends4Peace Network is just a small network of friends from many countries. We met through many occasions and we have used the Internet to connect us so that we can share, learn, and grow together. Some of us may be able to meet face to face and do constructive things together, too. The world is getting smaller, and wouldn't it be nice to have at least a good friend in every country you may go?

Well, let's try to do something positive during this Thanksgiving's season. Please consider joining the Friends4Peace Network by visiting its home page at http://friends4peace.thinsan.com, or you can check the webboard at http://thinsan.com/f4pboard/index.php to see what we have been talking about. Please remember to register at http://thinsan.com/f4pboard/index.php?action=register. It is still small and young, but with hope for and faith in good causes, we hope that we will keep growing together.

Thank you so much for your kind attention.

Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate it!
If you don't, may you all be blessed with peace, love, warmth and safety!

Warmest regards and best wishes,
Snea Thinsan
Relevant websites:
http://thinsan.com (personal home page)
http://nyakaschool.org (a school for AIDS orphans in Uganda)]]> General http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=59 Wed, 23 Nov 2005 11:40:59 -0500 http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=57 A Theory of Critical Inquiry in Online Distance Education
By Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T. and Archer, W. (2003) in Moore, M. G. and Anderson W. G. (Eds). Handbook of Distance Education, London: LEA

Garrison, et. al (2003) do a good job in putting online learning in context. Many may still use distance education and online learning or e-learning interchangeably, but I think the distinction is useful in helping us see the development of this "subfield" of distance education in which technologies have played a big part.

Indeed, they legitimately point out quite a few gaps in this new subfield, online learning, especially in light of the uses of CMC to promote HOT (higher-order thinking), which essentially demand new "theoretical framework with the potential to explain and shape distance education practice in the area of interactive online education is the fundamental one. Employment of new CMC tools and integration of social learning theory make online distance education have introduced several new factors in this new type of education, which is quite different from the traditional distance education. Garrison, et. al maintain that the new online distance education deviates from the traditional one in that it emphasizes "...not independent learning [as focused in distance education in the older days], but rather a context of collaborative, constructivist learning within a community of learners (p. 115).

Garrison, et. al propose the promise of "online community of inquiry" as a model that will ensure that HOT can be maximized, which in turn serves us with the kind of education that we need, especially in higher education. They propose the three elements that constitute the community of inquiry model: the social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. Despite their admission that each of these three elements that they have proposed remains incomplete and thus requires further investigation, they remain hopeful that their "work may provide a scaffold for systematically and coherently studying the complexities of CMC and computer conferencing in an online educational context (p. 117)."

Having conducted a small piece of research on HOT in an online community, I can understand why Garrison, et. al sound rather precautious in their writing, i.e. by optimistically advocating one idea and pointing toward some barriers or uncertainty of the factors involved.
Their touches on technology issues seem rather superficial to me, after I have exposed to Professor Bonk's first storm and learned more from folks on the other line in the U.A.E!! Yet, their warning that technology has not taken us far in terms of pedagogical possibilities and adequately proven empirical outcomes. I would not blame the technologies, but rather accuse the limited exposure on the teacher, the administrator and the teacher trainer's side, as well as the relatively short time that online distance education has been driven intensively by recently emerged CMC tools. Professor Bonk pointed out that the kind of online that takes place today only started in the late 90's, i.e. with online classes mushrooming.

Garrison, et. al make another interesting distinction between the use of technology as the "weak approach" and as the "strong approach"; the weak one to "enhance and thereby reinforce existing teaching practices, while the strong one to "change our outcome expectations, and thereby, how we approach the teaching and learning transaction." I believe a lot of teachers associated with technology use may, like me, at one point see technology as a tool that not necessarily shapes new pedagogy, but rather that enriches or supplements what teachers and learners normally do and make the transaction change in the form, but not the function. However, I am now rather uncertain and would like to push my thinking forward.

