Dilemma To Move Back To The West Or Not

[sonicdragon]

Why not ? Really ?

Probably not for myself Sonic, but while I'd say it was impractical to do it weekly, I'd dare say there are enough rich Thai's there who wouldn't blink at bringing their kids back at least once a month if thats what they wanted. Some Thai families are like that, and they like to have their kids a close as possible.

I actually met a London educated Thai girl last week who would think nothing of going to London regularly for a weekend, business class. Her family are loaded. In an old job (cause they paid), I and many others used to do the 5-6 hour door to door to spend the weekend in my home city and our work city. Racked up a lot of FF miles that way. Company paid of course.

A Thai friend of the family was educated in the UK about 50 years ago, spent her formative years in Kensington. She did the same with her kids, secondary school and university in the UK. When I was in London I met up with her as the next generation were being prepped for life outside of Thailand....in Kensington.

I put it to you that there is a world of difference between travelling back and forth on a monthly and a weekly basis. I see nothing wrong with monthly (have done it myself for extended periods) but weekly (monday and friday as stated) is ludicrous for someone presumably studying for admission to university.

[sonicdragon]

At the risk of piling on, I would also have to say that jasreeve's response to my IB advice was also totally off base. I guess today's lesson is "teaching English grammer at Chula does not an expert make".

I would repeat my advice to the OP that an IB grad from Asia, no matter the passport, will be on par with the best in the US, and better than most public (taxpayer supported) high school grads. It might even be worth considering remaining offshore and doing the IB, if the other option was to go public.

I fully agree.

This is a quote from Concordian International School's mission statement (which primary and middle years IB program (and soon the IB diploma) in a tri-lingual environment:

"At the heart of the school's philosophy lies the belief that we all have an obligation to question what it means to be ethical and rsponsible members of our global society. While the school promotes academic excellence, we also nurture our young people to become moral and intellectual leaders. Our ideals focus on every student becoming independent, creative and critical thinkers, as well as lifeling learners".

I intend to send my kids to this school.

I really don't want my kids growing up in the UK - even attending a good fee-paying day school is fraught with danger by being exposed to UK society. Each time I go back to the UK it shocks me. There are, of course, some nice areas mainly in the country, but any large city is not a place I would want my kids to grow up, regardless of what school they attended. 2-3 months of visits per year is enough IMHO.

A good school offering a program like the IB, together with a nurturing home environment, in thailand, is as close to perfection as I can hope to achieve.

Edited April 16, 2007 by sonicdragon

[solo siam]

Its always been my belief that education is not only about school, but is about parenting, friendships, environment etc...

Would it be feasible to stay in Thailand and supplement their education at home, with an hour or so of learning? I think you are giving too much credit to the schooling system for childrens attitude to the world and their ability to think for themselves. Most of this is learned from parents, relatives and home life, also you are discounting the positives of bringing children up in a Thai environment, back in the Uk where I went to school, a lot of very clever people went off the rails.

The plan with my children is to do International schooling and perhaps some good Thai public schooling with the opportunity to attend University in either Australia or the UK etc... if they so wish.

[GuestHouse]

Having moved from Thailand with children who where attending one of the top Thai schools I can report that our experience has been wholly positive. We were pleased ( to a point ) with the education that our children where getting in Thailand but believe there has been a marked improvement in the education our children receive outside of Thailand.

We believe, for a number of reasons that I have gone into in the past, that our daughter in particular has benefitted from this move away from the Thai education system.

[jumnien]

Sometimes I get the feeling that people are trying to figure out which is the better option, to educate here in Thailand, or to educate abroad. They argue with others about which way is best. Both are wonderful options and have the potential to produce excellent results. The most important thing is that the parents are happy living where they are living. If the parents are miserable, resentful and irritated every day, then the schooling of the children will make little difference.

[The Dan Sai Kid]

IMHO there is no way you can compare a state education in Thailand with one in western countries. They class sizes here are horrendous, no-one will ever convince me that kids learn very much in a class of 50.

To talk about percentages of students that go into further education is also misleading. I remember reading an article in the Bangkok Post a couple of years back that said that a typical degree in a Thai university was equivalent of a GCSE qualification in the UK.

Having spent the last year working in what is considered one of the best schools in Chiang Mai (outwith the international school system)I feel that if I were to send my child to one of these schools I would be doing them a great disservice.

At the moment the Thai educational system has in place a policy under which all students must pass. The idea being that a student fails a test and the teacher will give them coaching to make sure they can pass a resit. In reality, all that happens is that the tests are made ridicuously easy - because the teacher is inundated with paperwork. At my old school there was a massive problem in the Matayom sections with students who realised they could swing the lead and still pass. This year at my school the Matayom 3 and 6 students had their lowest marks ever and there is no sign of this trend stopping. And please remember, I am talking about one of the top private schools in Chiang Mai!

