“My message for today, is how our dreams, hopes, and opportunities became connected through our parts working with Teach For Thailand,” explained Mr. Vichien. “This past decade has proven our determination and ambition to increase opportunities for children, and Teach For Thailand has proven that it can carry on with this mission.” Education inequity is deeply intertwined with economic disparity in many aspects. For example, if a child lives in poverty, they are less likely to have opportunities for improvement and are at a higher risk of dropping out of school. Once they are outside of the educational system, their quality of life is also affected.

From a mechanical engineer, ‘Mew’ – Watchara Dachoponchai, a Teach For Thailand alumnus from cohort 1, reflects on the impact he has made for the Foundation and children across Thailand. Currently serving as Teach For Thailand’s Data and Impact Manager, Mew takes pride in the data system he has developed for the teaching Fellows, enabling them to effectively utilize data and create a more positive impact on the education system.

The most meaningful work is one that improves the lives of children For the past decade, Teach For Thailand has produced numerous batches of Leadership Fellows. Many of our alumni have chosen to continue creating a positive impact as part of educational organizations, such as Teach For Thailand and many of its partners. One of those alumni is ‘Mint’ – Paradee Lerswarit, former Talent and Acquisition officer at Teach For Thailand.

The Social Studies Program, initiated by Teach For Thailand (TFT), aims to establish a network for professional learning and leverage the work of social studies teachers in classrooms. This network can also be integrated with TFT’s Fellows. We believe that sustainable change in education requires collaboration from all parties, especially teachers. The program commenced in 2021 and currently has participants from 12 provinces, with evident changes observed in classrooms. In this article, we spoke with two participants of the program: ‘Rattanachart Sarapo’ from Baan Maegnonkilek School, Chiang Mai, and ‘Sutthasinee Chaweesak’ from Rachineeburana School, Nakon Pathom. Both attended TFT’s “10 Years of Change” in November 2023 and provided interesting remarks on the Social Studies Program.

"Joining Teach For Thailand has allowed me to understand world problems from an infrastructural point of view, to understand the limitations and how the issues affect one another. This is also true with environmental problems – therefore, we must find an easy and comprehensive way to communicate it to create change."

During the “Collective Vision” activity at Huay Krajao Pittayakom School on July 20, 2023, members of the Huay Krajao community in Kanchanaburi reflected on and expressed their vision for education. This activity, organized by Teach For Thailand, aimed to invite community members to design and take ownership of their education. (Read more about the creation of Collective Vision here)

“The panel discussion that day revealed to us what everyone wants. We would like to thank Teach For Thailand for bringing forward everyone’s visions,” Phattharanan Phrumpool, director of Huay Krajao Pittayakom, Kanchanaburi province, told us during an interview about the Collective Vision panel discussion on July 20, 2023.

“Many people expect changes to be big; I only wanted to transform at least one student. Change takes a long time, so a change to one person is already a success.” This was Natchanon Rojwanlee’s (Tham) response when asked about his expectations upon joining the Fellowship Program at Teach For Thailand

Ten-Sirilak Sutthichuai, a cohort-7 fellow, has left Chit Jai Chuen School for nearly two years now, but her memory lives on in the minds of her students. One student in particular, Khaoklong, was inspired by Ten to perform magic shows again after being bullied about it a few years back.