Focusing on coexistence via understanding of others
"You can watch this and you can cry for it. But don't hate those who did it," Ticha na Nakorn told her children at the Kanchanaphisek Remand Home, whose eyes were brimming with tears while watching the CentralWorld shopping mall go down in flames.
The heartwrenching event must not be kept away from children, but it should be used to educate them on how to help the country avoid repeating such a tragedy, she said.
It is necessary to teach how to respect others for peaceful coexistence, she said. Like some other educational institutions, the Kanchanaphisek Remand Home for delinquents aged 1018 resorted to the incidents as a new educational tool.
Soon after the horrific photos were released, the facility put up a board showing pictures of recent scenes of burnt tyres, bleeding protesters, soldiers on duty and smoke all over Bangkok.
"These can be great educational tools. This tragedy should not be swept under the carpet, as that could cultivate deeper hatred. The pictures are intended to make children here feel about the losses, which all must share responsibility for," she said.
"We do not point the finger at anyone. We don't say who killed whom or who set the fire. There's no point blaming others. Everyone in the country has brought us to this point one way or another. Hatred must be stopped. All of us, children included, must be understanding and considerate of others."
Ticha was convinced that some teenagers had joined the red shirts in rioting because they felt neglected for so long and were internally urged to challenge the authoritative power.
The original red shirts could also feel frustrated, since their leaders surrendered to end the sevenweek demonstration as troops closed in on them. Still, the buildings on fire and the bleeding victims were the losses of all.
"We show these pictures in a bid to teach children here that they must learn about coexistence. Humans must think, care and understand their fellow humans. If they can do that, the overall atmosphere will be good. For example, when a student is depressed, his or her classmates should lend a hand, not criticise. That classroom then will be a pleasant classroom," Ticha said.
At Lamplaimat Pattana School in Buri Ram, teachers have discussed this political turbulence and related violent incidents every week. The school's headmaster Vichien Chaibang said from this week on, the frequency would be raised in class to twice a week.
He said the teachers were briefed in advance that they must present information from various perspectives without stirring up students' emotions. A briefing is necessary so that teachers would not create more confusion.
In the classroom, students are encouraged to answer as many questions as possible. What they would do if they were red shirts, what they would do if they owned the properties being burnt down, what they would do if they were a member of the government or the soldiers. Through the questions, they would learn by themselves the different dimensions of the incidents.
"Teachers can play an important role. They need to look at an event from different angles. Then, we bring this to class, to educate the children. Don't ignore the problem. The teachers won't say this is right or this is wrong, but our aim is to make them understand the incidents appropriately so that they can think about how they can defuse such a problem, if one arises in the future," Vichien said.
This headmaster said all schools should address the current political crisis in the classroom to stop such calamities from recurring.
Sompong Jitradub Angkhasuwathin, who teaches education at Chulalongkorn University, said most educational institutions were still too naïve. They now seemed to lag behind the system adopted by the political schools set up by the red shirts, or the United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).
They had no knowledge of political developments and have taken no role. While the UDD has established hundreds of schools in various provinces to promote its ideology and gather supporters, most other teachers did not know how to equip children also with the right knowledge on their duty and rights under the democratic system. This can be done through the councils of children, students and teenagers.
While urging the government to quickly address social inequalities to avoid another protest, Sompong said all schools should encourage their students to discuss the current political crisis and work up a project about democracy for local communities. Teachers must correctly educate them about democracy, not take the lead in fuelling divisiveness.
"Education can shape a person's attitudes. So, schools must take a more proactive role," he said.