The Education Act B.E. 2542 stipulates that a family is entitled to the right to provide home school education for its children. Home school is one of the most vital issues of the Act reflecting an extremely different concept of education from conventional ideas. In the past, education was solely endowed by the State.

Serving as an educational charter, since 'the Education Act B.E. 2542' became effective, the Daengpuangpaiboon family applied for this right.

In November 1999, Sukanya and Arthit Daengpuangpaiboon decided to reestablish their children's education and so 8-year old Songwut and 7-year old Puthipong were taken out of the State education system. Instead, their parents enrolled them in a Home School and arranged their education at home, taught by their parents and other family members.

"The decision to opt for Home School was due to the disintegration of the conventional education system which was neither coherent nor practical in relation to real life. It also created pressure for children, whereby students were solely stuffed with academic subjects in order to be competitive in exams; and eventually, the students barely knew their own self", stated Arthit, that was the overlying reason for the urge to make changes.

Sukanya added that they had tried really hard to find a school to suit their children's all-round development rather than a fixation on achieving academic excellence only. A school should also focus on a warm, friendly atmosphere and a child's happiness. She and her husband were fully cooperative with the school chosen and jointly followed the home and school cooperation concepts but found that still it was not readily practical.

Following extensive inquiries concerning alternative education from specialists, thinkers and education academics, while collecting ideas from other families with experience in Home School education, they became convinced and quite confident that they, themselves, with their individual educational qualifications and competence, would be well able to arrange a more suitable education for their own children.

The basic requirement needed by all parents is not a string of higher education certificates, but the capacity for love, empathy and the ability to provide a natural warmth for the child, all of which are tangible. The next factor is looking up academic contents and the insight of how to organize an educational curriculum for the children. Arthit said, "I believe, that all parents are capable of self-study to prepare appropriate academic subjects."

Arthit also thought that the most important purpose of education is how the children learn; how to create awareness towards self and others; how to make them good readers and how to instill a good attitude towards life-long education. The Daengpuangpaiboon parents believe that these aims can only be achieved if adults provide children with the best opportunities to learn, because all children have the proficiency to learn; but how to motivate the children to learn and how to use their imagination is the main role of an education system.

"The most effective teaching is the student-centered learning theory. The child is guided by the natural learning power enabling every child to learn effectively, whenever satisfaction and interest are generated, persistence will follow. Once a goal is set in the child's mind, they will do their best. Parents then need only provide advice on how to learn in the most appropriate way. These processes will have a profound effect upon the child's potential and their development greatly," Arthit believes.

Home School education is an alternative education system available among a variety of methods offered during the reform period. Arthit and Sukanya chose the Home School system as a strong possibility in their attempt to provide a happy educational life for their children. However, this would not be necessary if children were happy at school, where they can enjoy the school curriculum and company of fellow students. During the changeover period, some schools are undergoing reformation of which prospects are good; still, it is only a faint light at the tunnel's end. The Education Act has thus opened up a whole variety of alternative opportunities for parents and children who are unhappy with the present established school system and the Home School system serves as a reasonable example of these.

Published in THE NATION Newspaper: Wednesday 25th, April 2000, Page A6