The first child had little desire to live away from home. She had a fondness for weaving. She was aware of the happiness that gained from working with fabric at home. Photographs and travel magazines were the second child’s favorites. To interact with others, he had to pick up new abilities like buying supplies, posting his work online, and planning excursions to generate cash for equipment purchases.
As compared to the first two, the third child had a greater range of interests. Business piqued his curiosity. He wondered why the residents of the town had to work outside as contract laborers. Why not generate cash for the community, businesses, and careers? How will the community be involved in his development if he does? It dawned on him that the three kids were now working together. The network of learning centers began to receive revenue from it as it developed into a business. Additionally, the three kids can now use it as a source of scholarships throughout their time at Maejo University studying digital media.
Education that is built on three key learning bases— community cultural ways (Community-based Learning), solving problems in real-world scenarios (Problem-based Learning), and discovering potential via personal projects (Project-based Learning)—is ultimately what will make the futures of the three bright. After that, these kids can select initiatives that suit their interests until they can grow into neighborhood enterprises. According to Teacher Nid, the community philosophers’ own thoughts served as the inspiration for these three different forms of education.
“Children don’t need to study much, the old man said. We only know the water from the front well and the water from the back well since we are tribal children. Their wisdom is the water from the rear pond. The wisdom that has kept them alive up to this point. Modern knowledge puts well water in front. Future wisdom will know how to stay up to date with emerging trends and make necessary adjustments.
“General education often fails to make the connection and application between technology and wisdom. However, our learning center uses Problem-based Learning, which combines learning through actual circumstances and challenges. Any issue that arises is something we bring up for study. It integrates the two bodies of knowledge”, according to Teacher Nid.
However, although there is a curriculum that helps children on the hills who are far from central education learn in a way that is suitable for their lives, this curriculum is still limited in some areas. It still cannot reach every mountain child, even though Jo Malo Lue La was created to solve the community’s lack of schools.
Even if the other community is nearby, sending your kids to school takes a lengthy commute. It is unable to move back and forth. The children’s way of life is isolated from the community, and they are forced to spend the night. Problems emerge when they are shut off because the knowledge they have acquired is barely applicable in their community. When they return to the community, they lack the patience and skills necessary to live like their grandparents. Therefore, they are unable to live with dignity. They are limited to working as hired laborers when they are outside.
When education does not help, many children are thrown out of the education system in large numbers. Information from the report of the National Education Account of Thailand (NEA) research project for fiscal year 2008-2019 prepared by the Office of the Research and Consulting Center of Thammasat University under the support of Equitable Education Research Institute (EEFI).
It illustrates how many groups of hill children reside in provinces with a high percentage of informal students (3–17 years old, or up to 9% of the total school-age population) but which have lower overall basic education budgets per capita than many other provinces with smaller percentages of children living outside the system. Furthermore, there is a long-standing overlap between the education problem and other issues.
This causes some kids to not only be turned away from school but also to be unable to survive in a society that rejects the underprivileged.
Most people these days assume that those who live on mountains lead stress-free, contented lives, but that isn’t the reality. Because they are unable to handle the swift changes, a large number of kids, teenagers, and even adults on the mountain commit suicide. They are unaware of their proper actions and locations. As such, the paramount concern is to impart adequate and relevant education relevant to his field.
Formal education is of no use these days. Just do your coursework and go. Whoever cannot go on will lose. It is not an efficient tool for comprehending life or oneself. What strategies can they employ to adapt to these changes and ensure the survival of their communities, families, and themselves?
Teacher Nid stated that Jo Malo Lue La and similar educational facilities in other regions ought to be funded by the government as schools and recognized by law as being on par with regular schools.
“Because of our school-like status, we are a legally recognized educational institution with the ability to collect state support. Although we can provide degrees to children so they can pursue higher education at all levels and in universities, the current legal environment does not support this. As a result, the procedure took longer than expected, and starting in 2012, we were not given a budget. The numerous learning centers that have emerged are dependent on one another. Since we must assist the youngsters and are unable to collect costs from the parents of the students, we must also make the educational process profitable.”
The worst thing in a society with such high levels of inequality is failing to recognize how serious the issue is. The government’s 5,000 million baht budgetary support for impoverished children reflects this effort to lessen inequity. Considering the whole budget, it is still regarded as extremely little. At one point, Teacher Nid remarked that she wasn’t sure how long she could sustain this learning center. We need to adapt in order for this school on the mountain to stay open and for the mountain children’s opportunities to continue living in their current state of being, especially given the state of the world today which calls for significant changes.
Reference:
- Data from “The Pakakayo way to online stores” stories from the community by the Equitable Education Fund (EEF) from the National Education Account of Thailand (NEA) research project report for fiscal year 2008-2019, prepared by the Office of the Research and Consulting Center of Thammasat University.
