teacher appreciation

Strange Thai thing number 1 was at school this week as we had Wai Kru, or teacher appreciation day. The ceremony begins with all of the kids lining up in a very orderly fashion on the floor of our gymnasium/gathering hall. They do this without any direction from teachers and they are quite good at making this quasi military formation because its the first thing done every morning at the beginning of school. Meanwhile, all of us teachers are sitting up on the stage in two long rows, with foreign (called falang, because apparently the French were the first exposure to white people Thais had, they pronounced French as falang, and the name stuck for a few hundred years) teachers in the back row and many of the Thai teachers in their best military dress.

There was some nice music and a few speaches, then the procession began, which means that every student walks by (another aside here; when students pass a teacher, it is customary for them to stoop a little and bow their heads as a sign of respect. This was done a lot more in the past, but is still considered polite behavior) and then kneels in front of the teachers for a one to one sign of respect. They give you a gift of flowers and maybe some incense, bow their head down and await words of wisdom or encouragement. I don't know the students well yet, but I am vaguely aware of their English ability and the fact that any advice I could give must be very simple and easy to understand. I tell them good luck, work hard, and study what makes them happy. Good advice, but its very likely that they don't understand what I mean. They politely wait for me to stop talking, then get up and move on, probably wishing that they had been luckier and gotten to kneel in front of someone who spoke their language. Because all of the hundreds of students bring flowers, it is expected that we won't keep all of them and helper students are waiting nearby to relieve us of the unwanted gifts. These students remain on their knees to show even more respect.

I find it difficult to describe how strange the scenario is, but I was raised in the US where we don't have these customs. Most people consider it a good thing that Thais are so respectful, but I'm not convinced. I am aware that some American students would more happily punch a teacher in the face than physically lower themselves in the presence of educators, but with that disrespect comes the desire to question authority and think for oneself. Kids are better off learning early to be an individual and respect adults after it's been earned. Of course, a lot of it comes down to the cultural differences regarding what is considered rude and polite, but I'm tired of that excuse. Maybe it's the science teacher in me that wants to make sure my kids question accepted wisdom and authority. Actually, a major milestone was achieved yesterday because I successfully taught one of my students to say "I don't understand" as a response to my question. That statement lets me know what is and is not getting through to them, and it's the first step towards finding something interesting to learn. Realizing you don't understand something is the first part of the scientific method, but it's the least talked about in classes.