FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

How to counter prejudice against Asians at international schools

How to counter prejudice against Asians at international schools

Re: “What (some) Thai international schools are doing right”, Opinion & Analysis, July 4.

I think Jared Kuruzovich urgently needs the services of an Asian teacher who could teach him to write concisely. His grandiloquent essay was a big yawn. 
He says that international schools in Thailand represent an incredibly diverse range of philosophies, curricula, approaches and students. He missed out on an important point: diversity of teachers.  He also claims his school has teachers from over 25 countries. It would have been interesting if he had given the full list.  
However, my letter had made an immediate and positive impact (“Thai international schools shouldn’t shun non-native English teachers”, June 22). In a welcome change, the Chiang Rai International School did not insist on a native-English speaker in their latest advert for the position of a maths and science teacher. Let’s hope more schools follow that lead.
Though we are in 2018, Asians – especially those from the east – still face prejudice and racist slurs. My children are often called “macaques” by their peers and, despite their talent, are placed in lower class grades by native-English-speaking maths teachers. I learned that other Asian children are also routinely told they are not good enough in maths and science. I feel that employing a diversity of teachers – including from Asian, Scandinavian and African backgrounds – would help solve the issue of “white superiority”, bullying and hazing in classrooms. 
Kaito Yamamoto

nationthailand