How a part of some culture can ruin a country

Okay, I admit that the title seems to be a little bit too much, but that is what I really want to express to you.

Yesterday, I have joined the USAID COMET Instructor Training Pilot which I attended as a student for those pilots. After finish the event, the organizer wanted to hear feedback from all participants. There was one instructor stood up and commented on how Thai students would not go to participate in classes and this new teaching approach would be hard to achieve its highest benefits.

I do agree with her. But why Thai students hate to participate in a class? This kept me thinking and flashing myself back to me in the past. My answer is quite acceptable and valid enough: seniority.

Seniority culture in Thailand plays very important role in our society. For you who don’t know about this, I will try to explain as simple as I can. It is like autocracy of the social world. Youngers questioning on olders’ actions is simply not allowed, child-parent, employee-employer, younger student-older student, and, of course, student to teacher. If you intentionally or accidentally do that, you might be labeled as a rude and unrespectful person. And it goes beyond that. Olders are considered as a role model for youngers. They are moral and respectful. I guess that most of the people here in Thailand knows about sex from somewhere else not from their own parents. It is because we don’t want to question about some dirty stuffs (as we have been told since childhood life) to those moral olders. Another example, you are more suitable to this higher position, but you can’t get that position because there is someone older than you!

Does this culture really beneficial, I cannot see any, but clearly it is also a major problem to lack Thailand in term of development. When this seniority system falls to the wrong hands, it deceases thought processes and creativity of people.

“Teacher, I think those numbers on the whiteboard are incorrect.” - “How dare you question?!”

“May I discuss more on how Sukhothai state is related to present Thailand?” - “I have told you! Why don’t you listen to what I have been teaching!”

“I want to be an artist.” - “No! Artists don’t get paid. You have to be a doctor for you own sake.”

And now, what are you expecting us when you ask who has any question? Even it is in higher education now and instructors are more open to question, but it is our habits to just silently sit there.

Frankly, there is a welcoming activity in almost every universities in Thailand. Senior students yell and forcefully keep students in a faculty for few hours a day. Across those days long, they “allow” you to question, to leave, or to just not do what they tell you. But, saying “you are allowed to” doesn’t mean you can do it. This activity, as they claims, is to provide students SOTUS properties, Seniority-Order-Tradition-Unity-Spirit. There are some instructors supervise those activities, so it is authorised to be hold.

Kids need to think and be curious or else we will have adults who always just follow some orders. Kids need to be liberated about their thoughts. Kids need to be educated in better environment than this one if you want them to be more creative. When people cannot think or develop anything new, how can a country build on that?

How can we change this nonsense culture? I don’t know. But I think it is one of the major threats to our national development just like a small gear failure can ruin the big whole machine.