Kicking back with Panipak, Thailand’s Olympic Taekwondo queen

13 Sept 15:04 Key points summarised by AI

Panipak Wongpattanakit made history by winning Thailand's first Olympic Taekwondo gold medal at the Tokyo Games, securing victory with a last-minute "golden strike" in the women’s 49kg competition.
Raised in an athletic family and nicknamed "Tennis," she embraced Taekwondo at age nine, enduring rigorous training and overcoming a devastating loss at the 2016 Rio Olympics where she earned bronze.
Her perseverance, guided by coach Choi Young-Seok, culminated in the Tokyo gold, bringing immense national pride and significant financial rewards, solidifying her status as an inspiring national hero.

Examining Thailand’s four-part education revolution

Yesterday 14:22 Key points summarised by AI

Thailand's Education Ministry is implementing a four-pronged strategy to address its students' below-average performance in PISA 2025 and tackle significant educational inequality.
The plan prioritizes closing performance gaps by increasing funding for small and low-income schools, overhauling the curriculum to foster critical thinking, and adopting a data-driven management system to reduce teacher workload.
Key initiatives include enhancing school safety, combating cyberbullying, and expanding mental health support through peer-to-peer networks, recognizing the severe impact of distress on academic performance.
An education expert advises verifying if PISA improvements stem from structural changes, advocating for a revived STEM curriculum with practical 'learn by doing' methods, and urging bureaucratic reform to link teacher evaluations to student development.