Thursday, June 26, 2008

Wai Kruu Ceremony


On Thursday last week (June 19th), most of the students were able to participate in an important ceremony at their schools – the Wai Kruu Ceremony. Wai is the word for the Thai greeting in which the palms of the hands are brought together in front of the body. Kruu is the word for teacher. Wai Kruu is a ceremony in which students pay respect to their teachers. By showing respect to their teachers, the students gain merit for the academic year.


The ceremony at Hadsamranwittyakom was especially elaborate and solemn. In addition to Lora Beth, Lori, Amal, and Paula who teach here, we were pleased to have Mary, Lissettee, and Candice from nearby primary schools join us for the ceremony. Our UTSA teachers were not just mere observers, but were placed front and center along with other teachers from the high school, to be paid respect by the students. The same was the case at two of the other high schools were our students are teaching.

Each class of students designed a special elaborate arrangement of flowers and/or incense sticks and candles. Each natural item used in the arrangement has a special symbolic meaning. For example, eggplant flowers represent respect as the heavy fruit bends down the branches, just as the students bend down to respect their teachers.


Part of the ceremony is a contest to see which class designs the most beautiful arrangement. Each student also brought a flower to present to a teacher. The traditional Thai music ensemble provided the music. One of the students provided a haunting but beautiful chant-like song at the beginning, the words indicating the students love and respect for their teachers.

A group of students presented the arrangements to the teachers. The teachers were sitting in a row at the front of the stage. Students were sitting in rows filling up the entire gym, wearing their best white and blue uniforms. As students came up to present their flowers, they would greet their teacher with the wai, then respectfully hand them the arrangement or flower, and then they would bow down and prostrate themselves on the ground – the way to show the greatest respect. Teachers would offer words of encouragement, and admonition, often patting the students gently on the head or back as a show of affection. This continued until each and every student in the school had come before the row of teachers to pay their respects.

A speech by the school director also included a brief ceremony where he paid homage at a shrine which included a large textbook, representing the importance of knowledge and learning. Dr. Perrotta was asked to say a few words. Her comments reflected what was in all of our hearts. We were deeply moved by the ceremony. The respect the students have for their teachers, and the affection they have for their students is wonderful to see. We could not help but reflect on how, in our own American society, respect for teachers has been declining. We do have our teacher appreciation week with little notes, small gifts, or gift cards to Starbucks, but it’s not quite the same as what we witnessed. In our society where teachers are suspect, where politicians constantly criticize and belittle teachers, where some parents feel it is their duty to question everything the teacher does, or where some parents feel they can do a better job educating their children and pull them out of the education system altogether for home schooling, we couldn’t help be feel a bit jealous of the esteemed position these teachers hold in their Thai society.

1 comment:

Robin said...

Wow. What an amazing ceremony. It will be tough to return to the US, where students are (in general) much less respectful of their teachers.

Thanks for sharing these pics!
Robin