As an administrator in the future, I might have to decide whether to act in favor of the "disruptive technology-- the new technology requires an organization to do thing in a fundamentally different way"-- or the "sustaining technology-- a new technology that represents simply and improvement on current practices". My hunch now tells me, "That would depend!" Well, after this course, I hope to be able to elaborate on the issue more confidently.
]]> General http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=57 Wed, 16 Nov 2005 20:59:32 -0500 http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=56 I was nominated by the department and luckily won this prestigious award.
[More about the John Edwards Fellowships]

My academic goals have changed through the course of my academic paths, and IU has done tremendously to transform me as a scholar and as a person. Please let me tie the changing goals with my life history because they are very closely interrelated. I will also show you why I have recently been involved in services or tasks that marry happily with my academic goals.

I am the same person as a very thin, pale boy who raised buffalos, who helped out in the rice fields as the first son of a poor farming family with nine children while other kids were playing, and who loved school because it was the only place where he could hide away from the recurring reality of poverty, low life quality, complaints about debts and poor fates, and other depressing situations expressed by both his own parents and his neighbors. Luckily, he was saved from being trapped in that hopeless circle just because he, at Grade 4, received the highest percentage on the exit exams among the students in his district. The scholarship awarded for that achievement enabled him to pursue the non-compulsory education back then (Grade 5 onward) instead of having to work on the farm. Yet, his life was not easier at all after that. The boy went to his new school without a lunch box or any pocket money. His experience with real hunger helped him understand hardship better and feel compelled to escape it.

Before starting junior high school, the boy needed a new uniform. Without any money for the uniform, his father carried him on a bicycle back to a familiar Chinese store to beg for credit. Humiliation caused by the lacks made the boy humble, but determined to excel at school. At high school, the boy, equipped with excellent academic records, managed to become the English club president as well as the president of the Phayao provincial youth club. The same boy became a young man winning a seat to study in arguably the best regional university in Thailand. He had a chance to study in education to become an English teacher, the job of his dream to make students as happy in class as he always was. At the university, he developed his confidence and leadership to a level that he was elected President of the Social Development Voluntary Club, leading the club members to villages and rural schools and contributed materially, academically, and politically to the local community. Less than a year later, he was also elected Vice President for the university’s Student Council, acting mainly on issuing policies and approving budgets for all proposed student activities.

Looking back now, I realize I always wanted to do what I could to make good changes to the community of which I was a member and I always looked out for the opportunity to help the disadvantaged and the lesser. After my graduation, I was offered a job to teach at a language school right away, but I, without reluctance, turned it down because I also heard of the new openings for English teachers to work for a U.S. State Department-sponsored organization that prepared Indo-Chinese refugees for their resettlement in the U.S. My application was successful and I worked in many positions, including English as a Second Language teacher, teacher trainer (called Senior Teacher), and weekend lab teacher for about five years. Right now, about 400 students that I taught have resettled in the U.S. and I have enjoyed visiting them during summer to see how well they have been coping with life in their new home. Triggered by the refugee problems, which were beyond my village, I wished to explore the world further and to learn more about the art and science of language learning. I applied for the Australian government scholarship, and I was granted such a wonderful opportunity to study for my master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second or Other Languages (TESOL) at Sydney University. Returning to Thailand, I was offered a job at Chiang Mai University right away in 1994. After a few years of teaching at the university, I started to feel that I could not contribute to the students’ progress as much as I wished. I saw the repeated themes of unmotivated, or intimidated, or discouraged students despite the hard work and good will of my colleagues. In 1995, I started to look into other tools to help add positive forces in my teaching that would help the students achieve or at least feel better about their learning. I found Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) as a potential alternative or addition. At the same time, the more closely I worked with the students, the more convinced I became of the gaps in the whole systems. Feeling unsatisfied with my contribution, I sought to extend my services to helping to train, observe teachers and give them feedback, as well as give advice to the management and design curricular for specific needs of the customers. I decided to get involved in CALL more seriously. Between 1997 and 2000, I was involved in several technology-related projects both within the university and at the national level. Recognizing my determination to make CALL work, the university granted a competitive scholarship for me to do my PhD in England. I spent almost a whole year in England, teaching CALL-related courses as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and looking for the right research paradigm. However, at the end of the year, I learned that I was among the three university faculty members in Thailand who were selected to receive the Fulbright Scholarship to study in the U.S. Learning about the limited access to technology advancement in the U.K. and feeling that CALL might not be the best and only answer to my inquiry, I decided to move to Indiana University to study for a PhD at the Language Education Department, School of Education.

