Thai or English programme for a 12 year old?

[peterrabbit]

If She is fluent in both written and spoken English then, She will always get a good Job and be very employable. A Thai university degree isn't worth anything outside of Thailand as its NOT recognised by most western countries.

[richard_smith237]

By placing your daughter in an English Program you are providing her with greater opportunity to attend a Western University, an opportunity to work in any English speaking country and potentially world wide. If your daughter continues to learn Thai, she also has potential in Thailand.

 

By placing your daughter in a Thai Program you are limiting her options to a single country. 

 

 

I’m astonished at some of the responses on here. Actually, given the posting history of some of those making the comments, I’m not surprised, they don’t even value a decent education for their own children. 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

7 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

You got another sad emoticon with this comment from me, and you can give me back as many as you like but you never care to explain why so there is little i can do with your childish "tit for tat" strategy. Sorry.

 

Most people who think for themselves are unhappy and dissatisfied?

Please show me the research papers on that. I thought the happiest societies were in western europe: scandinavian countries and the netherlands. Those countries are certainly not known for producing people who cannot think for themselves. 

 

You can prefer your kids happy and to fit in, but their hapiness is not something that comes from thai government school. It will be heavily influenced by their upbringing, their mentality, and the opportunities they get in their life. That last one you are purposefully limiting because you have decided they will be living in thailand the rest of their lives. Newsflash: you have little say about that after they turn 18. 

 

If you said that you didnt have the money for a better education for them, i could respect that. But purposefully limiting their opportunities because you think a better education is a waste of money does not get much credit from me. Not that you care of course, I just let it be known for other readers who are still undecided where to send their kids to. Hopefully they make a better decision with their kids future as top priority, not their own preference to keep their kids in thailand no matter what they want themselves.

 

Edit: you added a question:

If the western education, work ethic and culture are so great why are you here?

Because my wife works here and we can afford an international education for our kids here which I value above a (free) education in my home country. General quality will be about equal (both offer a western education) but here class size is much smaller (max 15 kids with 2 teachers per class) which i think is of great value for them. And i hope they will consider going abroad for university, or maybe even earlier, so they get all the opportunities in the world. Besides, we live on a tropical island here where I can take them snorkling, diving, and let them have other perks that would be hard to afford to give them in my home country. All together i think thailand has a lot to offer for kids, but i will certainly understand if they decide to persue a job somewhere else in the world at a later age.

 

....And in doing so you are giving your children the best opportunities and best future you possibly can. 

 

I get the impression that ’some’ other forum members don’t care about compromising their children’s future in a country where young women can be purchased and sex is cheap and justify their choice with flawed and ultimately broken logic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

7 hours ago, johnray said:

Since you already teach her English at home a Thai school would make more sense.

Unless a parent is an 'educated educator' home schooling will always be flawed. 

 

I wouldn’t dream of teaching my Son English, that is for the professionals at an International school. Neither would I dream of having my Wife teach my Son Thai, that is also for the professionals at an extra curricular Thai language school. 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

5 hours ago, Keyser Soze666 said:

It's not a Thai school. It's a private school with a choice of EP or TP (both in the Thai curriculum)

 

My basic point is she can speak good English now, but if very likely she will be in Thailand for some time to come, maybe forever, so would it not make more sense for her to advance her Thai language skills?

 

As your daughter is half Thai (I assume) it is important not to underestimate the necessity for her to attain fluency to a professional standard in Thai, though perhaps not as important as attaining the same standards in a language recognised globally. 

 

Extra curricular Thai lessons will ensure your daughter does not fall behind while she continues her education at an International School studying an internationally recognised syllabus (IB or iGCSE).

 

 

 

 

 

[BritManToo]

9 hours ago, Scott said:

Suicide is off-topic, but please try to be correct in posting information:

Fair enough, back on topic,

My children have all done very well in government schools no matter what country.

Thailand's schools are different from the UK schools, but my lot still seem to learn well.

If you have a choice nearby, ask the Thai kindergarten teachers which school their kids attend.

You can't go wrong, having your kids in the same schools as the teachers.

[Bob12345]

7 hours ago, peterrabbit said:

A Thai university degree isn't worth anything outside of Thailand as its NOT recognised by most western countries.

I hear that being said a lot around here, but that is simply not true.

There are thai universities that have western certifications meaning their education is recognized by most western countries.

I also know a thai who went to a top-tier american university for his PhD after graduation, which should not be possible if his degree was not recognized.

[Bob12345]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

If you have a choice nearby, ask the Thai kindergarten teachers which school their kids attend.

You can't go wrong, having your kids in the same schools as the teachers.

