December 5, 2000
Father knows best Alternative educator Supot Saengchan has found a novel way to teach children how to tap into the wisdom of their fathers: Taking the time to ask Story By Chompoo Trakullertsathien Pictures by SOMKID CHAIJITVANIT Until recently, the Baan Nam Hua village in Songkhla province was not much different than most other rural communities in Thailand. Money pressures had broken down traditional ties, families had grown apart, cultural roots were constantly being eroded and children were left feeling rootless and at a loss. Supot Saengchan, an alternative educator, was so saddened by the disintegration of his own community that he decided to do something about it. This year he began a school project encouraging Baan Nam Hua children to learn about their community's way of life and its values by the simple process of talking to their fathers. Despite initial obstacles, his "Father's Journey Project", Sen Thang Khong Phor, succeeded in bringing fathers and children in his village closer together while strengthening the children's pride in their local culture. "Most of the fathers in Baan Nam Hua work on rubber plantations," Supot said. "They work very hard to send their kids to school and they have high hopes for them." This hard work, he said, prevents them from maintaining the tradition of fathers being the transmitters of family values, traditions and local wisdom to the younger generation. "In the old days, fathers played an important role in shaping their children's values and in continuing community culture. They shared their life stories with their children, and their tales offered a wide range of information on local culture-from toys and cultural pastimes to work and community values. These stories also simultaneously taught the younger generation lessons in morality." This traditional socialisation process was valuable because it strengthened father-child bonds, he said. "Fathers were role models, a source of pride. Close ties also helped to ensure that fathers were committed to nurturing their children with love and care." The learning-from-fathers project is part of Supot's ethics class. As he sees it, the restoration of morals and family ties is crucial, not only for his village but the country as a whole. Development policies, which have often fostered an obsession with materialism, greed and immorality, are at the heart of the current crisis in Thai society, he said. "In the search for money, many people have embraced materialism and neglected the ancestral wisdom of simplicity, humility and sharing. They see no value in the insights of the elderly and the moral codes which, in the past, helped keep communities together." Supot says he does not believe that morality should be taught only in the classroom. "My concept involves a new approach that doesn't stop with an individual but expands to include the child's family and community." But why the emphasis on fathers? "The father is the creator and giver. He shapes a child's life and way of thinking. He is the perfect medium for moral instruction because he truly loves the child and is concerned about the child's behaviour." Traditionally, the father has been an authoritative figure. As this could make many students hesitant about approaching their fathers, Supot decided to conduct an experiment first. He approached his own 73-year-old father, living next door, and asked him many things about his past life, including his relatives, his work, his role as a family leader and as a member of the community. As well, he inquired about the culture and the traditions of his father's bygone era. He discovered that his father was more than happy to share his memories. "I learned many new things about my father," he said, adding that it made him respect his father all the more. Supot cited an anecdote about his father which reflected the ingenuity and compassion typical of rural villagers before the rise of consumerism. One night, during the harvest season, a villager took rice from his father's paddy field. His father tracked him down and caught up with him just as they were reaching the village. His father shouted loud enough for others to hear: "Couldn't remember the way to my house, eh? Thanks for helping me to carry the rice. I've already prepared a bottle of liquor for you as a gift which you can pick up at my brother's." Supot said, "His approach was meritorious, not shaming the thief while enabling both of them to maintain a relationship. It demonstrated our ancestor's wisdom in settling conflicts." Supot also learned from his father about community rules which governed relations in the old days. For example, villagers could not collect palm fruits from any palm tree if palm leaves had been laid at its base. "The leaves were a mark of ownership," Supot's father said. "If you still wanted to collect palm fruits at that tree, you had to place a new leaf on top of the old one as a way to ask for permission. That practice was widely accepted." Different communities decided on different regulations that suited them, Supot added, but the regulations worked only when communal ties were strong and social sanctions were feared. Many of those regulations and practices disappeared in the wake of destructive development policies, which left villagers to go their separate ways. In the beginning, the learning-from-fathers project was introduced to students in all classes, and topics included family trees, village history and natural resources, community rules and the father's role in family and community life. Using question-and-answer techniques, students were required to write an essay and then read it to classmates in order to complete the class assignment. To instil analytical thinking, students participated in class discussions on what they learned from each essay that was presented. "I thought my students would have as much fun as I did, but I was wrong. Many students found the assignment too difficult. Many of the fathers did not understand what I was up to. Some fathers said they had no time to answer their kids' questions. Some even said I was crazy." The feedback was more positive when Supot circulated open letters to parents explaining the objective of his project. His next step was to design different course levels according to the age of the students. For example, older students were required to draw detailed family charts but younger students needed only to write down the names of close relatives. "Before, I never paid attention to their names," said nine-year-old Manat Yeetoh, a Prathom 3 pupil, talking about his relatives. "Now I know them and how to spell their names properly." Different topics yielded different results. Students learned how to create old-style toys and to compare the benefits of "old" toys versus modern toys. On the topic of the natural environment, the children learned to compare the use of natural resources in the old days with current use. They also discussed environmental problems and were urged to suggest possible solutions. "My dad told me that villagers in the old days had to respect their natural environment. Exploitation could result in environmental deterioration. I learned that I have to protect my surroundings," said 11-year-old Sai-nguern Songtham, a Prathom 5 student. Eight-year-old Nurunhuda Chob-ngarm learned the value of being economical. "My father taught me how to make piggy banks. I saved a lot of money with them. Now I can make different types of piggy banks," she said proudly. Supot explained that children absorb values like self-reliance, diligence, patience, perseverance and curiosity when their fathers teach them how to make traditional toys. Unlike the conventional rote-learning method, the learning-from-fathers programme is part of educational reform efforts that foster students' connectedness with their communities and boost their analytical thinking skills. "I prefer studying this way, with a teacher guiding me while I learn by myself," said 12-year-old Dareth Thongpravit, a Prathom 6 student. Supat Danyai, 35, father of one of the students, admitted he was, at first, rather annoyed by the programme. "I work from dawn till dusk and I was too tired to answer all those questions. But I later realised how valuable the programme was. In the past, I rarely saw my son and did not talk to him much. Now we are closer." Supot's project is not quite finished. He plans to compile all the students' essays and to publish a book called Sen Tang Khong Poh (Father's Journeys) to be distributed to local schools for ethics classes. "If communities return to basic values, they will be better protected from the social malaise that has come with rapid change," he said. A model teacher in the alternative education arena, Supot stresses that instead of instilling conformity, education should foster a child's self-confidence, willingness to learn new things and problem-solving abilities. "The true value of education is to teach children about themselves, and to learn how to be self-reliant, and helpful to others." He added: "Information is everywhere, not just in classrooms and textbooks." For those who are travelling the world in search of information, Supot offers a reminder that we should not forget one of its prime sources: Dad. u"We care" is a fortnightly series honouring people who believe in giving. 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