Postbag
Re: ''20,000 police, troops outnumber Pitak Siam protesters'', (BP, Nov 25).
The government showed its new policy against protest organisers and rallygoers. For me, it is acceptable, because any rally disturbs normal social activities, more or less. Therefore, I hope the government makes this policy a standard practice and bans all kinds of rallies regardless of their purposes and colours. If the government fails to implement this new policy, we can accuse you people of double standards and call you liars.
R H SUGA
Farang are guests here
JC Wilcox opened an important can of worms on Saturday with his letter in PostBag urging foreign people in Thailand to attend the recent volatile demonstration.
I applaud the response in Sunday's PostBag by Thai Ridgeback which reminded foreigners that Thai laws could put their welcome here at risk.
There is one more point of view that I believe should be expressed. I am not your typical expat retiree because I worked for a US federal government agency overseas and I received some diplomatic training and experience. Based on that I strongly urge foreign guests _ whether they are here for a year or for 20 years _ to remember they are guests in Thailand. Just as a house guest knows not to interfere with their hosts' personal relationships, we as guests in Thailand should behave similarly.
I enjoy commenting on traffic enforcement, cleanliness of the beaches, lines at the airport, and the like, but politics, government finances and things like that are off-limits for me.
This is a good policy for all foreigners residing in any country. I believe this to be the more sensitive, responsible and professional way to behave while in any country other than your own.
JOHN KANE
Clash hurts high season
Once again Thailand is all over the foreign press for the wrong reasons. Perhaps the TAT might want to put out a press release telling everyone the 2012 tourist season is cancelled.
If our paranoid government weren't so busy being a proxy, they wouldn't need to fear a democracy protest. They ended up using a sledgehammer to deal with a nail, with all this phoney intelligence and coup rumours. And as a result the protesters, denied access to the site, clashed with police. Just another farcical event in this great charade that our democracy has become.
JONO WILLIAMS
Writing skills neglected
I had an opportunity to teach courses at a university in Thailand last year.
I applied teaching methods such as homework assignments, similar to those given to my class in the US.
I noticed that all Thai college students have trouble writing a paper without plagiarising other people's work. I realised that writing has never been an important component in Thailand's education curriculum.
In contrast, writing is considered a key element to promoting creativity and providing effective communications in the US education curriculum. It is also a means to measure the understanding of the subjects. Most American students in my class have some fundamental skill and basic understanding of how to write a research paper.
Writing skill is a very crucial component required for higher education and a successful career. I did experience this consequence first hand when I started my graduate studies in the US many years ago. I had to work very hard on my writing skills in order to complete assignments.
Most Thai students do not know how to write a proper article/essay/research paper, nor do they understand the meaning of plagiarism. There are only few guides on the subjects and no serious punishment to students who plagiarise others' work.
I hope officials or educators who are responsible for Thailand's educational improvement start to realise this missing element in the the nation's curriculum.
WERAYUTH CHAROENRUENGKIT
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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/11/27/postbag-why-not-ban-all-rallies/
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