OPINION

Tips for the young

Re: "DLA says it's time to listen to youth", (BP, Jan 29).

When applied to the electoral system within a democracy, the words of Winston Churchill, "A little learning is a dangerous thing" are a caveat to unsound government. We learn about life from experience. The cost of experience is age. Wisdom comes with age. While youth is a great asset, it lacks the wisdom of age.

The threat to democracy lies in the Ministry of Interior's Department of Local Administration's announcement that "Government agencies are stressing the importance of listening to youth and enhancing their political perception." The one thing youth should avoid is political perception. In the interests of democracy, youth should gain experience of life apolitically. Youth need to learn common sense and truth from reality, which has little in common with politics.

From birth, we should enjoy the liberty of freedom of expression. We should listen to the opinions of others and learn to debate them objectively while rejecting any form of political persuasion. The danger of youth is its indulgence in academic utopian ideologies, making it prey to political indoctrination.

In our youth, we should gain enlightenment by studying other animal species and their natural habitats. They are not indoctrinated. They live integrally with the laws of nature: the fundamental facts of life on this planet -- the basis of democratic wisdom.

Wars and words

Re: "Haley to stay in 2024 GOP race through Super Tuesday", (World, Jan 30).

When President Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin (an anti-slavery novel that sparked the abolitionist movement), he said to her: "So you're the little lady who started the Civil War." Lincoln was joking, and he knew slavery was the cause of the war.

Fast forward to the present. The media would have you think Hamas' Oct 7 attack was the cause of the Gaza war. In reality, the cause of the attack and the war was 75 years of barbaric Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people. I also believe that when the American embassy was moved to Jerusalem and American UN Ambassador Nikki Haley gloated about it and taunted the Palestinian people, that indirectly led to the Oct 7 attack.

If I ever meet Ms Haley, I will say to her: "So you're the little lady who started the Gaza war". But unlike Lincoln, I won't be joking.

Language barriers

Re: "Lost in translation", (PostBag, Jan 30) & "New English strategy needed", (PostBag, Jan 28).

While PostBag letter writer Trefor Cowles is correct in his assertion, it is worth mentioning the current TOEFL test has been adapted in order to address the various linguistic and cultural disparities across the globe. The fact is that English is a foreign language with its roots in the UK.

In my experience as an American, I have encountered various small difficulties with British English, particularly related to grammar. What is important is the Thai curriculum is not designed using international benchmarks. A watered-down version of the IELTS or TOEFL test will not solve the problem. Many universities already use such tests.

For a long time, the Thai government-funded education system has avoided the necessity of teaching English. What PM Srettha is proposing is different, which is to create new curricula based on CEFR benchmarks. This new initiative will help students master English language skills and also help them pass CEFR-level exams. The proposed reform will also require highly trained teachers.