gerryBScot

A 2:00am 'late drink' in Silom presumably means Patpong and in truth you kind of put yourself on offer hanging out there. Easy meat really for the RTP. Like other posters have said I think our man is making much more of this than it is worth.

Attached below, is a copy of the English version of the Thai Curriculum, this is for all subjects, and the Learning Standards & Indicators are at the end. My boss gave it to me when asking us to design our own course outlines etc, as a guideline on what we should be teaching the students.

Hope it's of some assistance.

thai curriculum.pdf

Thanks Slyanimal now I understand the origins of the obsession with vocabulary!

As far as I am aware standards as you suggest don't exist in Thailand. The more cynical might say that is because something as transparent as clear referenced criteria, a kind of progression, could never work here, in any subject. I think there might be more practical reasons - general cognitive development in this age group is extremely uneven and patchy, some learn quickly, some very slowly. The teaching of English can also be quite primitive in a lot of schools - they love learning vocabulary here devoid of any contextual consideration plus a lot of what might be regarded as conversational English consists of conversations learned by heart.

Most of the major countries here have police liaison officers working here: for instance I am sure there will be British police officers working here purely to monitor and track British fugitives from justice. I met one such officer recently, not British, but from another European police force and asked him what it was liking working with the RTP, anticipating a litany of horror stories. His reply was that they get everything they want from the RTP and that it works well. He said they of course pay the RTP for their support but generally they tell the RTP who they want and the RTP do the rest for them. I was quite impressed but I am fairly naive about these matters!

They asked for a campaign against recreational drugs and got it. Sure they can buy actions of the Thai police. I do not want to see the influence of english pigs here. Let them sort out Asian peedos in the northern cities of the UK.

LOL and in the southern cities too and apparently involving some quite tasty people if current reports are to believed!

Most of the major countries here have police liaison officers working here: for instance I am sure there will be British police officers working here purely to monitor and track British fugitives from justice. I met one such officer recently, not British, but from another European police force and asked him what it was liking working with the RTP, anticipating a litany of horror stories. His reply was that they get everything they want from the RTP and that it works well. He said they of course pay the RTP for their support but generally they tell the RTP who they want and the RTP do the rest for them. I was quite impressed but I am fairly naive about these matters!

A retired Danish dentist who has lived in Hua Hin for a number of years recommended Huahin Dental Clinic which is on the Petchkasem, same side as Market Village but further south nearer to the big bend. I have terrible railings and have not had a great experience in Thailand with dentists. This dentist, Dr Warangkana, is really good and speaks great English. Check her out.

5 years old and reading not bad. Most kids actually just memorize the stories and read from memory and not specifically from letter recognition.

Can he do that in Thai also? Again be careful though of stressing one language over another or one educational skill like reading over other skills like math or cognitive development.

yeah he's a very confident reader in English. The phonics approach seems to give kids the confidence to try to pronounce difficult words. His Thai is lousy as both parents are English speakers and we obviously don't speak Thai at home. This is where we open up a can of worms about the Thai system - the Thai teachers don't appear to want to help him with Thai or take any interest in his obvious shortcomings. That's how it appears in any way to me. I'm hoping that he'll catch up as his confidence grows. He appears to understand Thai well but is really slow and hesitant with reading and writing. Pity really. Also in part why we see beyond Thailand for his longer term education.

You can do it! i'm nearly on 2 years now and I have still not cracked,came close once or twice though. Whichever method of packing up is not so important,it's a question of what suits you,it's not the first time I have tried to give up,this time is different,I know this is my last chance, just like an alchoholic, I can never have that one cigarette.

Believe me my willpower, is not great,and if I can do it,so can you! the two year Anniverary of quitting,is not too far off,so I hope you will still be joining me.

Good Luck, and remember that one will set you back on the slippery slope to a premature death,.....................it's one too many!

Hey Majic I wanted to smoke everyday for the first two years I quit and at times I was on my knees howling. I got through it somehow without smoking. It's about 10 years now, to be honest I can't actually recall my anniversary. Anyhow one day after about two years the madness left me. I became aware that I wan't craving or thinking what a good idea it would be to have a smoke, just one. So stick with it and keep doing the basics - it's the first one that does the damage, ones too many and twenty is not enough…….