Trained solely in hardcore traditional foreign language learning and teaching, I did not see relevance in what I first heard in the seminars about equity, power relations, access, social justice and the like. After a year at IU, however, I realized that language learning, with or without technology, is part of education that occurs within socio-economic and socio-political contexts. Having developed my interest into critical literacy because of inspiration from the work of Professor Jerome Harste, and several other professors, I realized, too, about the power of words in positioning, sensitizing, and changing people and the society. I now see language learning as more than mere encoding and decoding, but as a way to transform the selves and the society. I started to understand at some point why I led my fellow students to villages, worked with refugees, conducted research about the needs of non-teaching staff at Chiang Mai University (which had not been done before), noticed and always shared money for food with homeless beggars, etc. My impoverished background indeed has shaped me to be one who more deeply understands the sufferings, depression, oppression, humiliation and restriction that many people around my immediate world are facing. I also can see that, at all levels of society, local to global, there are people in power who benefit from the unfair systems within what we call the status quo. The powerless, or often oppressed, people, on the other hand, are usually desensitized or made to accept their fate and not to question things around them, not to mention the effort to take actions that will lead to changes. I know that I am a living proof of how the son of the latter group who has managed to escape from the deadly circle and establish himself within the system and who is trying to use the system within the status quo to generate positive changes.

The frustration that I carried with me for a long time since my return from Australia seems to be partly lifted by such knowledge and understanding above that I have gained at IU. Critical literacy has become my new area of interest, and I am determined to pursue and make it work in the real world. When I was asked to compile a list of what I have done as part of the application for this award, I learned that there is a pattern in what I have achieved and been trying to do. The pattern is that I have been trying to change the world around me so that people in the disadvantaged positions will be empowered through realization of reality, the causes of their problems, and what they can do to change the conditions around them. I also found out that lot of what I do at IU and in the past (see the resume) can be categorized as efforts to sensitize myself about the unfair systems, to share my reflections with people around me, both the privileged and the oppressed, and to take actions that I can to create positive changes to the world around me. In light of all these conflicts of interest among roughly two groups of people in given societies and as I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given throughout my life to progress in all aspects, I also believe that inclusive atmosphere, mutual respect, giving hearts, equal opportunities, and positive actions will make the world a more peaceful place in which to live. My dissertation will be on a specific topic within defined efforts to push critical literacy practices towards a more constructive end, where social justice and peace prevail without violent revolutions or destructive acts or wars.

At Indiana University, I felt honored and pleased to have been serving as an Associate Instructor to teach X152 (Learning Strategies for International Students). I owe to the American people because Fulbright has sponsored my education and IU has never left me alone with financial gaps in this foreign land, therefore, this service is one that I always take seriously. I know hatred against the U.S. as a country and a culture is real and based a lot on stereotypes or overgeneralization. I challenge my students to think critically on any given issue and bring in multiple perspectives to the table so that they can become a person that fits in the U.S. culture and academia comfortably without sacrificing their valuable cultures. In efforts to return favor to the U.S. and the world for the gifts that they have given to that buffalo boy, I have tried to do whatever within my capacity, no matter how little they are. Some of them are not even significant enough to boast about, but I was happy to do them, such as being a speaker to share my research and expertise to fellow students, helping to organize an orientation for new students, trying to be sharing and giving in all the classes that I take, or regularly presenting at conferences to share what I have learned.

Another task that I am also very happy to do while at IU is being a webmaster for the Nyaka AIDS Orphans School in Uganda (http://nyakaschool.org) . I had learned that their website needed a lot of improvement, so I volunteered to assist. The website does not only elicit donation, which is crucial for this school to continue; it also educates people about problems in the real world and how individual or collective efforts can make a difference. I redesigned the whole site and now try to update it regularly with current information and additional informative contents.

