Proposal to postpone school opening

I have heard within the past 24 hours, some form of media learning is being offered to pupils starting Monday 18th May. I think this maybe how:

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Ivor the Engine said:
What about those without internet &/or PC. That will make them feel even more inferior/poor.
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My wife shares your concerns. She said it is fine for those people like ourselves who have personal computers for each child, Internet & Wi-Fi, smartphones, and digital TV's. However, she felt that the poorer children in the villages without Internet and digital TV's would be severely disadvantaged. She also said the government intended to provide 'Android Black Boxes' to those children that lack the bare essentials. That said, how many village children in particular lack even a basic Internet connection in their homes?

Further to the above, my wife was advised a couple of days ago to go to our daughter's school this afternoon (16th May), to collect all my daughter's books for Junior Year 6. No information has yet been provided for our eldest daughter who will be starting Secondary Year 3 this coming term/year. It seems things are beginning to be rolled out for the children's education this coming year. Whether they return to school on 1st July or not has not yet been confirmed. Neither has advice been given with regards to the payment of school fees. It seems these are not being collected at this time. Please note, both my daughters are schooled in Surin. What is happening elsewhere in the province/country is unknown to me. (P.S. For @Coffee's benefit, and before he asks, the information in this second paragraph has been provided by my youngest daughter's teacher through a social media app called 'LINE'. This app is used extensively to relay information between teachers and parents.)
 
My daughter, who is enrolled in a Bangkok school, has for the past 2 weeks been doing online schooling (MOR 5) every day, morning and afternoon, whilst my son who is enrolled with a bangkok University did online work, until recently when the Uni closed for a break. Seems to work, but as Nomad says, only for those with the means to do home tuition.
 
My step-daughter, currently at home here from Chulalongkorn Uni, Bangkok, is at this moment sitting a Uni exam in her bedroom using her iPad. There have been several such tests and exams during the past two weeks. She is studying Communication Arts, so this is a true test of the uni's ability to provide the resource!

Her 15 years-old brother at Sirindhorn Senior High is being told the same information provided by Nomad, with online classes (of some sort) due to begin on Monday. He expects to participate using our smart TV, but details are still rather sketchy.
 
Surprise, surprise. I have just found out this evening that my eldest daughter goes back to school on Monday morning, 1st June 2020. When questioned when she knew about this, I was told that she had only found out about it a day earlier on Friday. She will be starting Year 3 at Sirindhorn Secondary School, Surin. The lessons will begin at 08.30 and go through till 16.00 each day, Monday through Friday. However, no students will attend the school and all teaching will be done online by their class teachers to the students in their homes. She has received an email with full details on how to log on. I await with interest to see how this is going to be implemented.

As yet, I have no further news about the schooling of my youngest daughter, Year 6 Junior School.
 
nomad97 said:
Surprise, surprise. I have just found out this evening that my eldest daughter goes back to school on Monday morning, 1st June 2020. When questioned when she knew about this, I was told that she had only found out about it a day earlier on Friday. She will be starting Year 3 at Sirindhorn Secondary School, Surin. The lessons will begin at 08.30 and go through till 16.00 each day, Monday through Friday. However, no students will attend the school and all teaching will be done online by their class teachers to the students in their homes. She has received an email with full details on how to log on. I await with interest to see how this is going to be implemented.

As yet, I have no further news about the schooling of my youngest daughter, Year 6 Junior School.
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I hope she has a day off on Wednesday. Queens birthday apparently.
 
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Ivor the Engine said:
I bet the teachers had about as much notice/guidance re: HOW to teach online.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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:D:D:D

I have absolutely no idea how they are going to do this. My daughter says the email is from her new teacher. I did question her about the medium that was to be used, the PC, or the smartphone? I also asked about the listening device she would use earbuds or headphones? She only has wireless Bluetooth hearing aids with a duration of less than 3 hours between charges. That's a lot less than the proposed 8-hour day school day. I expect her IT Manager (me) will be busy on Monday morning installing a jury rig to get her up and running. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
My wife is a teacher in at a small school in the Rattanaburi area. She is going around the villages to help the children. She told me that families are too poor to own a computor.
 
