Football Gambling Among Thai Teens

“I don’t join much and spend only 50 baht for only to relax from stress. Some are hunger for huge amount of money and finally they have got big amount of dept.”
“I’ve lost around 30,000 baht and recovered by my parents who had to sell partial rice fields. I join football gambling for fun and it’s difficult for me to quit.”
These sentences are from teenagers express their experiences and pinion toward “Football Gambling” which has been wide spreading among youths.

It’s acceptable that “Football” is the most popular sport and has the largest numbers of players and viewers in the world. It always gets the attention from its viewers when the match begins such English Premiership, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, Spanish Liga and French ligue 1. These matches are being waited for by huge groups of teenagers in everywhere because there are many favorite and famous players of theirs fight for the champions.

As this situation exists, the terrible cycle has begun when football gambling has been introduced in our society. It is a social problem which remains and effects directly to students in every level who tend to pay more attention on this, especially boys and men. It is the cause of studying ignorance. Some has become male sex workers. Some commit crimes. Some have to quit their study and escape because of big dept amount.
Some have to ask for their poor family to help by selling their farmland.

I am not gambling lovers myself but I have experienced those situations from people around me. Most of them are my friends and classmates in university. Then I keep thinking as below questions.
Why the situation is like this?
What’s wrong with Thai male teens nowadays?
What are the causes of football gambling?
Is media the most influence channel to their behaviors?
How to avoid and deal with football gambling?

Come and Share your ideas! PLEASE!!!!

-----> Suwinai

WHAT grade DO YOU GET?

"What faculty do you prefer to study?" I asked my cousin, she is about to entrance to the university next year. "I'm not sure yet...may be, humanity, English major...but I'm not very good in English. However, my English grade is much better that my Math" she replied me. I wondered "why my cousin soo rely on her grade?"

I think, not only my cousin who worry about the grade but many students as well. I must confess that I was one who used to worry about it too. But after I got B from the liturature class, the class that I like the best, I was soo up set with it. But it doesn't stop me to do what I like; reading novel. I later realized that I got B because I did poorly at the exam and my final paper. But the exam and the paper were not everthing about liturature. Then I realized what really important is my attitude toward the subject and my ability not my grade.

I think attitude is important in studying. You have a good attitude about the subject, you try to do the best paper of yours, you get the feedback from a teacher, you know where to improve and your skill will be improved. In contrast, if you don't like it and your paper is just "on time submiting" the teacher's feedback will hardly help you to improve your skill because you don't try to do your best at the first hand.

Your attitude will motivate you to learn and help improving your skill. the grade is something to evaluate what you have study in the class. it's not everthing.

What if I graduated with A from the speaking class but I hardly expressed my opinion and said no word during the company meeting. What is the use of that A?

After my cousin replied my question. I just asked her back "SO, WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO STUDY THE BEST?"

(-"-) BUHM
THIRAYUT

Chatting in Internet

“Hi!”
“What is your name?”
“Where are you from?”
“Are you studying or working?
………….
“Please let me see your face through the camera.”
“Can I have your phone no.?”
“Can we meet and have some thing to eat together?”

These are the examples of sentences to talk to each other through chatting program in internet. Now it is a big hit among Thai teens and it is a chance to get risk to suffer from the bully. It is the chatting with only words (PIRCH) and sometimes they have shown their photos on camera (MSN). Some have made an agreement to show their lively movements (WEB CAM). Moreover, some are going to show themselves in stripped and naked way.


Some teens pay their interest in chatting seriously than studying. The phone calls and appointments are made and it risky to lead to crime. Some are deceived and brought into sexual intercourse earlier. Some are forced to appear in erotic movies and trapped at the end. Some have been taken their photo during chatting and being naked and those are appeared in public because they are well known among teens.


What’s matter in our teen society? What makes them behave like this?
I’ve tried it since last 2 week in MSN and there is nothing works in good way.
Share me your ideas PLEASE!!!!! >>>>>Ech Suwinai

Dekmore and white skin

Dekmore and white skin

“She’s so white! and cute” I’m sure you have heard this many times when studying at schools. A girl who has white skin is usually voted as a star of her department.
“ I want to be white like a Japanese girl,” said a Thai girl from a web site.
“My favorite type of a guy should be tall ,white, and look Chinese,” said a girl from a university.
Why all Thai male and female students really want to be white? Many of them buy and use whitening cream regularly. We can see that many Thai male and female stars in Thai movies have white skins. There are also many TV and magazine advertisements about whitening creams.