Keen on constructive, educational use of technology, I also offer myself as moderator for a group of Fulbrighters from around the world who attended a training at Loyola University, New Orleans in 2001 (fbright2001@yahoogroups.com). Fulbrighters, who came to the U.S. for their education and U.S. experience, have gone back to their countries, and many have lost connection with one another. Members of this community are expected to be ambassadors for peace at all levels. Many of whom may advance to take higher positions in their countries. Therefore I volunteered to set up and moderate an email list for them to remain networked, hoping that the connection will remain instrumental when concerted efforts are needed. In this forum, we share information about world situations, on top of strengthening personal connections that we have established. The group has been active for over 2.5 years now. Lastly, my experiences at IU have shaped my interest into feministic issues. I have been interested in power relations between males and females. In particular, I am trying to understand the prostitution problem in Thailand by running an inquiry project as part of L750. I am still trying to elicit opinions from people around the world using webboards as a stage. Right now, I share the housework with my wife: wash dishes, clean the house, cook, and do my own laundry, which is a good step toward sensitizing my self. I learn to expect less and give more, on personal basis as well. If you wish to know other details about me, I invite you to visit my personal home page at http://thinsan.com/.
]]> General http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=56 Mon, 14 Nov 2005 00:46:49 -0500 http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=55 What do we live our lives for? God? A next, better life? Or just to make the most of the time we have for this life?

I do not know much about things beyond this life, but
I believe in pursuing a great cause.

President Winston Churchill once said,

"What is the use of living if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?"

An attitude like this that looks beyond one's self and own generation is an attractive one to me. I am very inspired by all these great people whose legacies have served the humanity, such as Gandhi, Senator Fulbright, and so on.

Now, what do I want to do with my life?

This is a question that has echoed at the back of my head since I was a young boy. I was never suicidal, but I kept asking for the reasons to continue living. My answers kept changing, but one has emerged and it sticks: I want to use education as a tool to change the world. More details will follow.]]> General http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=55 Sun, 6 Nov 2005 23:11:55 -0500 http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=54 It was a casual reflection on why language education should be reformed to prepare Thai students as agents of changes in their deteriorating society.

Enjoy,
Snea



Editorial Remark
Critical Literacy:
An indispensable, but missing, ingredient in Thai Education

Snea Thinsan, Language Education,
School of Education, Indiana University, U.S.A.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thailand is one of the nicest places in the world in which to live, but it is not a place with the least social and other problems. In fact, it is like a volcanic beautiful mountain surrounded by breathtaking beaches! If you look at the trends of the many problems in the Thai society and how the young people are behaving nowadays, you will agree that certain things need to be done, especially with the education system. In particular, now that the world is becoming smaller, it is mandatory that Thais be critically literate in English, the language of power and for power. I will point out some serious problems and the worrying trends in the Thai society and propose a promotion of critical literacy (CL) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching.

Problems
Internal/ Local

While Thailand has attracted millions of visitors annually and has enjoyed the influx of foreign money for its natural beauty, rich culture and nice people, there are also many serious problems that have long existed and that were added with naive tourism policies. Let me mention just a few. First, our female citizens are being exploited or maltreated in numerous ways: child prostitution, flesh trade developed out of the increasing demand by foreign male visitors from countries with more economic power, family violence, and so forth. Try and type "Thai" and "Women" or "Girls" in any search engine and you will realize the degree and magnitude of this problem.

Another aspect of serious problems has to do with the environment: air pollution, water contamination, and deforestation, which are basically the results of the corruptive governments and civil servants, as well as the development policies that have emphasized GDP growth on the expense of the environment. Bribery of different forms is everywhere in Thailand, we have to admit. The environmental problems are serious because they have destroyed the pleasure that nature offers to us and affected both our mental and physical health in effect. Think about the air pollution level in Bangkok, garbage crisis in Chiang Mai, and water pollution in the industrial areas around the country. Our environment policies are not lenient, but the enforcement is weakened by the power of money and, in some cases, by the politicians’ power that is manipulated by their foreign and domestic counterparts in business.

Morality is also deteriorating in our society. News about people cheating, murdering, raping, etc. dominates the front pages of newspapers across the country. Buddhist monks, who are supposed to lead the society toward refined life, are committing serious sins everyday, leaving people without faith in anything but money. Thais in big cities are accused by many foreigners of being money-oriented. This means that we value money above morality and civilized manners.

