What other people think of us ?

Views of some parents

“When my daughter Need first started her kindergarten, I sensed that Need was not quite happy to go to school. When she finished the first term, we had a chance to visit Thawsi School. I was highly impressed with the school’s policy from the beginning which clearly states that it is a Buddhist school and will rely on the Buddha’s teachings as the main guidelines for the development of a wholesome education.     I am confident that this form of education will ensure a good and happy life for my child. Need happened to have a chance to join Thawsi School in a special course during a vacation. After that she told me she did not want to return to the old school. It seemed that we both had the same idea.

During the past seven years of Need’s education at Thawsi School, I have seen how totally committed Khroo Onn, the Head teacher, is to leading the entire school community, the students, parents and teachers to acquire the intelligent life skills that Buddhism has to offer.     Dhamma practice which is an integrated part of education at Thawsi helps to still the mind and to prepare anybody to face the ups and downs in life with mindfulness.

   As a parent I have had frequent opportunities to listen to Dhamma talks and to attend retreats with Ajahn Jayasaro, Thawsi’s Spiritual Advisor and other teachers. I have experienced, at first hand, the determination of the teachers, their loving kindness, compassion, and friendliness that they have toward the children despite the demands on their time and attention. One can feel the warm friendship radiating from other parents who share similar goals in sending our children here. Our family, particularly Need, is very happy because of all the good things made possible and accessible to all of us by Thawsi School.”
Extract of an interview given by Chularatna Indramaha (mother of Need, primary school grade five)

   “I had not heard of a “Buddhist School” before until the day I came to visit Thawsi School. I was impressed with the policy declaration and the school personnel who placed the highest priority on the development of the children based on Buddha’s three-fold training of virtuous conduct, mind and wisdom development.

In the four years that I have been a part of this community, Thawsi School not only trains the children and enables them to lead a happy and wholesome life, the School also plays an important role in shaping the intellectual and emotional outlook of the parents and convince the parents to have the faith and see the true value of Buddhism.

Extract of an interview given by Ratchanee Vasuvat (mother of C, primary school grade one)

“Although life as a child lasts a few short years, it does provide an important foundation for all the subsequent periods in life from adolescence onward. At Thawsi School, apart from the standard set of body of knowledge that one would expect from an ordinary school, the children are specifically trained to have virtuous moral qualities.

Parents and teachers are no exceptions. This is a community of people who practice loving kindness and compassion. People are ready to be helpful to others. My kid has had a happy childhood. We have shared a part of our life which has been filled with high quality. I believe that this will provide a certain degree of immunity for my kid in the future years.”
Extract of an interview given by Kunthala Siri-aksorn (mother of Punpan, primary school grade five)

“I have two children twelve years apart. The elder son cautioned me to be quite particular in choosing a school for his young sister. He recalled his very unhappy school days where teachers were rather unfriendly and used mostly harsh language with little effort to try to understand the students. He wanted his sister to have a happier school life than he did. So that prompted me to start a search for a school that could provide that. I was introduced to Thawsi School at the suggestion of a parent who has a child here. On my first visit I could experience the warm and welcoming atmosphere. I was particularly interested in the Buddhist approach to education which was something I had not considered before, but was, at the same time, something I felt had been looking for without realizing it.

Another convincing factor which I could feel and were impressed with was the community of teachers. I believe that apart from having a good policy, an ideal school must have teachers with good personality, teachers who parents can have complete trust to take good care of their children in this second home.”

“Our way of life has changed since my daughter entered Thawsi. When we reach the school, it feels like entering our own home. I think this is important for our heart and mind. I believe that the physical surrounding has an important effect on learning. If the children are encouraged to have a calm and peaceful mind, learning can take place more easily. My daughter is now in kindergarten grade three, and although she did cry a little in the beginning during the transition period, now she is happy at school and is in a good mood most of the time. If I tell her that getting up late means no school for the day, then she hurries up to make sure she does not miss school.

Young children here are encouraged to be self-reliant, to be able to help themselves and also to be public-spirited. They are taught to be generous and to be helpful to others. Particularly important is that they are taught to be kind and loving to each other. The school integrates Dhamma practice in their everyday life through their daily activities in the classroom, in their interactions with others outside and the relationship with the parents at home. The school actively urges parents to participate in school activities. This has further strengthened the positive ties between parents and the school.”
Extract of an interview given by Arunthip Montraivate (mother of Parn, kindergarten grade three).

When asked why Chatchai Lertviwatkul chose to send his child to Thawsi School, he said,

“ The school does not only teach necessary academic skills, but it also emphasizes the development of the mind and the heart of students. It plays a unique role in encouraging parents to get to know and start practicing Buddhism for everyday life. This is important in the present day context.     It is not enough to be a smart person. One has to be a morally upright person and carefully choose to live in a safe and sound environment”

View of Chatchai Lertviwatkul, father of Justin, grade 3, and Bambam, grade 1

Why Thawsi School?

According to Nat’s mother (grade 1), choosing a school for her son meant looking for one which not only fulfills the intellectual and physical development needs, but also one which carefully cultivates the heart. To her this means the school must train the students to have the right view of themselves, of the family, all the others, and the society at large.
“I believe that the school must utilize an integrated and holistic approach After doing some research, I wondered why we had to always follow the western model as we have the Buddhist model in our society. Some friends told me about Thawsi school. So I gave it a try.
It has been five years and Thawsi school continues to live up to my expectations. Nat has made quite good progress. He has demonstrated a fair degree of responsibility to himself, and others, together with a good amount of self discipline.
To me what is quite amazing is that Thawsi school is a community of kallayanamitta (good friends) for parents, teachers, and all the children. This is what is actually happening and can be experienced.
One only has to try for oneself. After all, the taste of the pudding is in the eating, isn’t it?”
View of mother of Nat (grade 1), name withheld.

“I have chosen to send all my three children (kindergarten, grade 1 and grade 3) to Thawsi school for the following reasons:
1 The school fully subscribes to the principles of Buddhism for everybody, i.e., students, parents, teachers and all other staff.
2 The school supports the use of the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy as bestowed on the Thai population by His Majesty the King of Thailand. The school places special emphasis on caring for the natural resources and the environment which are closely related to the people’s way of life.
3 The teaching method enables the students to learn new processes through real practice by oneself together with the teachers, and to continue at home with the parents.
4 Class size is small by design.
5 Parents’ participation is strongly encouraged.
6 Community of parents are those of kallayanamitta or good friends in Buddhist sense.

My three children are generally quite kind-hearted, not aggressive, understanding, and able to observe themselves and others. They are trained to be skillful in distinguishing between rights and wrongs. They have high moral qualities, have a proper sense of gratitude to parents. On top of this, they possess a fair degree of these desirable qualities:
Dare to think;
Dare to express themselves;
Possessing a fair degree of self-confidence;
Strong intent to learn;
Flexible and resilient;
Systematic thinking;
Responsible for oneself and others;
Care for the natural environment”
Anonymous mother of three Thawsi students