Deerculler said:
My wife is a teacher in at a small school in the Rattanaburi area. She is going around the villages to help the children. She told me that families are too poor to own a computor.
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Ivor the Engine said:
That is exactly my worry, DC. It will make them feel even more poor and underprivileged.
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My wife told me that anyone who needed an Android Little Black Box would be provided with one by the Government at no cost. I regret I have no details of the scheme as my children are not without a PC and smartphone each. As a family, we share Ivor's concern that online learning will make the poor feel poorer and more underprivileged. Moreover, if they do not already have a computer then they probably do not have an Internet connection either. Therefore, the provision of a free Android Little Black Box would be of little use without an ISP and access to the Internet.

I have to ask why the Government has suddenly rolled out an online learning programme to kick off the new school year (for some)? The original plan was to restart the new school year on 1st July. It seems a lot of effort and cost for just one month. Perhaps they know something we do not. Perhaps the 1st July start date is under review and may be delayed further.
 
News article from The Nation.

The government is considering allowing schools in Covid-19 infection-free areas to open in July, and the Public Health Ministry has issued 6 guidelines to schools nationwide on how to guard against the spread of virus among students and faculty once they reopen. The Department of Health’s director-general made the announcement yesterday.

“The first point that must be emphasised is preventing the spread of Covid-19 and other germs by setting up screening checkpoints at all entrances to check for fever and other symptoms. Furthermore, schools must stick to strict rules on wearing face masks and washing hands frequently, as well as providing adequate alcohol gel or handwashing stations.”

She says that classes should have no more than 20-25 students in order to maintain a distance of at least 1 metre between students.

“This will pose a challenge for schools as normally each classroom has around 40 students. Schools may employ an alternate study schedule where half of the students study online at home while the other half attend the school, and then switch at a suitable interval.”

“The second point is to prepare lessons and learning materials that are suitable for both classroom and online learning, to ensure that no student’s education is hindered during the Covid-19 crisis. The third point is to give underprivileged and disabled children the same learning opportunities as other students by providing suitable protection equipment or specialised tools to facilitate their education both at home and in school.”

The fourth point is to protect the health and welfare of children from families who have fallen ill with or are under investigation for the virus. Measures must be taken to ensure that affected students are not excluded from their peer groups.

The fifth point is to provide infrastructure to prevent the spread of the virus in schools, including additional handwashing sinks, partitions in cafeterias, and rearrangement of classrooms, hallways and communal areas to maintain social distancing.

“The sixth point that school should focus on is administration of their budgets, as these measures will increase the financial burden on the school and possibly on parents. Schools must make sure they are financially sound before reopening so they can ensure uninterrupted operation until the end of the semester.”

SOURCE: Nation Thailand

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30388740?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=internal_referral

Comment.

Point 1. That's a joke - 20 - 25 per class. The average class school at my daughter's junior school is close to 50.

Point 2. Special help for the underprivileged children.

Point 3. There is not a 3rd point.

Point 4. ???? If a child is quarantined with Covid-19 how can he not be excluded from his peer group?

Point 5. That's another joke. Every last centimeter of space is already fully occupied. Don't see how they can possibly provide social distancing between the children.

Point 6. And how are they supposed to get/receive additional funding?
 
This morning my daughter received another email with further instructions. The programme they will be using is called Google Meet (learn something new every day). Her computer did not have a camera/microphone nor a sound system either. Fortunately, I have both and connected them to her PC. For those parents that do not, get down to your local computer shop and buy some today. I ran tests on Google Meet and all appears to be working. Everything is now set for tomorrow morning, bar last-minute changes of direction. I hope all Thai fathers with students at school have a degree in computer literacy and systems integration. Without it, there are going to be fun and games tomorrow morning.

;;horror;;;;horror;;;;horror;;
 
There was a 3rd point Nomad........hidden away......:)...The third point is to give underprivileged and disabled children the same learning opportunities as other students by providing suitable protection equipment or specialised tools to facilitate their education both at home and in school.”
 
Prakhonchai Nick said:
There was a 3rd point Nomad........hidden away......:)...The third point is to give underprivileged and disabled children the same learning opportunities as other students by providing suitable protection equipment or specialised tools to facilitate their education both at home and in school.”
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Maybe something was lost in the translation from Thai to Engrish. I find all of this rather disturbing. Considering that we have been couped up, sitting on our collective arses for nearly 3 months, this latest guidance is given with less than 24 hours before my daughter recommences her full-time education. And this is an important year for both my daughters; Year 6 Pratom and Year 3 Matthayom. Both face critical entrance exams at the end of this school year for progression to their next level of education.
 
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