From Classroom Critical Thinking to Understanding World Issues
"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."
Nichakorn Buasap (Dee-Jung), a Teach For Thailand alumnus (cohort 5), shared insights into the skills she acquired during her time as a Fellow and how she applies them in her current role as a content editor for the environment-focused news agency “Environman.” Nichakorn’s interest in environmental issues began in college, and during her time as a Fellow, she incorporated these elements into her classes.
“For example, when teaching English tenses, I would include a picture of a polar bear in my slides. In the Present Simple Tense, the bear is well-fed and healthy. However, with Future Tenses, they become thinner and starved. As my students study grammar, they would also question what happened to the bear. I would use that opportunity to explain Global Warming to them.”
“Understanding these global issues helped broaden my students’ perspectives. I want them to become global citizens – to be aware of the problem and connect them to their lives.”
Beyond classroom activities, Nichakorn organized field trips to provide her students with firsthand knowledge of environmental issues.
“I wanted to introduce waste management to them, the whole process, so I invited my colleagues in Nakhon Sawan to a joint activity, visiting waste management factories and water treatment plants, as well as Pak Nam Pho, which is the end of the line for wastes if they were not managed or filtered – they float along the river to this spot.”
Nichakorn also initiated a recycling activity where students learned to maximize material use.
“Before completing the Fellowship Program, I opened a donation for used clothes so my students could sew them into bags for further use.”
For her, any subject can be an opportunity to learn about environmental or social issues.
“Every subject can have an element about environmental issues. This way, we can equip our students with the knowledge of world problems so that they can think critically about them.”
After the program, Nichakorn continued to create a positive impact through her work, targeting a much wider audience.
“I want to raise awareness about this issue to everyone, to connect people with the environmental issue.”
In closing, we asked Nichakorn to leave a message for the Fellowship Program that equipped her with various skills.
“The program allowed me to know more about people, gain life skills, and understand social problems. I am confident to face challenges because I have been through very challenging situations.”
“The two years with the Program were worth it and shaped my capabilities. For those who want to pursue a career in the educational field, it is an opportunity to understand the work from the ground up.”
After the Fellowship Program, many Teach For Thailand alumni built on their problem-solving and development framework, utilizing them in education and various career paths. Teach For Thailand believes anything is possible, and we are confident in our Fellows and alumni, whose collective goal for the past decade has been to create a positive impact on Thai society. Change might start with just one person, but with networking and collaboration, it can expand and become more sustainable.
