ASSIGNMENT 2: ARTICLE ANALYSIS

[Madison Springer]

“Thailand tops the region for progress on sustainability” – https://thaiembdc.org/2023/01/26/thailand-tops-the-region-for-progress-on-sustainability/

Thailand ranks first in Southeast Asia and 44th globally in progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The country’s commitment to sustainability is evident through its achievements in poverty eradication and advancements in quality education, clean water, industry innovation, responsible consumption, and production. Thai corporations are also actively pursuing sustainable business practices, contributing to the nation’s high ranking.

For someone like me, who is relocating to Thailand, this ranking underscores the country’s dedication to sustainable development and environmental responsibility. It suggests a favorable environment for those interested in eco-friendly living and sustainable business opportunities. Expats can engage with local sustainability initiatives, explore eco-conscious lifestyle choices, and potentially contribute to ongoing efforts, aligning with Thailand’s commitment to building a better, more sustainable world.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Madison Springer.

[Madison Springer]

Hi Phoebe! I agree with your perspective on measuring happiness in Thailand. The country’s collectivist culture means factors like life satisfaction and community engagement are often more important than just wealth. As teachers, our focus on encouraging education aligns well with improving overall well-being. Your openness to learning from the local culture shows respect, and understanding happiness as a collective effort is key. Your efforts as a teacher will make a positive impact, contributing to the well-being of your students and the community.

[Catherine Burnett]

Replying to James Tovey’s post:
I was excited to learn from your article summary that provincial governors are drafting plans to boost skilled workers in selected industries since the article I read referenced the importance of policy and increased education spending to improve teacher effectiveness to prepare students for skilled labor in industries that will increase the economic strength of Thailand.

[Catherine Burnett]

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/b1455172-7798-4b3e-a60a-9de7ecdbf4a0/content
Fixing the Foundation: Teachers and Basic Education in East Asia and Pacific
© 2023 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank

Thailand is situated within one of the fastest growing regions in the world. However, approximately 25% of Thai 10-year-olds suffer learning poverty, compared to just 3-4% in Japan, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea. Learning poverty is defined as whether a 10-year-old can read and understand age-appropriate reading material and, unfortunately, rates of it increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting behind their peers in more developed countries could limit children in Thailand from excelling in skills required for high-paying jobs in advanced manufacturing and other industries that could propel the country to high-income status.

Since learning is cumulative, foundational learning – basic literacy and numeracy – is critical for the development of more advanced skills, and research shows that the quality of teaching is the largest factor in student learning. This report calls for teacher-focused interventions in public schools, where most students access learning in the region. Strengthening teaching for improved learning requires action in three areas, all of which must be supported by public policy: (1) attracting and selecting more effective teachers; (2) Enhancing teachers’ capacity to teach (i.e., strengthening their subject knowledge and pedagogical skills and improving the tools they use via education technologies); (3) Encouraging greater teacher effort through incentives. Additionally, since Thailand spends less than 4% of GDP on education, compared to more than 6% by other middle-income countries in the region, policy change to support increased education spending in Thailand is necessary.

As I think about learning how to teach English to Thai students, it is both humbling and daunting to read this article that clearly links teaching to improving a country’s economic strength.

[Jahlyn King]

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/aug/27/i-couldnt-just-ignore-them-one-mans-mission-to-save-the-worlds-street-dogs

There are thousands of street dogs on Koh Samui, in Thailand the article states, itself home strays to an eye watering 8 million stray dogs! This number itself is mind boggling to me. This article has opened me eyes to the fact that its not about opening a can of dog food for these poor animals but working with local vets and discussing the issues that underpin this crisis. One example, that was interesting was funding the sterilisation of the dogs to curtail the stray population, saving them from hardship and suffering, and paying for their vaccinations. Coming from the UK which is known a huge nation of dog lovers I was particularly saddened to learn attitude to dogs on the island being indifferent to these helpless animals that are capable of such love, loyalty and companionship.
This article helps me focus on trying to identify the root cause of this problem. Maybe as a teacher of young minds, I can try and bring my love for animals into my discussion with the Thai children so hopefully by the time they are adults they will look at animals in and around their village or city as ‘friends’ that they have not met rather than pesky vermin or not seeing them at all. Just look how far we have come with educating tourists to not go to elephant camps where they ride on elephants in favour of more kinder sanctuaries that place the elephants, health and comfort far above paying tourists. Over time ideologies can be changed. I sincerely hope the dogs are in for the same kindness and more humane treatment one day too.

