Life is about asking questions so that we dare to take a step forward to find answers. Good questions can also lead us to good answers. Therefore, the quality of questioning is very important.
As is the case with our current famous person, who believes that “life is a questioning”.
Phi Tor – Thanachai Sornsriwichai, a world-famous advertising director, has many works that have received world-class awards. Each commercial that Phi Tor has made is memorable to a large number of viewers because each story has a touching story. Phi Tor has inserted profound ideas into each story, making each commercial that comes out popular both domestically and internationally.
Life requires learning to ask questions to challenge your thinking.
Phi Tor – Thanachai Sonsriwichai is a questioner because for him, questions are the main way to find answers for learning in life. He has asked many questions since he was a child. And the most important question from his childhood that later shaped his future is the question he has about the education system.
Phi Tor told us that “When I was a child, I liked to read books. But I was a slow learner because I had a lot of questions. For example, the teacher said that 5 farmers could carry 7 haystacks. If there were 10 farmers, how many haystacks could they carry? To me, this question was very unreasonable because I didn’t know if 10 farmers were too lazy to carry haystacks. Humans are not mathematics. But the problem is that the teacher tried to say that humans are mathematics that can be calculated. But for me, some things in the world cannot be calculated.”
In Phi To ‘s view, he sees that the Thai education system is too rigid and does not see the importance of creating a sense of students’ desire to learn by themselves.
“Now is the time for everyone to question whether what we know really makes us happier.”
Because everyone is studying more, the standard of education has increased. In the past, people only finished grade 4. But I don’t see that higher education will make us happier. Do we gain appreciation for what we learn? Phi Tor thinks that most people don’t do that.
The importance of questioning what you learn is a key point.
Phi To said that if we made learning more emotional, it would be better.
For example, if our child gets stung by a bee and we squeeze a lemon on the stung spot and teach them how the acid in the lemon juice reacts with the bee venom, the child will be interested and start thinking further on their own, developing further ideas, becoming curious, asking questions, and finding answers.
This idea is different from learning in a system where we take exams with choices that do not make us know more. We will learn more and see the wider world from taking subjective exams. Teachers and schools must make children curious, want to learn, and find answers so that they are happy with what they are searching for.
Teachers and children promote learning among each other.
“The education system must make teachers want to come to school.”
Phi Tor said that it is because teachers are the source of knowledge. But nowadays, teachers are full of fear, such as fear that if they teach in a new way, they will be scolded, fear of having to talk about the same things repeatedly every day. But if we bring new technology for teachers to use, teachers will be more alert. When teachers are more alert, students will be more alert as well.
“School should be a place where we feel like learning.”
Teachers must revolutionize their teaching methods by making students ask questions. They must encourage children to ask questions. Children’s questions will in turn motivate teachers to find answers to answer questions. This will make teaching and learning fun for everyone.
This can only happen if teachers do not hold on to their own ideas. Teachers must be learners as well. Teachers must accept their own ignorance and teach children to accept that ignorance as well. This is the most important thing in education.
And teachers must be good examples. Teachers do not need to know everything. They must show children that not knowing is normal and can be learned because life is about asking questions. Don’t worry about being wrong or being embarrassed to look stupid. Ask or find information to get the answers you want.
“You can’t rely solely on teachers. Parents are the best teachers for children.”
Phi To said that parents are the first and best teachers of their children. Therefore, parents must always motivate themselves to seek more knowledge. Parents must always adjust their curriculum according to their children’s development.
If we do that, we will not have to rely on the education system at all, while parents will benefit as well. Because what can make us smarter than raising children? We have to go back to our human nature, show them, let them learn from our actions.
Our lives don’t have enough time to learn everything. We need to choose to learn only what is useful.
Phi To – Thanachai Sonsriwichai told us that he will focus on learning things that are useful for life and applying that knowledge in real life because he said that even though he knows a lot of knowledge, it does not make life better.
“Knowing something that will make our life better, go ahead and know it. But some things, if you know too much, your life will be miserable. Then you don’t need to know them. Just know whatever will make your life better.”
Phi Tor said that in learning, we must have a process of questioning what we know, whether it is reliable or not. And if someone comes to dispute what we know, with a different perspective, what should we do? Should we stick to what we know? All of these are different from the original knowledge, which he sees as useful because it can help us discover new things and build on them.
True knowledge can only be gained through action.
“You say you are very knowledgeable about forestry, but you have never planted a tree. How am I supposed to listen to you? So, show me your work. What is your work? Show me.”
Phi Tor said that his own learning came from doing it himself. When he wanted to learn about planting trees, he went out in the sun to plant trees himself. As a result of doing it, he experienced joy and personal experiences that created changes within himself. It led to a change in the way he thought about working, where he was more open to listening to other people’s reflections on him, which gave him the opportunity to learn and change more deeply than before.
“In the past, people I worked with often said that I was a quick-witted person who didn’t listen to others.” Well, I’m a hot-tempered person. But when someone told me that, I tried to calm down. In the past, I used to teach my juniors to do their jobs well by scolding and threatening them, until people said that I was a very fierce director. But now I’ve changed to using methods of giving encouragement and finding their good points. But there are still some threats. If necessary, it has to be combined. The famous commercial director talked about his most obvious change.
Throughout his life, Phi Tor -Thanachai has placed importance on taking action to find knowledge that leads to personal change as well as having an impact on the bigger picture. Over the past few years, he has undertaken all of these missions at once by planting trees.
Phi Tor said, “This forest can be many things. It can be a hospital, an amusement park, a school. We need to have our own base, just like in military strategy, we need to have a base. I thought about this very seriously, very intensely, until I came to the conclusion that I have a mission to make good commercials that benefit others the most. Then I will use the money from making commercials to plant trees. This is the only mission in my life. I will not be distracted. I have a clear focus. It is a mission that I am very happy doing,” the questioner answered about what he has a clear answer for in his life.
Conclusion
“Knowing something that will make your life better, go ahead and know it. But if you know too much about something and your life becomes miserable, then you don’t need to know it.”
The story of Pee Tor is a testament to the fact that learning is truly endless because every step of life, taking action, learning, and life is all about asking questions, are all methods that allow us to gain true knowledge.
The story references an interview with Pee To – Thanachai Sonsriwichai.
From the Transformative Learning Project
Supported by the Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth)
For more articles about the Transformative Learning Project, please visit:
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