[paperplates]

If you are from the UK and cannot afford Thai International school fees, it is unlikely you'd be able to afford overseas student university fees when your kids reach that age. At the moment you have to be resident for three years prior to application to get home student fees. Otherwise you're looking at 10,000 a year and up just for fees and then considerable living costs on top of that. So for a three year degree you're looking at about the equivalent of 8 years of schooling in one of the mid-range International schools which charge about 3 and a half thousand pounds a year. It is a ridiculous policy but it doesn't seem likely to change.

Thai university degrees hold no currency anywhere apart from Thailand and you can get into them with the equivalent of 5 Cs at GCSE.

[KhunMarco]

I stumbled upon this video The Drugging of our Children, which i found very interesting.

After watching it, rising a child in a Thai village doesn't sound like a bad idea ... the west has gone down the drain my friends, it's time to reconsider our priorities in life...

ps Don't be scared by the title, it's not a "trash" movie, it's a nicely done documentary.

Edited May 1, 2007 by KhunMarco

[jts-khorat]

Thanks for everyone’s input I appreciate it and agree with most of it. I was taking a different approach today by writing reasons to stay and reasons to go. I'm not going to write them here but there were very few reasons to stay on my list - weather, food, lower costs and wife’s family. However reasons to go were plentiful as most of you from the west already know. From what I can tell arriving over 5 years ago things have not gotten better for Thailand quite the opposite. The longer we stay the more difficult it will be to go IMHO but at the end of the day it is not only my decision.

Maybe the OP should consider a third option -- moving out of the backwater of Sakeo to a place in Thailand that offers more educational choices for his children, eg Int schools nearby or at least a good English support program and partner schools outside of Thailand. Some of them #do# cost an arm and a leg, but by far not all of them.

And I was surprised how bad my (superior :-) ) German educational experience looked compared to the schooling my son became here on Phuket.

Edited May 1, 2007 by jts-khorat

[chanchao]

I sit in the same boat as the OP. Now that the wife has completed university we have to move along this year. It was not an easy choice and I had to make a list as to the pro's and con's of both sides. Thailand does have lots of pro's but also a lot of con's. I do like the weather, safety, lower cost of living however this tends to get balanced off against visa instability, raising a Luekrung in Thailand and a few others which makes the future a bit unstable with a small child.

Whot? You have your reasons completely backwards. Safety?! How can you list that as a 'pro' for Thailand? Safety standards for completely EVERYTHING are either completely absent, or nobody gives a <deleted>, never mind if it's construction/engineering, electrical systems, traffic, medical/ambulance services, police, especially police, they're all a complete joke! Oh a kid drowned at Jomtien beach. Life guard? The West had them since the 1950's if not before that. Thailand: mai pen rai. Oh a kid fell through a fence in a shopping mall that in hindsight had huge gaps in it. Thailand: mai pen rai boys! The police are a joke, rabid dog packs roam free, drunk driving is a national hobby, sober driving is hardly better, brain-dead 'big hair' Thai hens yapping on their mobile phones while driving and with a driver's license they just bought for 1000 bath.. Are you SERIOUS? Thaland is the joke of the world when it comes to anytying at all beyond 'having a nice sanuk time'.

Then some of your cons I don't count at all. Visa instability? Huh? Yeah, freeloaders can't stay indefinitely on visa exemption, would you count that? As the parent of a Thai kid you qualify for a Non Imm. O. Your kid is a Thai national. As for raising a look krueng in Thailand, I haven't so far seen anything that would lead me to believe that they'd have a harder time here than they would in the West, to put it mildly.

Edited May 1, 2007 by chanchao

[GuestHouse]

I can't help wondering where some posters get their information on what they claim to be the 'sorry state' of UK state schools.

Perhaps they believe the doom and gloom put out by the Telegraph and Daily Mail.

That is not to say there are no failing schools in the UK, but to claim that all UK state education is failing is simply not true.

Many UK state schools are competing with the very best of the elite schools in the UK private sector - And let's not forget the elite schools of the UK private sector are the model copied, but seldom matched, by private sector schools throughout the world.

[Smee]

Further to my last post, I would sress that ther are some truly great nternational Schools in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand, but finding the right one, particularly on a limited budget, can be daunting!

Edited January 7, 2009 by Smee

[dishrace]

I second Samran reply. And in fact, what a coincidence I am reading this topic just the night before our move back to the west, 80% of the reason being our 3 kids future (4, 2, and newborn). Yes, our move may even be too early, but there are other reasons as well that made the decision become real now as opposed to in 2-3 years, when it would have made more sense.

matcube.

Stepfather to Thai child 10 yo....i have already moved back west with thai wife and am looking for best intl school or tutor arrangment to teach as much english to teach her child before moving her to usa with us in mid 2010...she has been exposed to english but has been living in NE Thailand until now. any ideas for school in pattaya area for child for next year? Thanks.

[LaoPo]

Further to my last post, I would sress that ther are some truly great nternational Schools in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand, but finding the right one, particularly on a limited budget, can be daunting!

:D

when and where was your last post ?...the last post before yours was from May 2, 2007...

LaoPo

[sbk]

last post was deleted, far too inflammatory and defamatory.