Visit with Maechee Sansanee Sthirasasuta and her shelter for unwed mothers.

She is a model turned Buddhist nun 25 years ago. She bought this land about 17 years ago and turned the rice fields into an oasis. Working meditation, living in the here and now, living in the moment is one of the fundamental concepts in this place. The shelter helps women of abuse, unwed mothers and the children, They teach the men to not be abusers.
Key ideas include:

• Family and children come first.
• Awareness leads to inner peace.
• Life is a journey toward universal peace.
• Respect for oneself, others and nature.

Work with the government to change policies that will address the heart of the problem.

Other thoughts:
Job training and retraining is also done here.
Global Peace initiative- through the next generation, we can sow the seeds of love, compassion and happiness.

The nun's thoughts:

• You need to listen to what your body tells you.
• True happiness can not happen when you harbor malice in your heart.
• This place was built with the intention of teaching people how to achieve inner peace and happiness.
• Don't look at special needs children as disabled but as special. People tend to see the bad parts of people but we need to focus on the good aspects of people.
• By having a smaller ego, a person can do greater works.
• If you allow children to select something that makes them happy then they will want to do more-so if they are happy learning then they will want to learn more!
• You can choose happiness or unhappiness. Select happiness.
  

Visit to the Ministry of Education

600,000 employees in the ministry of education. 400,000 teachers

• Fundamental Impact of 1999-too soon to tell if it's working. Also, no assessment tool.
• Curriculum:
  -based on the English national standards
  -subject based
  -shifting from generic textbooks to learning sheets to locally produced textbooks and authentic materials
  -rote to active (project based, internet and portfolio)
  -standardized testing
  -critical thinking is emphasized.