Life is just a blink.

12.03.2020

[Learning is a way to reach our utmost potentials as I believe people are capable, we have dreams and aspirations.]

I am fortunate to be surrounded by smart people, many people don’t have that opportunity so I try to learn the most out of it. For me, learning is a process to do or be something, not just academic stuff, but about general life as well. Learning is to see the surroundings and adapt to new circumstances. It's a way to reach our utmost potentials as I believe people are capable, we have dreams and aspirations. Learning is a vehicle to reach our goals. I have multiple things to do so I try to apply this philosophy all the time.

It's interesting to say that my life is empty. Technically I don’t have any drive. I am satisfied with the income that I make. I don't have to take care of any community, but it's because of the curiosity that keeps me moving. It's ok that people are lazy if they are satisfied with it. There are many things that drive you, it can be your insecurity, your fear, or your suffering, etc.

Life is just a blink. I used to judge and define my own values based on external factors. It is totally wrong. The importance is what you want to be, not what the society wants you to become. We are mostly formulated by the society and many times that it has been messed up.

Part of the mess is rooted in our educational system. The structure of universities operating as a whole has limited Ajarns (Professors) and students to learn and explore. On this system level, we can't reach the point we learn the best. In the Thai educational system, Ajarns need to publish research, this means their attention might be not 100% towards teaching.

If it were not School of Global Studies (SGS), I probably would not have joined university education. School is a tiny part of life but it's quite important. Our faculty celebrates diversity and welcome unique individuals. It all goes down to our original objective. If we want to produce disciplined kids, they can just put them through a screen. If not, we will find another way to adapt to diverse needs.

I learn the worst in the classroom. The collectiveness of the class makes us move into different directions. I like professors to give students freedom the chance to ask, synthesize what they learn which would be a valuable teaching method. I learn best when I know what I am doing when I set a clear objective of learning. Thus I hate being under fixed solutions where we are not allowed to come up with new things. The learning method shouldn't be a vertical side but be integrated into a horizontal style and build up upon to have a holistic way of learning. This is what SGS is trying to better itself.

Most of the professors at our school are open but they should be culturally sensitive to understand the mentality of students. Not everyone could speak as loudly as me. [laugh] It's part of Asian culture. Professors should also learn from each other's mindset where they can learn from each other's methods. The adaptability is important. It is like what if students don’t want to learn this or what if we already know that. Some students are not sure what they know, what they have, what values they carry to class. If teachers do not facilitate for students to express, it's hard for students to speak out.

The way people are educated could lead us to be de-motivated. It's been underappreciated and suppressed in the class. The way the curriculum is structured could ruin the way the person is. The system does not give you more capacity to control yourself. Just a machine that turns you into machines. It's good if we want the economic system to function the way it is. Education is a good way to start, it's a chicken and egg problem.

At the end of the day, life has multiple dimensions and learning should lead you to your desired life. Don't let yourself stuck in the system. Move forward as something is driving you.

Chayanat Supasongklod, Bangkok, Thailand