Some westerners have doubt why Thais cannot be proud of their skin color which is brown. It is hard to answer whether it comes from history or personal’ s taste.
There’s an assumption that westerners entered Thailand with wealth and modernity so Thais though they were inferior and wanted to be white. This social’s value has continued until the present day. Moreover Thai-Chinese in Thailand are rich and wealthy.Therefore being white can be a symbol of wealth, clean, and high education. However, there’s another idea that white is a favorite of Thais. They think it is easy for white people to dress beautifully. Therefore they prefer white skin.

The medias also play an important role among dekmores!. TV commercial always use westerners and middle-east Asians as presenters. Those people already have white skins! It doesn’t mean that if original Thais can be white like that although they use these products. There are also many imitations of white single from Japan;for example, Golf and Mike.

The medias have strong influence among people. Look at westerners! Many western movies like to portrait pictures of beautiful black Thai girls. It has engraved in minds of westerners that their favorites Thai girls should look like that.

Now here are my questions :

What is the cause of the white skin popularity in Thailand?
If the media promoted brown skin instead of white, could it possibly be the favorite color for Thais?

Potgarn

The Best University

Where is the best university in Thailand? Many people, especially student, would be curious to know that. It has been a controversial issue since last year, Thailand has tried to rank their universities after some organizations in America has announced the top universities ranking (in the world). Even there is no Thai university appearing on its first page.

I watched one TV program last year showing and discussing about ranking universities in Thai. On the one hand, to prioritize universities can lift up a standard and quality of educational system since the ranking would help increasing the competition among universities. However, on the other hand, the questions are what is a standard of the ranking universities? And how could it be measured? from number of graduated student, number of student who gets a job or its curriculum.

I would say many Thai students would entrance to, what they believe “the top universities” and pay attention less to the curriculum. They almost have no idea what they are going to learn about. What they know and believe is the best university can provide them the best knowledge.

It is sure that ranking universities would provoke the competition among universities; to be the best one. The best one here would be measured by some certain standards. Even though many universities have something in common that can be measured by using the same standards but, in fact, none of them are really the same. So, it’s hard to compare that where is the best.

In my opinion, to rank universities is more to set a new standard to people. The best university that we might have is just the best for/by some reasons. It doesn’t mean that the best university always give us the best knowledge…indeed there is no place that can give us the best knowledge…it's us who have to find the best knowledge ourselves.

(-"-)BUHM
THIRAYUT:::

Huay Keaw Hotel

Huay Kaew waterfall is a very famous tourist attraction in the past. I usually went there in summer. I couldn’t forget a stream of fresh water, beautiful sceneries and sweet memories I had spent there with my family. But all of these have already vanished. Huay Kaew waterfall is a well-known place for many students to make love with their boyfriend/girlfriend. Lots of rocky areas are used as a natural bedroom for Chiang Mai youths to have sex. As being a teacher, I always hear much news about sex activities of high school students there. Not only at Huay Kaew waterfall, there are so many natural places along the road up to Doi Suthep being used as small sleazy hotels such as Wang Bua Baan and Pha Nguab. Why do they choose to have sex at these places? I asked my students at my college and they said “They don’t have enough money to go to a hotel. Many people have sexual intercourse at this place. Why can’t we do the same?” I was shock.

Their behavior suggests the fact happening now in Thai society. More and more Thai youths are willing to lose their virginity at the early age. They don’t care about Thai culture and social norm about the idea of maintaining women’s virginity before marriage.



Worse than that, they don’t care about the place where they could have sex at all. When place and time match with their sexual needs, here goes having sex. The value of many natural places in Chiang Mai is degrading by our teens to be as their space to sleep with their mates. What will happen if this event is keeping on? Let’s imagine. The run-down Chiang Mai is coming. Is that’s right?

Wanwisa

School regulations?

Dekmore, nowaday, has so much freedom more than in the past. Sometimes they forget that they are still in school. Many students become T.V.stars, singers, and even appear on the frontpage of daily newspapers. Public exposure on their images could be harm for their status as students.

For example, the girl who showed up herself in the Goldern Supannahong award, what if - she were not a student at the Thammasart University, would the media blame her for an impropered dress? Would the school appeared in public and blame her? What is her right to dress as a woman? Would the sexiness make any stain on the school brand?

Another example, Pemika who is a student at Chulalongkorn University. After failing her case against the family of Dr.Prakitpao, she got so much blame from the media. The school instead of protecting her, infact, many teachers came out saying that she's not a deligent student, she missed many classes and she failed three exams.

What's about the right of the individuals? I think it's OK for students to make some mistakes at school such as getting bad marks or missing the class or failing the exam. That's understandable. Many students have done the same things. Yes, she has been through surgery, and she (might) has sex with Dr.Prakitpao but there is nothing to do with the school. Sometimes, I think people got mix up beteen the individual rights and the institution regulations.

What is your opinion?

post by Narumol Thammapruksa