Kow Taew

The start of the school year is upon us again. We’ve had an amazing stretch of cool weather to help usher it in, and I really appreciate that I’m not sweating all day. I’m also happy about the sweatshirts and cups of hot tea. I can’t expect it to last more than the four days it already has, but I’ll keep enjoying it in the meantime!

Anyway, the photo shows Kow Taew at Bahn Mai Pa Kao School. Every school in Thailand starts with Kow Taew. Students stand in lines – arranged by grade and gender – and first the flag is raised while everyone sings the national anthem. Next, everyone turns toward the school’s primary Buddha shrine for morning prayers. Finally, they turn back towards the flag for what I call the "Student Oath." (It has lines like, "We students, must be disciplined, listen to our teachers, study hard, etc etc...") These three sections of Kow Taew are always student-led.

Kow Taew can be a relatively short assembly – 10 or 15 minutes – or it can go on for up to a half hour, depending on which teachers have announcements, and of what sort. Sometimes my schools have the "English word of the day" or some other such educational item. One of my schools has a student read neighborhood news every Monday. Occasionally teachers will do uniform or haircut checks. Emphasis is on form. I always enjoy watching the pre-schoolers start to get out of line, jump up and down, make funny faces, and generally lose attention in amusing ways.

For the record, "kow" means "enter" and "taew" means "rows." Or in short form, "Line up!"