Breaking stereotypes: Thai students organise birthday surprise for black teacher (video)
Thai students at Chaturaphak Phiman School in the Isaan province of Roi Et have taken a stand against stereotypes, showing the world that not all Thai students are racist. The student shared a video of them creating a birthday surprise for their black teacher.
Three days ago, a video of a Thai student raising her middle fingers at a black teacher in class at a school in Bangkok went viral on Thai social media. The student and her classmates faced fierce criticism on social media for disrespecting the teacher.
The students in the class later promised netizens they would officially apologise to the teacher. A video of the apology then followed. It featured students holding a flower chalice and kneeling to apologise to the teacher. According to a report in Thai media, the teacher forgave her students.
Unfortunately, the video of the Thai girl flipping her middle fingers to the teacher went viral in in other countries, tarnishing the image of Thai people.
To restore the reputation of Thai pupils, a student from another school shared a video of a birthday surprise on her TikTok account, how_to_yada, yesterday, July 19. The video showed students singing Happy Birthday to their foreign teacher and offering three small cakes with flickering candles.
The teacher was visibly moved, covering her face and shedding tears of joy. In an emotional moment, she said…
“I made a wish. I wish all of you to be my friends and to get a grade four score (the highest score in Thai high school). Everyone is going to score in grade four. Thank you so much.”
In the video, the student put a caption to both the world audience and the teacher saying…
“From the drama of one Thai student behaving badly towards a foreign teacher, some people may think that Thai people or Thai children are racist and have bad habits. We want to tell everyone that everyone has different habits. Not all Thai students have that behaviour. My friends and I all like foreign teachers, regardless of their nationalities.
“It is good and fun to learn with foreign teachers even though almost 90% of classmates cannot communicate in English very well, but teachers try to use body language or sign language to make us understand what the teacher is saying.”
The video gained a lot of positive comments from Thai netizens. Many praised the students as role models and applauded their actions for safeguarding the image of the Thai people. The netizens commented…
“This is lovely behaviour and a good example of Thai students, not what that student (from the former video) had done.”
“Thank you for saving Thai reputations.”
“Their salary is not that much. It is the same as Thai teachers. Please be kind to them. They teach you with their hearts.”
“She came far from her home to work. This is heartwarming for her”
“Thank all of you for understanding the differences of humans and respecting each other.
In Thailand, most schools and universities have only one or two foreign teachers, mainly from countries like the USA, UK, Canada, the Philippines, India, and Myanmar.
According to the PPTV HD, Foreign teachers in state institutions typically earn around 30,000 baht per month, while those in private schools can earn up to 100,000 baht per month.
@how_to_yada this is how being black teacher in thailand(They are very grateful to the teachers for teaching us and this school.)#foreignteacherinthailand🇹🇭 #thaistudents #ครูต่างชาติ #นักเรียนไทย