Keep strong!

When I first stayed at Tanisa about five years ago I was quite simply amazed at the extraordinary value: 500 - 600 THB for a really well appointed room in a brand new resort. The only drawback is/was that it is not in the heart of downtown Chumphon and so it is ideally suited for people using their own cars.

Stayed here last night for the first time in over two years and following a mixup about rates, direct reservation with the hotel working out at over 50% cheaper than through Agoda, we opted for two double rooms with breakfast at 800 baht per room. (The hotel suggested in the first place that we book with Agoda, so be careful). Tanisa have built a new unit of standard double rooms which is were we stayed and they are all finished to a high standard with comfortable beds, separate WC & bath, aircon, fridge, desk, plasma screens with USB, great internet. The breakfast option worked well for our hungry lot, bog standard American and Thai set menus. Add in a little swimming pool which offers enough room for a soak though little else though it does have a small kiddies area - not really a major issue as some great beaches are nearby.

So still a great deal in my opinion.

Well Junior's passport was extended today in a process that has been characterised by its high level of efficiency. We arrived 45 minutes early, were seen almost immediately, and provided the staff with our paperwork. Five minutes later Junior got his passport back with a one year extension stamped into it. My only gripe is that his current passport expires 25.01.15 and the 12 months doesn't commence from them but from today. Anyhow a minor grumble in the great scheme of things.

We submitted the following documents:

• 1 page A4 application form, downloadable;
• Juniors passport;
• his Thai birth certificate with translation and his British consular birth certificate;
• mum and dad's passports;
• mum and dad's Thai marriage certificate & registration details and translation;
• consent letter from mummy - she's a filipina.

We were out of the embassy by 0945, a full 15 minutes before the scheduled appointment. It took less than 5 minutes for the passport to be returned…...

Not sure this is ideal for everyone but I reckon we'll definitely do it for the kids. Apart from our travel costs, it was free.

I don't want to get into naming and shaming because I don't think it is the right thing to do. The online agency is so well known that I doubt whether you would have to think very hard so pointless naming it really. More important to be aware this is a possibility when booking hotels online for the Christmas as opposed to New Year break. That is/was my point - Christmas is decidedly quiet in my experience in most non-Western places in Thailand. A lot of travellers and visitors as opposed to long term residents will not know this, methinks, so thought the possibility of being charged as if it were peak season should be flagged up.

As for the resort they addressed my concerns immediately and sent me there own screenshot showing rooms coming in at 800 THB. I got the desired rate once I contacted the resort. It's a great little resort and was one of the best deals in town, in Chumphon to be precise. As far as I am concerned the jury is still out on the resort and I will write about it once we have been there.

We're planning to head south for a few days over the Christmas/New Year break. We know that outside of the major Western resorts, Christmas is a pretty quiet period.

So I contacted a small resort on the east coast to make a reservation. We've stayed there many times in the past but not for about two years. They emailed back telling me how simple it was to book online and I followed their link to a very well known agency. We expected to pay about 650 THB for a room. We wanted two rooms for one night. So I was very surprised when said well known online company asked for 2850 THB for one night, including a 400+ THB booking fee.

I sent the resort a screen shot of the online "bill" and got a yarn about cookies and apologies and they agreed to two rooms at 650 each . So problem solved but thought readers might want to know this is about and perhaps make bookings directly with hotels etc if they are making reservations for Christmas.

We'll be in Chumphon on CHristmas Day, three adults and two weans, and wonder of anywhere is doing Christmas lunch. Suggestions and recommendations welcome. THnaks and Merry CHristmas.

Just an update. I enquired by email and got the rather depressing, automated response saying they would endeavour to reply in the next century. Then within 24 hours I got another email with a number. I called, cleared the switchboard without too much fuss and we have an appointment for Junior this Monday at 10:00 am at the embassy. They offered this Friday but that's our last day of term, so Monday is perfect as I am on holiday. They were eager to ensure we had all the documents and certifications, including three empty page's in Junior's passport. How good is that?!

