Mechai Bamboo School 4.24

A school where the pupils are happy and can fulfill their potential, which is adapted to its local environment and current technology. This school develops the complete individual - instilling individual morality, preserving community tradition, and promoting good citizenship. The Mechai Pattana School endeavors to promote the following values: environmental protection, education, poverty eradication, philanthropy, integrity, and democracy & gender equality.

Thai education has generally concentrated on literacy and numerical skills, with little emphasis on new ideas and creativity skills. The Mechai Pattana School intends to change this situation for poor, rural students.

The school strives towards getting its pupils to perform at their full potential by focusing on developing the complete individual. The lessons at the school are focused on enabling students to analyze and create.


The Original Thinking at the Bamboo School

The school term closes during rice planting and harvesting seasons to enable students to participate in rice farming. The school week is from Thursday to Monday (closed on Tuesday and Wednesday) to enable outsiders to visit and teach at the school during their weekends.

There are no student fees in monetary terms at the school. Rather, the students and parents have to plant 365 trees and pay their fees with 365 hours of community service.

Year 10 students will be sent to Pattaya for one entire year. Here they will be immersed in a different cultural, economic, and social atmosphere. The campus will be located at the Birds and Bees Resort.


Outside the Classroom

Students are given the responsibility of participating in the teacher selection and evaluation process. Students are given the responsibility for selecting the incoming Grade 7 students, which promotes leadership at an early age. Students operate businesses that have a positive impact within their community, with some of the profits going towards primary student scholarships in government schools. Students participate in the purchasing committee, which enables them to learn budgeting, planning, transparency, and negotiation skills.


In the Classroom

Students are encouraged to use internet as well as books. Students choose projects and activities they would like to explore, and the teachers facilitate the learning process, encouraging self-direction. Team-building is encouraged, so students work collaboratively on solving problems or work on projects in small groups.


Construction

The Secondary School features environmentally-friendly bamboo architecture, which is specially treated to last up to 80 years. The school also boasts the largest bamboo geodesic dome in the world at 30 meters in diameter. The school was designed by the famous Singaporean architect, Mr. Tay Kheng Soon, of Akitek Tengarra.