Teaching Civil Responsibilities

(20/03/2013)

The Minister of Education, Mr. Phongthep Thepkanjana, chaired the opening of a training workshop, "Techniques for Learning and Teaching Civil Responsibilities to Practicum" held by the Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC) on 15 March 2013. There were 150 lecturers and educators from Thai universities taking part in the workshop.

The Minister of Education said that Thailand had 60 million people, so rules should be set up for peaceful living and national advancement. Civil responsibilities are important issues throughout the world because some countries are now facing violent situations, often with fatal consequences. By teaching civil responsibility, many countries could solve those problems because their people would understand and realize that living with others peacefully depends on respecting the rights of others and knowing and accepting one's own responsibilities.

At present, people get news and information from various channels. Some are correct and accurate while others are not. Therefore, careful consideration is crucial when receiving news from the media.

The teaching of civil responsibilities is supposed to give students opportunities to practice and experiment by themselves, from kindergarten to higher education levels, until they become familiar and comfortable with it. It is based on two main principles: honesty and open-mindedness. These come from a famous statement, "Even though I don't agree with what you say, I'm willing to give my life so that you have the right to say it." In truly democratic societies, people can listen to others and consider whether or not they are right or wrong. If they disagree with these opinions, they are able to express their own ideas and expect others to listen to them in return.

The Minister of Education said that teaching civil responsibilities was not only to be conducted in class but that teachers should encourage their students to listen to others and think carefully and analytically away from school. Sometimes, students may think differently from their teachers and teachers should allow them to express their opinions because what students think may also be correct.

The training workshop, "Techniques for Learning and Teaching Civil Responsibilities to Practicum" aimed to disseminate knowledge and experiment with teaching and learning civil responsibilities at university levels. It also served as a model for Thai universities to apply to classroom teaching and learning situations. The event participants visited classrooms teaching civil and social responsibilities at Thammasat University, Rangsit Campus.