Apparently Junior's British passport, which expires end of January, can be extended for free for a further twelve months, see https://www.gov.uk/get-an-emergency-passport-extension-or-child-travel-document. As Junior is a happy little schoolboy in provincial Thailand this new extension system is ideal as mum and dad aren't planning any major upheavals in the next 12 months and it might save a few shillings. We are planning to stay put in LOS for the moment and most of the places he is likely to travel to are on the approved list. As with all new passports this extension process starts in Trendy Towers ℅ VFS Global. There is a simple form for completion available here https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322053/Application_for_a_12month__Extn_to_your_UK_passport_20_6_14.pdf

Now, as Junior's papa, will I need to provide proof of residence or anything else or is it as good as it sounds?

Would be interested to hear from anybody who has actually experienced this new procedure. Best regards and thx.

You will meet some people in AA who will tell you glibly to get off this drug immediately and charge their advice with emotive challenges to your sobriety. They will disregard potential consequences and in some parts of the world this has landed the fellowship in deep trouble. If this medication is prescribed by your doctor then it's a decision you and s/he should make when it is appropriate and not as a result of casual conversation with equally casual acquaintances you make in the rooms.

When I was going to school in the 50s and 60s...the US had a very competitive school system...promoting gifted students to excel in math and science...the public school environment was constructed to challenge and reward students for excellence...

Today the school system is in serious trouble...money does not help...the education lobby in congress stops any meaningful reform and last I heard the US ranked 25 in the world...

Students in general have been relegated to mediocrity by the school system...leaving no child behind...not promoting gifted kids as it may hurt someone's feeling...chaos in the classroom...criminal activity on campus...and teachers continue to milk the education system for their own personal gain...

I was living and working in Washington DC when a recent graduate sued the public school system for providing him with a high school diploma when he was not equipped with enough reading skills to fill out an employment application...

The losers in all this is the country whose public schools does not value the student enough to insist on the best education possible...think of what kind of leaders will rule these countries in the future...

IMHO the lack of quality leadership around the world can be directly linked to poor public education...

The American education system has its issues, and it is in dire need of change. I believe the system is bloated and we can achieve more with less spending, I also believe the issues that we are seeing now are a lot more complicated than we realize.

1) The US is ranked 25th in the world, but when you look at the top ranked countries you will see that don't test everyone. Do you think Taiwan, South Korea, and China test their special needs students? America educates and tests everyone,

2) America is a big country. Education in states such as Mississippi, Arkansas and South Carolina is horrible. In New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York education is very good. It really is like night and day. How can anyone compare South Korea to America? SK is 20% the size of California for gods sake.

3) America has a diverse population while other countries are mostly homogenous. American classrooms are filled with many different cultures and races. No other country has this account for the differences that we do.

4) The issues with education in America is cultural. This is something that people are less likely to talk about. Sadly, education in America is secondary. How can we blame teachers when they have students who are coming to school unprepared. They just don't care. You can't make someone do something that they just don't want to do. This is why Asians do so well when they migrate to America. Back home education is serious business. It's very common to study for 6 hours a day/ 7 days a week. Show me an American student who studies for even 3 hours a day.

5) You say teachers are milking the system. I disagree. Teachers today are under assault from the politicians who want to dehumanize educators for political gain. The public thinks teaching is easy, and that they are paid too much. In South Carolina, starting salary is $35k. In NJ it's 50k, but the cost of living is very high. Compared to the private sector, teaching wages are awfully low. in NJ, the teacher pension is bankrupt. Governor Christie is always attacking educators. Making a living as a teacher is very difficult, and many educators need to work second jobs. Only a few are milking the system, and they should be terminated.

The American education system does need to change. Today, we have highly skilled positions that are going vacant because our current workforce just doesn't have the skillset to work at these positions. What's the solution? I think we need to cut down on extra curricular activities, and put more focus on math and science. We need to get rid of the summer vacations, because our students are losing too much valuable time. It wouldn't be a big deal if our students continued their education in the summer, but we all know that this isn't the case. Most stay home and vegetate on the computer or play video games 12 hours a day, They go back to school and lose most of what they learned the previous year.