Global

As problems caused by domestic factors are growing in numbers and degree of severity, Thailand is also facing threats from outside. The Thai Baht attack in the mid 1990’s resulting in the economic collapse in 1997 is a clearest example of the outside threats in the globalization age. What is said in a foreign land is now heard by people from around the world because of the power of computer technologies and the Internet. In that light, Thailand cannot ignore what the global community says about it, its people, and its policies because, for instance, it may affect foreigners’ decision whether to invest, trade, or do business with Thais. No longer can Thais stand alone as a nation without the need to cooperate and compete with other nations. While nations in the globe try to cooperate and/or compete in many ways, the citizens of Thailand have to be prepared to communicate in English, a dominant international language. The voices expressed in English by foreigners now come with hidden agenda, embedded imposition, never neutral. Thus, we need to unpack the hidden systems of power, values, and cultural models that come with the English language that we experience, as well as their roles in the international communication and transactions.

Given the fierce competition among nations, Thais need not only be competent in English, but they also have to be able to understand the sociocultural and sociopolitical issues that the new communication tasks impose in this powerful foreign language, and they must also be able to manipulate the language well in communicating with the global communities. These problems that I have chosen as examples above are interrelated and caused by multiple factors in the complex sociopolitical and sociocultural systems at local, national and international levels. For people to understand them and act adequately to solve them, it requires serious actions by all the parties involved. However, looking at the ways Thais, young and old, are behaving and thinking, some may sigh heavily in despair. We Thais normally lack the sense of community responsibility because we adopt the “None-of-my-business” attitude. While we depend on our family and selected groups, we ignore the others. A husband beating a wife next door, we think it is their household business, not ours. Child prostitution, they are not my children! We are simply ignorant of the problems around us unless they affect us directly. Let's look at other characteristics of Thais in general.

"Thainess"

Thais are traditionally raised to be submissive to the superior’s suggestions or commands. We are grateful people, who will pay back to our parents and those who have done us a favor with respect and submission to their imposition, even when it is not ethical nor constructive. My father kept voting for the same politician who had done nothing substantially good to the community and the country, simply because the man seasonally gave small bucks (distributed within his political party) to the village temple before an election. Worse, some people voted for him because he had given them money under the “vote buying” scheme. In like manner, students believe teachers are good people who can give them knowledge for which they should be grateful; so they rarely question or challenge what they are told to do or to believe, being afraid to irritate or upset their teachers. After all, the people in power at the top level, namely politicians, rich businesspeople, and government authorities can do virtually anything to their benefits without being systematically challenged. Are Thais aware of all these scenarios? I think and hope we do, but too many of us just don’t care! Plus, gratitude is a good virtue I personally practice and believe in. The point is gratitude may be misused or manipulated.

What are our young members doing, then? Aren’t they our new hope? Concerned teachers and adults always complain that Thai students lack critical thinking, are lazy to read and think profoundly, are enslaved by fashion and luxurious lifestyles, give up their cultural identities for the superficial misleading Western pop cultures, lack interest in political engagement, are easily influenced by peers and the media, are easily drawn into drugs and irresponsible sex, and the list goes on. These claims may not hold true for all young people, but the trends are obvious. It is therefore easy to conclude that too many young people in Thailand are not sensitive enough about the problems around them, and they are even the victims or the creators of the problems themselves. Without the ability to perceive social and other problems around them as problems or some things wrong to pursue, these young people will not look at the many factors contributing to them. In essence, they will probably not see themselves as capable of making a difference, either. The worst can be that they simply think such problems are not their personal problems.

Why Critical Literacy? And How?

Having said all the above, I wish to propose critical literacy as a solution to be implemented in our education system. In addition, because global influences also contribute to the local problems either directly or indirectly, EFL teaching should promote critical literacy, too. What is critical literacy, then?

To make critical literacy the easiest to understand, let me briefly explain how it is practiced in the U.S. The best definitions are given by professors at Indiana University, who see critical literacy practices in education in four dimensions of efforts in disrupting the common place; interrogating multiple viewpoints; focusing on sociopolitical issues; and taking action and promoting social justice (Lewison, et. al, 2002). I believe that critical literacy is the indispensable ingredient in Thai education, but has been missing. Therefore, it should be promoted in all sorts of education, including EFL teaching, at all levels. Why? How?