[Jahlyn King]

I was interested to learn this from Miss Gomez’s chosen article, which shines an important light on the struggles and inequalities within the Thai education system and the reasons why this may be so. I am also going out to teach in Bangkok and had given me much food for thought.
How I must keep my creativity and, motivation in a system that may be restricted due to finding or old style teaching methods for example.
I will find cost effective ways of bring fun, enjoyment to teaching to keep the students engaged and focused.
I feel more enlightened to maybe the more unforseen issues that I may face rather than just the usual ones everyone likes to mention, for example language barrier, adapting to a life in a different country and adjusting to cultural norms. This article shows that the education system, as with many other systems has it’s own inherent difficulties, obstacles and challenge to face even before stepping foot into the actual classroom. Thank you.

[Nicholas Puentes]

Article: https://gchumanrights.org/preparedness-children/article-detail/dissolving-schools-in-thailand-where-are-childrens-best-interests.html

The article I read talked about the issue of having many schools in Thailand shut down. The article did a good job of presenting both sides of the story. On one hand, it costs a lot of money to have one school open with minimal students. This is the issue that the small schools in rural areas are having. On the other hand, the article mentions how it would affect all the children in rural areas because they will need to travel further distances in order to get to school. The article continues to list more negative impacts of closing down schools. Although there is no common solution presented, it is clear that the author presents a strong point in wanting schools in rural areas to remain open. Their main supporting point is that education for children is a human right and is required to be accessible to all children according to Article 54 of the national Constitution.
The reason I think that this article is relevant to me is because I will be teaching in Thailand and this will affect where I choose to teach. Essentially as a teacher job security is one of the most important factors in choosing a teaching job. From a humanitarian perspective, it is easy to say that closing the schools is negative, however, from an economic perspective I would say it is understandable but a solution/compromise is needed. For example, if one school closes in one rural area then transportation to the nearest school should be provided by the Thai government.

[Nicholas Puentes]

Replying to Madison Springer:
Hi Madison, I enjoyed reading your reply and summary of the article you read. I also find sustainability very important and I agree that Thailand has become much more appealing to me due to its advancements in sustainability. it is intriguing to see how much Thailand has improved in regard to poverty eradication. I will definitely be connecting with some locals about sustainability in Thailand.

[Masilo Makwela]

Article Heading: “Thailand plans $37 Billion Smart City To Support Industrial Hub

In this article, there is a focus on Thailand’s smart city as opposed to the conventional tourism market. There are plans to build a smart city 160 kilometres southeast of Bangkok, in Huai Yai sub district of the Chonburi province and at an estimate budget of $ 37 Billion. The primary focus of this smart city will be robotics, automotive, logistics and healthcare. This project will include business centres with a focus on commercial purposes, including regional corporate headquarters, a financial centre, areas dedicated to precision medicine, international research and development (R&D), clean energy and 5G technology.

Additionally, the residential section of the new city aims to accommodate up to 350 000 people by the year 2032 and create up to 200 000 direct jobs, mainly for those who will be employed in the industrial sector. This project was not only designed to create employment and boost the country’s economy but to also meet the shortfall experienced during the pandemic. This initiative will form part of the Eastern Economic Corridor development project, with the primary aims being to promote economic growth and modernizing the country’s industries keeping up with its neighbouring countries. The Eastern Economic Corridor is made up of three provinces which are vital for manufacturing and further industrializing Thailand.

Reference:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-11/thailand-plans-37-billion-smart-city-to-support-industrial-hub

[Masilo Makwela]

Very detailed and eye opening. It gives us a good view and further a perspective of the tapestry of the well being of a nation, further showing us why it’s important to benchmark with other OCED nations into giving Thailand it’s own uniqueness.

This was an advanced insight of what we could perhaps see unravel, as we live as curious foreigners but eager in the approach of what we could also experience in the Thai cultural and economic domain.