Finally, I have a niece who is 9 years old. I asked about her homework, and she told me that she she gets 20 minutes in-class to complete her work. She only has homework for 20 stinking minutes a day, Her teacher should be ashamed of herself. We do have a dumbing down in our school system and it needs to stop.

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It really is a pretty awful system from my experience as a teacher and as parent. I accept that every country will develop its unique approach to education based on local circumstances and priorities.

Recently I watched a video about early years in Sweden. They don't start formal school there until aged 7 and yet by 10 they lead Europe's literacy tables. Here in Thailand kids often start nursery at 2 which usually involves wearing a uniform followed by three years in Kindergarten and then 6 grades of primary. It seems they want to get a pencil into children's hands as quickly possible here and have them involved in formal, desk based and book-based learning as early as possible. What it seems to result in is a lot of hyperactive children who in subsequent years struggle to learn effectively.

When I have raised these matters with managers, parents, even Thai academics involved in developing Thai education, I get fobbed off with the usual pish: this is the Thai way, it's what the parents want, etc

This is the problem - the teachers can't learn and will not consider doing things differently. There is a very considerable body of educational expertise available which if applied could help to transform the system. There are many highly qualified people who could lead on its implementation. There really are no excuses.

What is happening instead is not progress but a growing divide between the system here and everywhere else in Asia, and the rest of the world. It's getting worse and as technology transforms learning everywhere else in the world, Thai kids and their parents are being left behind.

I presume your parents were learned people. My old man managed to get to University in London in the 60s.

Now imagine your thai girlfriends father and his experience of thailand in the 1960. He may have been lucky to be one of the bare few to get to university.

But bear in mind today in thailand thry are still moaning about learning by rote. Imagine how little these educationalists actually know let alone understand about modern schooling. They are largely clueless on a global scale.

I think you make a valid point. I don't doubt that the system has come a long way since the 1960s but it is still pish, and getting pishier! And there is a huge and growing disparity between here and the rest of SE Asia and most of the world. Thailand is getting left behind and that spells big trouble for the country over the next 50 years.

I have no problem with an element of rote learning, but just a little bit please! I believe it is ok to teach students multiplication tables by rote. No problem. I have found it a very useful skill throughout my life to be able to compute simple multiplications mentally and of course with this comes important things like getting to know multiples and being able to divide. (Think of the fun of waiting for your change at a 7-11 when you are charged 73 baht and tender 103 baht to simplify the process! It usually complicates things!) However a waste of time to teach kids the ABC alphabet by rote as a first stage in learning English; but many parents delight in the little darlings being able to sing the ABC song but unable to sound a simple word like "c-a-t" and then blend the sounds together to say "cat" and apply it thereafter to every similar sound. Mind you in the UK right now the controversy is that the DCSF, the Ministry of Edumacation, has decreed that young kids should be tested on their ability to use phonic skills to pronounce words in English, ok I say, but extends that to words that don't exist! In other words read the word "shig"! The idea of learning to read, I thought, was to understand and make sense of what you read - little merit in encouraging kids to spend time on literally meaningless activity.

What we need here is the equivalent of an Education Tsar to take responsibility for leading the necessary charge to completely overhaul the education system. It's going to take a long time but it will be worthwhile as it will transform this country and give effect to the hopes of young Thai people and their parents. Look at Singapore - generally acknowledged to be a comparative backwater in the 1950s and 1960s and in no way resembling its modern day opulence - now producing some of the best Science and Mathematics teaching in the planet plus having some of the best technical/vocational educational anywhere. Makes you shudder when you think of technical education here which is a sort of two/three year pitstop for the many teenagers failed by the secondary education system…..you thought school was boring, well welcome to technical college …… I accept that it is not fair to compare a city/state to a nation, but what has happened in Singapore could happen in Bangkok, surely?

I really do believe this is urgent. Something's gotta change…..