To start with, critical literacy enables us to see problems as something wrong in the first place and see the taken for granted differently. We need to start there because, as discussed earlier, Thais in general have very low sensitivity about the problems around them unless they are badly affected by them. Critical literacy encourages people to critically look at what they normally see as acceptable, normal, or neutral, a.k.a. the status quo. In EFL classes, teachers could invite issues that stimulate different ways of thinking so that the supposedly known and accepted practices in the society are questioned.

Having sensitized themselves, the students can then start to question a given practice and move on to ask questions that will allow them to see the same issue from different perspectives. This is a crucial step because Thais are normally submissive to the superior and accept the imposed view without asking questions. Thai students are, in that light, perceived as passive learners, who only wait to take notes of what the teacher has to say. This is also pretty much due to the fact that Thai education emphasizes memorization rather than originality and multiple perspectives on one issue. While uncritical students are an indicator of critical problems in Thai education, we can also see them as a welcoming gesture for critical literacy to the classrooms. We can turn crisis into opportunity!

Asking many questions on a given issue may not be enough; we need to learn to ask the right questions that will lead us to a real, or better, understanding of problems around us. As I have mentioned above, any given problem is connected with many other problems caused by the various socioeconomic, sociopolitical, and sociocultural factors both within the Thai society and in the global community. The questions to be asked, thus, should eventually address the hidden factors at different levels. Since critical literacy encourages us to see social practices as potentially unjust, the discussions usually lead us to see the inequality of access, unbalanced power, unequal access, and unfair treatments. The actual culprits, thus, can be identified, which will lend a good basis for the next dimension of critical literacy: taking social actions.

Social actions are traditionally seen as radical because social activists normally take on social injustices or challenge the status quo violently, but the actions can be based on a well-informed consideration of factors and thus become sensible and acceptable to all parties involved while still bringing about desired changes. I believe everyone is good at heart and interested to see the society a more livable place for everyone, but they need to see the long-ignored unjust practices as wrong and understand their roots before they feel inspired to make a difference and actually do so. Of course, the students can take a social action and may learn to practice the other three dimensions of critical literacy, too. We can leave that for further explorations by teachers and students at work.

Our EFL classes can use local issues in local English newspapers that reflect local problems. We surely have plenty of other local resources to provide them with multiple perspectives. At the same time, the richness of web-based materials, powered by strong search engines, will allow them to access information of all types both on local and international issues. The possibilities are immense.

Closing Remarks

I have been teaching English for 15 years and often felt that what I was doing meant so little to the world in my life time. With critical literacy as part of our goals in EFL teaching, I see the lights at the other end of the tunnel. We have been dealing excessively with the linguistic aspects of foreign language teaching and learning, and yet, Thai students’ proficiency in English, according to our esteemed researcher and educator, Professor Kanchana Praphal, fell below all, except one, nations in Southeast Asia!! (See http://www.dailynews.co.th/news/43704.html for details.) Even after at least 12 years of learning English, our youngsters gain an average TOEFL score below 450. Perhaps, we have not treated language learning properly because we separated it from the hearts and souls of learners. Why don’t we let our students feel lives around them and become inspired to make changes to their world through reflections and practices that encourage them to use the critical lens they might already have in the eyes of their brains?

Snea Thinsan
December, 2002

Reference

Lewison, M. Flint, A. S. and Van Sluys, A. (2002). Taking on Critical Literacy: The journey of the newcomers and the novices. Language Arts V. 79 (5), pp 382-392
]]> General http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=54 Fri, 28 Oct 2005 17:13:41 -0400 http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=53 around us, especially if we care too much or only about
our own problem. I have been reading President Bill
Clintonn's "My Life" and learning much about his
character.Clinton did not have a perfect childhood life, being left
an orphan without a real father and going through
disappointment, pain and defeat just like all of us do.
However, the man was always reflecting and learning about
his life in profound ways. He is appreciative of the
support people gave him, being grateful and thankful for
every little help as well. You can pretend to be
one, especially when you have time to think about what to
write, but throuhout the chapters in his book, Clinton
does it naturally. He does not intend to portray himself
as the center and hero, but rather praise and recognize
people and factors that contributed to his successes.

