If our neighbours can make great strides in improving education, why can't we?
Waiting for Superman", a documentary about an attempt to reform the education system in the US, has shifted public attention to the urgent need to improve the quality of American public schools. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, who made "An Inconvenient Truth", the new documentary is designed to raise awareness about education in the same way that "An Inconvenient Truth" brought environmental issues to a huge worldwide audience.
The main subject in the documentary is Geoffrey Canada, who was instrumental in improving education in Harlem, where the public schools were known to be of low quality. The title of the film comes from a Canada quote: "One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me Superman did not exist."
Born and raised in the South Bronx, Canada added that his mother at first thought he was crying because she had told him something akin to the fact that Santa Claus was not real. However, he said, "I was crying because no one was coming with enough power to save us."
Now president and CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone in New York, Canada has inspired Americans with his organisation whose goal is to increase high school and college graduation rates among students in the neglected neighbourhood of the city. The documentary has sparked a much wider debate about the American education system. TV network NBC devoted a lot of airtime to the issue during its campaign for "Education Week".
Americans suddenly feel the need to improve their education system after Newsweek in August ranked the US down at number 11 in a list of countries with the best education. Many American columnists cried foul over the issue, and the documentary has only helped widen the debate.
Michelle Rhee, the chancellor of the Washington DC, public school system, is praised in the movie as a reformer who has managed to improve the overall quality of education in the district by closing down low-quality schools and firing bad teachers. But she has faced strong resistance from the teachers' union. Rhee's chief supporter, Mayor Adrian M Fenty, recently lost the Democratic primary election partly because of the union's anger at Rhee's tough approach.
US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has spent billions of dollars under the "Race to the Top" project to reward states with the best proven education records. But he has also faced criticism over whether the project will leave students in poor performing states with low quality schools.
Nonetheless, the public's enthusiasm for the documentary shows a shifting of concern to an issue that really matters. And it has drawn attention and resources to fix the problems. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg subsequently announced during Oprah Winfrey's talk show last week that he will donate US$100 million (about Bt3 billion) to improve public schools in Newark, New Jersey. All of a sudden it seems imperative - and smart, from a public-relations point of view - to help improve the quality of education.
This is great news for American students, but it is regrettable for their Thai counterparts that adults here have yet to pay attention to the nation's failing school system. This is even more important in light of the fact that our regional neighbours have progressed quickly over the past few years in improving their education systems. While Finland is ranked number one by Newsweek in its survey, three Asian nations made it into the top 10: South Korea was ranked second, Singapore fourth, and Japan fifth. We should not be surprised if Vietnam soon surpasses Thailand in Newsweek's ranking.
This is not to suggest that Thailand has to follow the others' models for improving their schools. There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for different groups of children who will grow up and learn in different environments. Nonetheless, what is most urgent is official recognition of the fact that the standard of Thai schools needs considerable improvement. We also need a similar campaign to raise public awareness of the problems.
Instead, what we have seen so far is the continuing mismanagement of education policy, while massive budgets are spent ineffectively or the money finds its way into corrupt pockets. Incompetent officials shamelessly abuse our children's rights by denying them access to good education, in spite of readily available resources.
Education reform requires honest political leadership from those with good intentions toward the next generation. Thailand's leaders need to develop a vision for education and show the courage to make tough decisions and shake up the system. Is this too much for our children to ask for?
Unfortunately, Thai children are still desperately waiting for their superman to save the day.
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