If I was staying in Thailand to study (and money was a bit tight), I would do the Thongsook degree. That takes three years, but people are correct in that you'll need a post grad in education of some sort after that. If you could afford it, you could also do a PGCEi from Nottingham while on the Thongsook course. you would then qualify for licence after 3 years if you can finish the PGCEi while on the degree. THe degree at Thongsook is only 120 credits (compared to 360 in the UK), so I would think the workload would be light enough to do both. PGCEi is a Post Grad Cert in Education (International) from England. It is not QTS (qualified teacher status), but if you have a degree from Thongsook plus that, you will get a licence for Thailand. As things stand anyway. I know of people that have started the PGCEi (distance learning) without a degree but have experience of teaching English abroad. They seem to accept experience in lieu of a degree.

I'm not sure Nottingham will accept you on the PGCEi without a degree or some substantial reason, like lots of teaching experience. So I don't think your suggestion of doing two degrees at the same time would be possible in this scenario.

It really is a pretty awful system from my experience as a teacher and as parent. I accept that every country will develop its unique approach to education based on local circumstances and priorities.

Recently I watched a video about early years in Sweden. They don't start formal school there until aged 7 and yet by 10 they lead Europe's literacy tables. Here in Thailand kids often start nursery at 2 which usually involves wearing a uniform followed by three years in Kindergarten and then 6 grades of primary. It seems they want to get a pencil into children's hands as quickly possible here and have them involved in formal, desk based and book-based learning as early as possible. What it seems to result in is a lot of hyperactive children who in subsequent years struggle to learn effectively.

When I have raised these matters with managers, parents, even Thai academics involved in developing Thai education, I get fobbed off with the usual pish: this is the Thai way, it's what the parents want, etc

This is the problem - the teachers can't learn and will not consider doing things differently. There is a very considerable body of educational expertise available which if applied could help to transform the system. There are many highly qualified people who could lead on its implementation. There really are no excuses.

What is happening instead is not progress but a growing divide between the system here and everywhere else in Asia, and the rest of the world. It's getting worse and as technology transforms learning everywhere else in the world, Thai kids and their parents are being left behind.

I ordered some goods from this company for the first time having been a subscriber for about 24 months. I had enough Thai to be able to complete the transaction in Thai. on the first delivery a few phone calls were necessary but I was able to guide the driver to my place. since that time I haven't received a single email from them when prior to placing my first orderi was receiving three a day for! whhat sort if busines is this when you stop marketing to your customers after they place their first order!? i'm happy they don't want to trade with me but I just don't get it!!!! TIT

Better act fast...the MacAir and MacBook Pro Retina (rMBP) are all going solid state everything.

Nice machines, but reduced ports and NO DVD player. Be sure to look at your current machine and the new machines for sale.

For example NO ETHERNET PORT. No DVD players, etc.

Is this a concern of yours or not? Suss things out at your fave Mac store and decide. The MBP with a conventional screen

and spinning hard drive can be factory configured with up to 1TB storage. This machine is very rugged and is called the "Unibody design" within Mac circles as it is milled out of single chunk of high quality aluminum. Bomber proof, yet half pound heavier than their rMBP cousins.

For myself, I could not really tell the retina screen diff and liked all the ports on the sides and the DVD player.....this model is being DISCONTINUED by Apple. Suss out the Apple website. You can get it configured with an Intel 2.9 GHz i7 8 GB RAM 1600 MGHz DRR3 Intel Graphics 4000 chipset, 1TB spinning HD. Cost is about $1400USD with 12 month free financing via Barclay's. This is USA model. I just add Tai keyboard stickers.

This MBP will become a collector's item in the future. Do you travel much where the lighter weight is a concern? If you go with the MBA(MacBook Air) or rMBP, then you will need a stand alone DVD player...such as a Samsung which costs about $50 USD off Amazon.

Recall the old gumdrop looking iMac? When it came out, Jobs was excoriated for dropping the floppy disc player!

Many are moving to DVD-less players. Okay, that is fine, but when Cisco sells its routers, guess what? You need a DVD player to install the software to configure the router!

Your call, but the older style MBP is being phased out for good.....

thanks for the heads up on these changes to mbp. i presume it might take a few months to filter thru to Apple's Asian markets.