Thammasat or Mohasat?
Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, is named using the Thai words ‘thamma’ and ’sat’. Like many words in the Thai language, they derive from their Pali and Sanskrit ancestors. ‘Thamma’, like the Pali ‘dhamma’ and Sanskrit ‘dharma’, roughly translates as ‘truth’, ‘doctrine of truth’, or ‘way of truth’. In Sanskrit, ‘Sat’ refers to ‘existence’ or ‘being’, as in ‘hari om tat sat’ (thou art the inexpressible absolute reality) and ’satchitananda’ (existence-awareness-bliss).
One would think that any educational institution naming itself after such profound, meaningful terms would be committed to seeing that its students are on the path toward achieving these mental and spiritual qualities. Thus, I am shocked to read (and hear) about the way certain officials at Thammasat University are treating AJ Hoge and his students. Although they might have their own reasons for firing AJ, their harrassment of the students, as AJ describes it, is nothing short of immoral.
You should have seen how happy our students here in Kyoto were to have been getting to know their Thai counterparts in AJ’s classroom. They read their blogs, exchanged messages, and even recorded video greetings. They were just starting to get warmed up to one another and were going to carry out collaborative webpublishing projects, possibly in the form of podcasts. For Thammasat to use scare tactics, to make threats, and to interrogate students is wrong. And to prevent students from continuing to interact with mine and to discourage them from exercising their right to free speech is a sick abuse of power.
Having spent close to a year of my life in Thailand, I can say with passion that I love its culture and its people. I have also benefitted greatly on a personal level from the teachings of Thai people on the subjects of Vipassana, Buddhism, and Traditional Thai Massage. I thought that Thammasat was really cool place, too, especially for hiring a dynamic educator like AJ who cares deeply about his students and their learning. To read about the way certain people at Thammasat are treating AJ and his students makes me wonder whether the university is has lost its ’sati’ (awareness, mindfulness) and has allowed ‘moha’ (delusion, ignorance) to infiltrate its collective consciousness.
I’m left confused and disappointed about these events as I understand them. I feel sorry for the Thai students as well. Please, would someone at the BAS tell me I’m wrong? Assure me that your students are indeed encouraged to use the English language they are learning to communicate openly with foreign people, to share their ideas cross-culturally, and to engage in meaningful conversation with others using internet technology?
EFL Geek: ESL & EFL in Korea on 25 Oct 2005 at 4:09 pm
Read these blog entries
Aaron Campbell, Marco Polo, and JH (whom I found via Marco and am adding to my blogroll) have all written very interesting and thoughtful peices that any teacher should read.