Wai Kru Day

With Ajahn Kannika, another English teacher on my right

Last Thursday, all classes were cancelled in the morning because of "Wan Wai Kru" which is a day of respect for all teachers. It is a significant day celebrated in most Thai schools where students show respect and appreciation for their teachers by offering them flowers and incense. All the teachers including myself were led to sit on chairs arranged at the school park and students one by one came up to offer us flowers. We would then give them a blessing and wish them well on their studies and their future.

I think that this day is as important for students as the teachers. I felt very appreciated and loved, and I was on cloud nine all day, but I think it is also good for the students, because they were given the opportunity to humble themselves and reflect on how important teachers are in their lives. It was also good for them to partake in this to realize that they are not at the center of the world, that teachers are not there to serve them, but to be part of their lives forever.

Students offering flowers and paying their respect

I was talking to the other foreign English teachers in my department and we all wished something like this existed in America. If American kids could just be a tad bit more humble and realize that not everything exists for their sole benefit, perhaps they can grow up to be better people. Modernization and materialism has eroded respect for teachers in America and these two things are also starting to encroach on Thailand. My host teachers tell me that students are less respectful of teachers these days and their numbers seem to increase each year. Students that are especially smart or talented tend to regard teachers as tools rather than as friends and mentors.

To end on a high note, the tradition of Wai Kru exists and remains strong in Thailand. It is my hope that Thai students continue to remain respectful to and appreciate their teachers always. Wherever I meet my students, they generally would say hello and wai me. I wai them back to recognize them and respect them too. It is a two way relationship showing that we will work and grow together.

Some of the teachers in the foreign languages department