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Reading Journal By Kotchanipha Khanunthong Id number 6031006001This journal is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor English reading and writing 1 course of Liberal Arts in English Program, Mae Fah Luang University First semester 2018

Prathom 1 entrance exams not good for children, poll findsChuleeporn AramnetThe Nation September 09, 2018 07:30The requirements for getting enrolled into Prathom 1 is having a negative impact on children,their parents and even schools, a recent Suan Dusit Poll has found.Chanasuek Nichanon, vice president of Research and Education at Suan Dusit University, said parentsend up spending more than Bt100,000 per year per child on tuition fees to prepare them for these exams.Getting children to spend long hours preparing for these exams affects them physically, emotionally andsocially, and also hampers their intellectual development, he said.For instance, getting young children to study during their afternoon naptime or playtime only causes themstress. Getting them to learn by rote prevents proper brain development, and they also lose out on familybonding time.He said kindergartens have also been focusing too much on academic content instead of providinglearning experiences in line with early-childhood education policies. This results in primary school studentswho are not willing to learn and are unable to apply lessons to real life because their only purpose forstudying has been to pass the Prathom 1 entrance exam, he added.According to the poll, 51.77 per cent of the parents had no problem putting their children through entranceexams, while 48.23 per cent said otherwise. Of the polled kindergarten teachers, 42 per cent backed theexam and 58 per cent opposed it. However, all academics polled were completely against entrance exams.The most cited reasons for opposing exams were: an entrance exam cannot assess a child’s potential; it isnot in line with early childhood education principles and child development; it causes stress and pressureon young children; and it deprives them from appropriate development.The reasons for supporting exams were: children got a chance to develop their academic skills; the examhelps schools put children with similar abilities together; and the exam ensures all children get equalopportunities.Respondents also suggested that Prathom 1 admission should be based on age-appropriate developmentand performance (22.7 per cent); accepting children zone-wise (22.27 per cent); drawing names (17.5 percent); interviewing the child (16.39 per cent); testing them (10.9 per cent); interviewing parents (5.97 percent); and a combination of methods (4.27 per cent).Chanasuek said parents wanted their children to enrol in private schools (56 per cent); schools under thesupervision of universities (19 per cent); schools run by the Office of Basic Education Commission (13 percent); and schools under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (12 per cent).Factors parents base their choice of school are: teachers and learning system (37 per cent); convenience(24 per cent); reputation (18 per cent); facilities (7 per cent); tuition fees (7 per cent); classes until uppersecondary level (6 per cent); and a sibling or relative already studying there (1 per cent).The number of hours per week children spend preparing for entrance exams: two hours (25 per cent),more than four hours (22 per cent), three hours (20 per cent), four hours (19 per cent) and 1 hour (14 percent). Page 2 of 5

Preparations for entrance exams in kindergarten include class activity adjustment (44 per cent); after-classtutoring sessions (25 per cent); tutoring during weekends and holidays (16 per cent); tutoring during lunchbreak (10 per cent).Paediatrician Dr Suriyadev Tripati, a former director of Mahidol University’s National Children and FamilyDevelopment Institute, said entrance exams affect children’s emotions, especially in families with twochildren, one of whom manages to get into a famous school and the other doesn’t.Nowadays, children also don’t know how to play, because they spend their playtime attending tutoringsessions, he said. Also, parents don’t know how to talk to their children – they fail to ask what their childrenwant, and keep talking about what they want.“The development of good and able persons should put emphasis on virtue and ethics as well as life skills.The creation of good children should come before the creation of academically excellent children – theentrance exam system is quite the opposite of that,” he added.http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30353992 Page 3 of 5

Week 2 Title: Prathom 1 entrance exams not good for children, poll finds. Author: Chuleeporn Aramnet Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30353992 Summary Suan Dusit Poll has found the negative impacts on children that they must to test forentrancing Prathom 1. Suan Dusit Poll has surveyed several topics such as the opinions fromparent and kindergarten teachers, admission method, the factors parents base their choice ofschool, the number of hours per week children spends preparing for entrance exams, thepreparations for entrance exams in kindergarten. The result is all academics polled wereagainst entrance exams. On the other hand, There are reasons for supporting and opposingexam. The reasons for supporting exams including developing their academic skills, helpingschools put children with similar abilities together and ensuring all children get the equalopportunities. The reasons for opposing exams including the entrancing exam cannot assessa child’s potential because it is not in line with early childhood education principles and childdevelopment. It causes stress and pressure on children and it deprives them of properdevelopment. In addition, to get children for spending a long time and preparing for exams canaffect them physically, emotionally and socially, and also hampers their intellectualdevelopment. Lastly, Children should take time for family and their life instead of preparing forgetting enrolled into Prathom 1. The creation of academically excellent children should comeafter the creation of good children. My reaction/reflection: I think this news is easy to understand because in the story is the problem that occurs inour society and the vocabularies in the news is not too difficult for understanding. In this news,I think the children in Thailand should take time for living with family and spending time theirchildhood worthily. In addition, they should have a naptime or playtime and learn from childhoodeducation policies. On the other hand, the core problem is not the children, but it is theeducation system of Thailand. Changing for getting enrolled in primary school should thinkabout the impact and they should think about learning from experiences in a real environmentinstead of focusing on academic content to pass the entrance exam. We should emphasize onvirtue and ethics as well as life skills because the important thing is good children should comebefore the excellent children. Page 4 of 5

New words learned New Words Definitions1. Deprive (V.) Prevent (a person or place) from having or using something.2. Hamper (V.) The city was deprived of its water supplies3. Intellectual (Adj.) Hinder or impede the movement or progress of. Their work is hampered by lack of funds. Relating to the intellect. Children need intellectual stimulation.4. Enroll (V.) Officially register as a member of an institution or a student on a course. He enrolled in drama school.5. Convenience (N.) The state of being able to proceed with6. Reputation (N.) something without difficulty. Services should be run to suit the convenience of customers, not of staff. The beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. His reputation was tarnished by allegations of bribery. Page 5 of 5