“Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child.” – Buddha

This morning I walked into my morning class to find them singing. While singing and dancing are very popular in all forms in Thailand it is still rare to find my whole class singing together, rarer still to find that every student in my class is actually in class. Despite having 44 students in this particular class I normally have about 10 students missing every day. When I asked what was the reason for the singing I learned that August 12^th is Mother’s Day in Thailand.

 The students all practice together so that they can sing to their mothers on this holiday. School is closed as well so the students can spend all day with their mother(s). My students explained to me that they sing three different songs to their mothers and it is very important that the songs sound perfect so they spend time in school practicing together. And when I say practice these students work harder on these songs than I have ever seen them work on English. I have one student who has missed both of his midterms but was leading the class in song and even reprimanded his friend for interrupting the practice. The class asked for some time to practice during my period, which I allowed since I see this class four times a week. Also I miss my own mother and was feeling a little sentimental. I explained that in America, many children give his or her mother cards, flowers and presents. Rarely have I heard of someone singing to his or her mother but I probably did subject my mother to my singing at some point on Mother’s Day before my siblings explained that listening to my singing was the opposite of a gift. I was pleased to be offered an invitation to stay during their rehearsal and it was then that I recorded the video below.

Mother’s Day is a national holiday in Thailand. Similar to Teacher Appreciation Day, Mother’s Day represents the focus on respect that Thailand instills in children. Being away from home, I have never appreciated my own mother and today made me very glad that I will be home to celebrate Mother’s Day in America next May. It was touching to see my students work so hard to show their appreciation to their mothers. Next class I plan on having my students practice their English writing skills by making Mother’s Day cards so I can incorporate cultural learning and rhetoric skills!

04 Aug This entry was published on August 4, 2014 at 5:08 am and is filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.