He is also very good at recalling and recounting details
of things that happened even decades ago.
He writes about so many people, describing vividly about
how they met and interacted and not forgeting to, again,
recognize the positive side of the people he had to put
on the negative side of his continuum. For a man to be
successful at that mangitude, it had to take a lot of
support from people along the way, and Clinton was so
well liked and supported by people around him.

Clever people learn from others, and so did Clinton. He
writes about so many lessons he learned from other people
around him. I particularly like the lessons he learns
from his uncle, aunts and grandparents:

"that no one is perfect but most people are good; that
harsh judgments can make hypocrites of us all; that a lot
of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter
is often the best, and sometimes the only, response to
pain. Perhaps, most important, I learned that everyone
has a story--of dreams and nightmares, hope and
heartache, love and loss, courage and fear,
sacrifice and selfishness."

Clinton confirms my observation, saying:

"All my life I've been interested in other people's
stories. I've wanted to know them, understand them, feel
them. When I grew up and got into politics, I always felt
the main point of my work was to give people a chance to
have better stories."

Clinton himself loves reading about great people before
him and his time. Perhaps, that was one of the factors
that made him a U.S. great man!

Did he really care about the poor or those unfortunate
souls he met on his roads? Well, at least he noticed them.

During his attempt to return as Arkansas Governor after
having been defeated, he campaigned hard and yet didn't
forget to notice something about life on the darker side
while he was trying to get votes from workers on the
morning shift:

"I learn a lot on those dark mornings. I'll never forget
seeing on man drop his wife off. When the door to their
pickup opened, there were three young children sitting
between them. The man told me they had to get the kids up
at a quarter to four every morning. After he took his wife
to work, he dropped the kids off with a babysitter who
took them to school, because he had to be at work by
seven."

His further take?

"It's easy for a politician in this mass-media culture to
reduce electioneering to fund-raisers, rallies,
advertisements, and a debate or two. All that may be
enough for the voters to make an intelligent decision,
but the candidates miss out on a lot, including the
struggles of people who have their hands full just
getting through the day and doing the best they can for
their kids. I had made up my mine that if those folks
gave me another chance, I'd never forget them."

Clinton had the reason not to forget those poor people
who had voted for him, and I believe he later developed
to be a real better person to work willingly for no
material or voting returns so as to help the
impoverished.

]]> General http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=53 Thu, 7 Jul 2005 05:40:04 -0400 http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=52 because I had an impression that he is an arrogant SoB, one who has not lived an intimidated life and one who lacks compassion. Well, there are things I agree with that he said, and there are many with which I disagree. I wrote a very short message to him as follows:

===================================================
Dear Mr. Lou Dobbs:

I have followed your programs on illegal immigrants and gained an impression that you are biased against the unfortunate immigrants, no matter how hard you have tried to hide it. The bias has shown in your face, reflected in your questions and often manifested in the choices of topics and sources in the past coverages.

While I agree that border issues should be better handled and strong measures need to be in place, I do not think you have expressed enough sympathy toward these people that you have held your media power against. You do not think that the U.S. should share any of "its tax money" on these illegal immigrants, but:

1. Had you learned enough about these people's lives to appreciate their hardship and and fate before you shared such knowledge to the U.S. citizens?

2. had you considered the human rights issues carefully enough before pushing your personal agenda? What if you were a sick illegal immigrant, or an illegal immigrant with children? Wouldn't you want to get the basic rights while you serve in this society by working for low dollars?

Mr. Dobbs, a lot of people, before they died and/or after their peaks, often realized that they should have been more kind to people around them. I hope you will realize it earlier and thus be able to use your compassion as a guiding stick while you struggle to walk through the red media carpet gracefully. All great men in the history of mankind wisely used it.

Best wishes,
Bashadost Thinsan]]> General http://thinsan.com/Snea_praxis/index.php?itemid=52 Sat, 18 Jun 2005 05:15:21 -0400