From Wikipedia in blue: The wai kru ceremony is a Thai ritual in which students pay respect to their teachers. Many institutions also present student awards and honors during the ceremony.
We are told it is held in schools throughout Thailand, usually on the second Thursday in June -- June 13 this year. We were invited to participate.
The wai kru ceremony at KP School started after the morning flag ceremony and lasted until lunchtime. The students then had the afternoon off.
We began to see it was a special day as students assembled for the flag ceremony -- many were carrying flowers and beautiful floral arrangements they would present to the teachers. We learned later that the large floral arrangements were made by students from each of the classes in the school and would be presented to the school director, Mr. Paijit, at the wai kru ceremony.
The head of the school's Foreign Languages Department (and after several weeks here, our guide and good friend), Mr. Itthiphon, was very busy that day keeping the activities of the day moving forward. (Teachers in Thai public schools are Thai government employees and wear government uniforms on Mondays and on Wai Kru Day.)
The students walked from the flag ceremony to the school's "gymnatorium" in order by class -- youngest students first.
Thai people often sit on flat surfaces (e.g., the ground, the floor, or a flat platform) and the students sat on the floor of the gymnatorium as they arrived -- youngest students toward the front. (George has a very hard time sitting on the ground or getting up or down if he does. He would probably be much more limber today if he'd spent more time sitting on the ground as a young person.)
Students carrying the floral arrangements for each class sat to the side of the building. It must be quite a logistical challenge to get 1,700 people arranged so that they will be able to come forward smoothly at the right time during the ceremony, and a few KP teachers did a great job of organizing that.
And before long a second row of students with the beautiful arrangements was forming.
Some teachers posed with students from the classes they teach.
And, finally, everyone had arrived. It was quite an impressive sight!
We were honored to be invited to participate by Director Paijit.
The ceremony usually begins with a Buddhist prayer ritual, followed by the students' recitation of the wai kru chant, which expresses respect for and gratitude to the teachers, and asks for the teachers' blessing of their studies. [Wiki]
Director Paijit opened the ceremony with a prayer ritual, spoke to the students, and gave out student awards.
And then the students rose and sang:
http://youtu.be/RCI9Fo60nSQ
Following this, a select number of students, usually the representatives of each class, present the teachers with offerings of flowers, candles and incense sticks arranged on phan (traditional Thai pedestaled trays). [Wiki]
Groups of students with flowers representing each of the classes (beginning with the 12th grade classes) walked across the front of the stage and knelt in front of a group of teachers and the school director.
The large floral arrangements were presented to Director Paijit and then displayed on tables behind him.
Nature is never far away in Khemmarat -- here's the view out the side of the gymnatorium:
and the pond through those trees:
Junior teachers then honored administrators and retiring teachers (teachers must retire at age 60 -- we're over that age limit, but fortunately they don't apply it to volunteers). Those are students dressed in military uniforms (we think similar to Junior ROTC in the U.S.) behind the teachers; they took all the flower arrangements from the Director and the teachers as students presented them.
Then a monk took the stage. He is the father of one of the teachers at the school (from a time in his life before he became a monk). He gave many of the students scholarships from his own funds.
This is usually followed by a speech by the school director offering the students guidance in their academic career. [Wiki]
Director Paijit spoke to the students about the importance of respecting their teachers. Displayed on the tables in front of him are all the beautiful floral arrangements he was presented during the ceremony.
We went to the English teachers' office after the ceremony and saw some individual students come to show their respect for Mr. Itthipon (who has been teaching English at KP for more than 25 years, is a very enthusiastic teacher, and taught most of the young English teachers we have met in Khemmarat and Baan Nong Phue) and for Kru ("teacher") Jum.
It was a wonderful day and we were honored to be part of it.
What a great post and pics. Googled to find your blog from your comments on Lynn Martin's blog. Can you maybe add a follow or email subscription to your page? Emailed it to myself so I can check in until you do;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, mrsd. I'm pretty much a novice at this blogging business, but, at the bottom of this screen, there is a link to "Subscribe by email." I believe you need a gmail e-mail address (or some other Google connection) to subscribe, but it's easy to get a gmail address if you don't already have one. I hope you can subscribe and will enjoy upcoming posts. If you haven't read it already, I recommend the post, "George's Unusual and Marvelous Adventure," to you.
Delete