[Ian Happy]

🙂

[Ben White]

Really interesting article to read! I feel as if you have summarised it really well too! It is all well and good changing from diesel to EV vehicles but the economic implications for still a very much developing country in a lot of places are quite clearly significant as you have pointed out. As technology advances further, hopefully the switch away from diesel will become a more affordable option, thus creating a more positive environmental impact in the short-medium future. I also agree that if travellers can be more considerate of their transportation choices, the aforementioned environmental impact may be reduced significantly given that Thailand receives high levels of tourism annually.

[Ben White]

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/11/thailands-srettha-pledges-urgent-action-to-tackle-sick-economy

Thailand’s Srettha pledges urgent action to tackle ‘sick economy’

This article is rather concerning given that one of the headlines reads, “New prime minister promises to hand out cash, reduce energy prices and boost tourism to stimulate sluggish economy.” Handing out cash to different sectors does not seem like a viable method when aiming to Thailand’s economic issues, this may not guarantee an improvement. This may cause adverse effects such as inflationary problems or money not being spent in the needed areas, e.g education or the military. Considering the figure that he is aiming to hand out (560 billion baht), there are certainly more sustainable methods such as the alternate options he is also aiming to implement, namely: boosting international trade, supporting start-up businesses and investing more in transport infrastructure to name a few. Although these may be more long-term targets, these options would be more widely regarded by the Thai community as more justifiable given that the returns would be more tangible, rather than simply injecting cash straight into business’ back pockets.
Moving forwards, it is quite clear that Srettha is trying to implement change when it comes to Thailand’s economy. Some of the long-term targets will obviously impact Thailand as a collective very positively. However, given that a vast number of Thai civilians are not satisfied with the newly elected political party, Srettha may need to strategise further on how he approaches the public with other socio-economic issues, such as current military disagreements over conscription and also education. Through this, Srettha may find implementation of his short and long term goals with more ease, given the support he would thus receive. This would hopefully in turn contribute to Thailand gaining one step closer to improving their ‘sick economy.’

[Isobel Brown]

http://www.huahinfan.com/page9/top-10-attractions.html – “The Hua Hin Railway Station”

This article provides an insight into the significance and history surrounding the Hua Hin railway station.

Firstly, the article focuses on the birth and the history of Hua Hin’s railway station. The station was built during the reign of King Rama VI. This is highly significant as it helps reflect the current state of Hua Hin and Thailand currently. For example, during his reign, King Rama VI was tasked with modernising Thailand’s infrastructure, travel and promoting overall tourism. This helped to reflect the state of development that Thailand was in during this time and portrays the railway station as a symbol of Thailand’s growth and modernization and its direct link to the monarchy which is highly valued in Thai culture.
The railway station was also used a vital base during the Second World War, as the Japanese used the railway station in Hua Hin to transport goods and supplies to other Countries. This reflects Hua Hins railway station as an important landmark that has supported Thailand and its allies throughout many historical events.
As someone planning to live in Thailand it is extremely important that I understand the history and cultural importance of Thailand’s landmarks. I also hold a bachelor’s degree in history, which reflects my interest in history, which is especially relevant here as I have never studied Thai history. This provides me with a better understanding of the Country’s struggles and development over time.

The second part of this article focus’ on Hua Hin railway station as a tourism and transportation hub. The station is used frequently by both locals and tourists connecting the city of Hua Hin to major destinations such as Bangkok. Surrounding the station itself are a range of restaurants and hotels, directly appealing to the tourism of Hua Hin. This helps to make the railway station as inclusive to tourists as much as locals. This promotes tourism in Hua Hin and helps to strive towards a promotion of tourism as King Rama VI intended with the initial creation of the railway itself. The railway station at Hua Hin is said to be the most beautiful in Thailand. As a tourist myself that aims to live in Thailand, it is highly welcoming to see that infrastructures have been put in place to aid the growth of tourism and tourists. The creation of Hua Hin railway also directly aids me as someone that will be spending some time in Hua Hin as it has very well-connected transport links to various areas around Thailand which makes it easier for me to navigate and travel around the country

[Phoebe Snowe]

https://www.expatarrivals.com/asia-pacific/thailand/culture-shock-thailand

This article about culture shock in Thailand is especially interesting to me, as I’ve never moved countries and was part of the naive few who thought “that’ll never happen to me!”, this article details the dos and donts in Thailand and cultural norms and i was shocked to see how different things are! Culture shocked!

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