Hair and Nails

Hair and Nails:

Discipline in Thai Schools

One morning when it was too rainy to gather at the flagpole, all the students and teachers were assembled in the hall for the daily ritual of prayers, national anthem, announcements, and story from the Jataka Tales.  The students were standing in rows as always, younger students to the front of the room, mattayom students toward the back. Gazing around the room, I saw one of the male teachers going down a row of mattayom boys with a pair of ordinary scissors, snipping off their hair like trimming a shrub.  I let out a little gasp and turned to my English teacher colleague. Their hair is too long, he said, smiling. In Thailand we have very strict rules about hair.  The teacher continued down the row of boys, shearing them one by one – six or seven boys in all.  A few minutes later, when all the students were seated on the floor to listen to the day’s story, I saw that one boy had gathered his cut-off hair into a forlorn little heap at his feet. Several boys a few rows away, whose hair was as long as or longer than that of the shorn boys were probably feeling lucky to have been overlooked.

Students in assembly hall waiting for an event to start.

Several days later, during flagpole activities outdoors, I saw that same teacher going down a row of students, boys and girls both, looking at their hands and rapping their fingers with a stick.  Again, I gasped and turned to a fellow teacher:  What did they do?  Their hands are dirty, she said.  – But, but . . . I saw them picking up trash on the school grounds earlier this morning – of course their hands are dirty!  My colleague made no reply.  I remembered that at my one-room country school years ago, the teacher went up and down the rows of desks each morning for “health check,” to see if our hands, fingernails, neck, and ears were clean, and checking to see if we had a clean handkerchief (no Kleenex in those days). I don’t think we got our hands smacked if we didn’t pass muster but am not sure – maybe readers from my generation can remember?

In the interest of fairness, let me emphasize that I’ve seen little corporal punishment at my school – no paddling, no beatings, no violent grabbing or pushing. Besides the two episodes described above, I’ve seen a few instances of boys getting their heads thumped by a teacher for scuffling during flagpole time, and sometimes a teacher who is patrolling rows of students will carry a long slender stick to prod students who are acting up.  I’m not defending these actions, which certainly fall under the definition of corporal punishment, but I don’t think they rise to the level of physical abuse.

Is corporal punishment legal in Thailand?  In a word, no.  Thailand is a signatory to the 2003 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Detailed information on what is covered by the act is posted on the Peace Corps Thailand wiki. Here is an excerpt from a summary published for the information of Peace Corps Volunteers who may have been told by teachers or school administrators that parents gave permission to administer corporal punishment to their children:

Teacher training, corporal punishment school-parent "contracts"
Volunteers may have heard about or seen “contracts” between schools and parents in which parents agree the teachers can administer corporal punishment. These contracts are invalid because they contradict the Child Protection Act 2003. Unfortunately, law enforcement has little concern to implement the law. The Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights has tried to influence the Ministry of Education to introduce positive discipline methods to teachers, while the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security should also educate parents on this. Setting classroom rules with participation of pupils should be the primary management technique. Assets for children: Resource lists, addressing school improvement, and planning after-school programs and day programs during semester breaks should be considered as ways to help discipline pupils. 

While I was writing this piece, a friend in the US sent me a link to an article published earlier this year (IHT May 29, 2013) that tells about a student-initiated group called the Thailand Educational Revolution Alliance.  I recommend it for readers who want to learn more; here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/world/asia/thai-students-find-government-ally-in-push-to-relax-school-regimentation.html?pagewanted=all

The same friend also sent me the link below, which will take you to a short NYT video about the student-led alliance and examples of what the Thai students are protesting.

http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/05/30/world/asia/100000002253734/resisting-conformity-in-thailand-.html?ref=thailand

Since the above articles were published in May, a new Thai Minister of Education has taken office, Mr. Chaturon Chaisang.  He has said he will uphold the policies of his predecessor, Mr. Phongthep Thepkanjana. It remains to be seen how that will be carried out in practice.