Flagpole Tales

Flagpole Tales

Gathering at the flagpole is a daily event at our school and, presumably, at most if not all Thai schools.  At the start of our summer term, in mid-May, morning flagpole activities began with student council members leading the singing of the Thai national anthem while raising the flag, prayers, the singing of several other songs, including one of the ASEAN songs, announcements, and speeches, either by one of the teachers or, on more weighty matters, by the principal or assistant principal. The students line up in rows according to their homeroom, pratom (=primary) students to the front, mattayom (=junior high and high school) students behind them. Teachers patrol the ranks to keep order.

In July, our principal and all the teachers attended a five-day seminar on Buddhist values. Classes were suspended during this time.  The following week, a new flagpole protocol was introduced:  national anthem, flag-raising, and prayers remained, but the other songs were gone. The principal was present most mornings to read a tale from the Nithan Chadok [Jataka tales], a compendium of tales about the life of the Buddha.  The link below will take you to an image of an early 19^th-century illuminated manuscript page from the Jataka Tales:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AIlluminated_manuscript_of_Jataka_Tales_and_the_Story_of_Phra_Malai's_Visit_to_Heaven_and_Hell%2C_Thailand%2C_Bangkok_style%2C_1813%2C_ink%2C_color_and_gold_on_paper%2C_HAA.JPG

At the end of each day’s tale, students are asked to sit quietly for about three minutes. Many of them close their eyes and appear to be meditating.  After another prayer and maybe announcements, depending on the day, the students are dismissed to their classrooms.

But that’s not all.  Students are encouraged to write a summary of the tale, including its moral lesson, and turn it in to their homeroom teacher. Teachers rate the summaries on a three-point scale and report the results to the principal’s office.  The next morning, students whose summaries were rated 1, 2, or 3 (a maximum of three students per homeroom) are called to the podium to receive an envelope containing – money!  I’m not sure if all students receive the same amount, but the envelopes I’ve seen contained 40 baht – not a large sum (30 baht = about $1 US), but surely not insignificant to students.  Some mornings, I’ve counted 20 or more students coming forward to receive those envelopes.

Despite the possibility of cash for their pocket, relatively few students write the summaries. Most who do write them read the tale online to be sure they get it right – it can be hard to hear during flagpole, and it’s easy to forget details. The students are also asked to tell their parents the story at home in the evening. As far as I know, there is no monitoring of how often that happens.

From my perspective, this program definitely has its pros and cons. On the one hand, it’s great for the students to hear these tales, which are part of their Buddhist traditions and heritage.  About 95% of Thais are Buddhists.  Thailand has no separation of church and state comparable to that in the United States. The Thai Sangha organization advocates the teaching of Buddhism in the schools:

In order to provide Buddhist education in the schools, the Thai Sangha has persuaded the Ministry of Education to mandate the teaching of Buddhism to all students from grade 1-12. Local school districts, however, were left to formulate their own curriculum.

http://www.dhammathai.org/e/thailand/contemperary.php

So, our principal has chosen this co-curricular method of infusing Buddhist values into the curriculum. Writing the summaries is an opportunity to think about and process the content, beyond simply hearing the story.  Another positive aspect of the program is the “moment of silence,” which quiets the students and gives them a few minutes to meditate if they wish. Though some may have been scuffling or inattentive during the tale, all are calm and seemingly focused, a better way to start the day than simply heaving a sigh of relief that flagpole time is over. 

A questionable aspect of the program, in my opinion, is the handing out of monetary rewards for writing summaries, which may make this activity seem more important than homework for other classes. The relatively low number of students who actually write summaries might appear to negate this concern, however. Finally, as a teacher at the school, I wonder why there is money for this program but not for other deserving projects.  But an answer to that question quickly suggests itself, in general terms at least:  no doubt there was a funding source available for projects along these lines.  In Thailand as elsewhere, foundations, religious organizations, government agencies, and private donors fund projects that accord with their values.