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Education is the only answer to avoid polluting planet earth
Paul Strachan
Environmental issues are now one of the leading priorities for governing
bodies around the world, with concerns about global warming dominating the
international headlines. Over the last few years heads of state right down
to the man on the street have become more and more aware of the damage we
are causing to planet earth.
 Gerry
Rasmus is campaigning to clean up the region’s beaches.
Natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis are a constant fear,
especially as these are events that are beyond the control of man.
Thailand has had its fair share of negative focus affecting tourism in the
last couple of years: the tsunami, of course, threats to tourists, the
troubled South, and the political upheaval that saw the departure of Thaksin
Shinawatra.
Pattaya, however, continues to prosper. We know businesses complain that
trade is down but there is simply more choice and more competition, more
bars, more restaurants, and a never-ending amount of construction work.
So still they come from all corners of the globe to sample the delights of
Fun City. However, due to its rapid expansion it’s a bit like trying to keep
a child in clothes: as the child keeps on growing the city weaves new fabric
to sustain it; the child continues to mature and the city wonders why the
clothes it made don’t fit anymore.
The problems created by this burgeoning growth involve each one of us.
Whether you are reading this on holiday, or have chosen to stay in this Land
of Smiles, you may well question if Pattaya is the tropical paradise it at
first appears.
When the rain comes everybody complains about the flash flooding and they
see for their own eyes that the drains can’t handle the deluge.
The beaches still leave a lot to be desired. As for the quality of the
water, the abundance of seafood that Pattaya offers may well be under threat
from the kind of contamination revealed by a recent study that predicts the
ocean’s stocks will be severely depleted by the year 2040.
Look around the city and you will see people sweeping the streets: on the
surface it looks like the city workers and private individuals take a pride
in their environment. But rather than depositing the waste into containers,
much of it is swept into the drains.
And look at the amount of building work, with the tons of sand being used at
dozens of locations around town. This sand along with leaves and twigs and
other debris goes through the drain covers and into the drains, where it
settles very much out of sight and out of mind, a problem dealt with, until
the rains come and the water erupts out of the drains like a geyser.
On the beaches, again on the surface they look reasonably clean but what
lies beneath?
On a recent trip out to a beach just south of Pattaya a man who is fondly
known as the Keeper of the Ocean, Gerry Rasmus was doing his daily workout.
Every day, he says he “waster-sizes - bending at the waist to pick up the
waste and get rid of both.”
In the space of two hours Gerry had pulled out from the water literally
hundreds of plastic bags. He explained that the bags cause a barrier that
stops crabs from feeding: so, unable to eat, they die.
Discarded batteries leak their acid into the water.
Another man helping Gerry was Steve Martin (no, not that one) who was
horrified at the amount of garbage that was coming out of the sea. Just
think, the sea provides all those delicious fish, prawns, mussels and
lobsters, but does it all seem so fresh and healthy when you think of the
filthy state of the water?
Gerry did this work in Hawaii. He stopped smoking, gave up alcohol, and is
trying to keep fit and at the same time do his bit to help the environment.
He is not alone in his quest: indeed his partner and another man were
helping and after the first hour about 10 Thai children came to help.
Looking at the children Steve said that the answer is staring us in the
face. The problem needs to be addressed at its root: Education.
If you look at a country like Japan, recycling is second nature. Homes have
three different bins and everybody has a sense of responsibility. If schools
here were to initiate a program where every lunchtime the children were
shown what is recyclable (and therefore of value) and what is not, then that
would help to instil ideas that would be carried forward into their adult
lives.
Our litter has, by our own negligence, become a killer: a killer of marine
life, a killer of our standard of living; and indeed for many it could be
secretly killing our very livelihoods.
Only time will reveal the full injustices for which mankind has been
responsible.
When we are gone our children and grandchildren will feel the true effects
of their ancestors’ misdemeanours: as temperatures soar, pollution rules and
the planet responds.
We could all work to prevent this now. To quote Herbert Spencer: “The great
aim of education is not knowledge but action.”
If you need further persuasion take a look at these websites:
http://geocities.com/wastersize/
http://geocities.com/solution2pollution/
After the first hour about 10
Thai children came to help.
ISE joins ISB Massed Band Festival
Paul and Sandy Leggatt
Last weekend 36 students from the International School Eastern Seaboard
(ISE) attended the massed band festival at the International School
Bangkok, combining forces with band students from ICS and ISB under the
baton of Shuwichi Komiyama.
 The
clarinet choir chose to play a particularly tricky arrangement of “Eine
Kleine Nachtmusik” by Mozart.
Mr. Komiyama is the director of the Montana State University orchestra,
a highly regarded composer, arranger and conductor. His ability to
communicate with the massed band students during rehearsal particularly
impressed me as he coached them through what was probably the most
challenging material that many of the students had ever encountered.
The ISE students performed independently in a variety of ensembles. The
clarinet choir chose to play a particularly tricky arrangement of “Eine
Kleine Nachtmusik” by Mozart. Our home grown rock band “White Li3”
managed to get the somewhat formal audience into full participation with
a tasteful interpretation of two covers “Behind Blue Eyes” and “When
September Ends”, and the Advanced Band students performed “The Peanut
Vendor” by Moises Simons.
 ISE’s
home grown rock band “White Li3” managed to get the somewhat formal
audience into full participation.
The highlight of the festival, however, was of course the massed band
repertoire, developed and shaped by Shuwichi Komiyama. The programme
began with a rousing Souza march “Hands Across the Sea” followed by an
emotionally charged performance of “On a Hymn Tune by Phillip Bliss”.
The next arrangement was a full symphonic wind band arrangement of
“Extracts from The Merry Widow”. This work challenged everyone, but
Shuwichi masterfully instilled the confidence necessary to create
success. “Electricity” was the aleatoric representation in the
programme. When the lights went off (score directions) everyone’s
immediate reaction was to wonder who had stolen the power cable. (a la
Burapha). The finale was “The Finale from Riverdance” another
challenging number, but one that our clarinetists are still intrigued
by. The festival for me was a resounding success and all in all I was
once again satisfied with the way in which our students represented ISE
and the music department.
P.S. On the Friday evening we took the ISE students to the Joe Lewis
puppet theatre at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar on Wireless Road.
Traditional Thai puppets depicted extracts from the Ramayana, the epic
story that originates from India. It is an internationally acclaimed
theatre and is highly recommended.
Shuwichi Komiyama (center)
was impressive with the way he was able to communicate with the
students.
36 students from ISE
combined forces with band students from ICS and ISB under the baton of
Shuwichi Komiyama.
Regent’s benefit from busy exchange program in term 1
Incoming and outgoing exchange
students
Paul Crouch
The first term of the academic year has seen the arrival of two charismatic
young men from a Round Square school in Australia and a delightful young
lady from a RS school in South Africa. As part of the Regent’s International
Exchange Program the school hosts students from any of the 60 other Round
Square schools and encourages our own students to visit and study at a
school in a different continent. The main aim behind the program is to
encourage adventure, leadership and internationalism within our students,
three important IDEALS of the Round Square and Regent’s philosophy.
We have been very lucky this term to meet and welcome Zac and Lachlan from
Mowbray College in Melbourne, and Kirsty from St. Cyprian’s School in Cape
Town. Both the boys and Kirsty have settled in well and become actively
involved in the everyday life of the Regent’s community. Each has had the
opportunity to experience the many cultural aspects of Thailand, including
Loy Krathong, and the active weekend program organized by the boarding
staff. Kirsty has also spent a week at the IDEALS Centre, diving on Koh
Chang.
It has been great to see the friendships that are quickly made and the
hospitality of a number of Regent’s students’ home hosting the exchange
students at the weekends in Pattaya and Bangkok, including the three
Regent’s students in Year 9 who visited Mowbray College earlier in the term;
Urassaya, Eline and Kizzi.
Four more Regents’ students will be going out on exchange to Round Square
schools in the second term. These include Claire who will stay at St.
Cyprian’s for a month, and Ploi, Jasmin and Linda who will be visiting
Appleby College near Toronto in Canada for a month.
The Regent’s Exchange Programme would not be the success it is without the
hospitality of the boarding house and its staff, the outdoor education
department and the many teachers that incorporate the visiting students into
their busy lessons.
Frankenstein set to thrill audiences in Pattaya
On Wednesday 29th November the professional TNT Theatre
Company of UK will be returning to the Globe Theatre at the Regent’s School
to perform an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s famous novel Frankenstein.
Frankenstein is one of the most popular modern myths. The TNT’s exciting new
production will explore that myth through a Gothic comedy that mixes popular
entertainment with a serious exploration of the darker themes within the
myth. Should scientific research be held back by irrational prejudice or
religious beliefs? Is human cloning or stem cell research immoral? Should
humanity seek to create artificial life? Can science ever be restrained?
These urgent questions will be explored through a Gothic melodrama that
extends from high comedy to spine chilling tingling terror, from love story
to horror fable and from thriller to tragedy as the Monster is revealed in
all his lonely suffering.
The play is directed by Paul Stebbings who has explored this style of Gothic
comedy in productions such as The Murder of Sherlock Holmes, A Christmas
Carol and Oliver Twist, which have been hugely successful across the world,
winning prizes at the Edinburgh Festival and performing in over thirty
countries in Europe and Asia. Frankenstein will have a full musical score by
noted composer Paul Flush that operates more in the manner of film than
theatre and is likely to stir memories of the famous 1930’s Hollywood
version directed by James Whale starring Boris Karloff. (This movie was
featured in an article in the Pattaya Mail last month). The theatrical style
of this production will be highly visual and the pace will be fast. Overall,
the production aims to be fresh and accessible to a wide range of audience.
This is the third visit by the TNT Company following their smash-hit
productions of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Willy Russell’s Educating
Rita. TNT always accompanies its productions with highly stimulating drama
workshops for the students in which the themes of the play are explored and
drama skills honed.
The audience response to the two previous visits was unanimously positive
and the Regent’s School has been abele to develop an artistic association
with this prestigious theatrical ensemble over the last two years. More
information about TNT/ADG Europe can be obtained by visiting their website
by www.adg-europe.com
Tickets cost 300 baht for students and 500 baht for adults and can be
reserved on [email protected] or by telephoning 090143002, where more
information about the performance will be available. Demand for tickets is
anticipated to be particularly high so early booking is strongly
recommended.
The performance of Frankenstein precedes the performance by the Senior
students of Regent’s School of Grimm Tales, which will be presented on the
Globe Theatre on Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th December at 7.30pm in the
Globe Theatre.
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