Your logic fails there, as the best school available might be an expensive school and a Thai kindergarten teacher would love their kids there but simply cannot afford it. 

[Scott]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Fair enough, back on topic,

My children have all done very well in government schools no matter what country.  Thailand's schools are different from the UK schools, but my lot still seem to learn well.  If you have a choice nearby, ask the Thai kindergarten teachers which school their kids attend.  You can't go wrong, having your kids in the same schools as the teachers.

 

[Hanuman2547]

My two luk krung boys attended very good Thai schools thanks to her family and their connections.  They went to P1-6 at a Sathit and then M1-3 at a private school.  After that we returned to the US so that they could attend high school and then university there. They are now 34 & 32, graduated in business and economics and have very good careers in their field.  Although they could return to Thailand to work they both prefer to live in the west.  My oldest son also heads up the SEA offices for his company including Bangkok.  He could transfer to Bangkok but would be taking a sizeable pay cut.  I cannot see why anyone would want to limit their children's options by only educating them in Thailand.  With dual citizenship they just have more opportunities.

[Hanuman2547]

11 hours ago, peterrabbit said:

If She is fluent in both written and spoken English then, She will always get a good Job and be very employable. A Thai university degree isn't worth anything outside of Thailand as its NOT recognised by most western countries.

A lot of truth in that.  However, it will get you into graduate school in a western country where you will now be able to expand you career prospects both in Thailand and abroad.  

[Keyser Soze666]

I'll be honest (for a change lol) that while I appreciate the input it hasn't really helped in decision making. Thing is without a crystal ball it's sometimes hard to know the right thing to do right now.

 

But, to be clear again, she already speaks and writes very good English, so even if she went into a Thai language programme (in a private school) would she still be able to go into an EP at Uni, or will her English skills not be deemed good enough if she has been in a Thai programme in secondary school for 6 years?

[Bob12345]

1 hour ago, Keyser Soze666 said:

I'll be honest (for a change lol) that while I appreciate the input it hasn't really helped in decision making. Thing is without a crystal ball it's sometimes hard to know the right thing to do right now.

 

But, to be clear again, she already speaks and writes very good English, so even if she went into a Thai language programme (in a private school) would she still be able to go into an EP at Uni, or will her English skills not be deemed good enough if she has been in a Thai programme in secondary school for 6 years?

My guess is she has to do an english proficiency test when applying to university. Let her do that test every now and then, see how she scores compared to the minimum requirement for university and to people of similar age, and possibly consider getting her additional english classes in case she falls behind. There are test centers enough in thailand for almost every test and many also run cram-school, so there is always that option. 

[Keyser Soze666]

42 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

My guess is she has to do an english proficiency test when applying to university. Let her do that test every now and then, see how she scores compared to the minimum requirement for university and to people of similar age, and possibly consider getting her additional english classes in case she falls behind. There are test centers enough in thailand for almost every test and many also run cram-school, so there is always that option. 

I'm sure there will be a test, yes, the question is will her English be good enough regardless?

 

As for additional classes, won't be happening. They have enough already with school and homework, so won't be happening.

 

After nearly 4 pages, no one has really come up with anything worthwhile if I'm honest. I will probably end up just letting her decide and if she says EP then I will have to cough up the extra minerals.

[Bob12345]

53 minutes ago, Keyser Soze666 said:

After nearly 4 pages, no one has really come up with anything worthwhile if I'm honest.

On behalf of everyone, you are welcome.

[bkk6060]

I would send her to a school where she can learn Chinese.

Because in 10 to 20 years, they will mostly control this place and probably most of the world.

[unblocktheplanet]

On 7/23/2020 at 7:57 PM, BritManToo said:

Stick her in Thai government school.

My daughter, age 22, speaks perfect English and Thai, and is in her final year at university.

My son, age 8, is completely comfortable in English or Thai as well.

 

We only speak English in the home.

No need to waste money on private school.

Same here. Our daughter did primary & middle school in Thai govt schools where she shone as the go-to interpreter & spoke in English for the school. She got a scholarship for a second-tier int'l school. (We could not have sent her otherwise.) She is just graduating from UBC in Canada and relies on her Thai skills for cybersecurity work.

[Keyser Soze666]

Waste of time. Not a shred of decent advice anywhere..

 

Mods: Please close.

[DavisH]

On 7/27/2020 at 8:20 PM, Keyser Soze666 said:

To be honest even kids at a Thai private school in an EP still have all that embedded into them?

Not really. My students have no problem asking questions, arguing with me and correcting me on various things. Most are quite outspoken. There act differently with their Thai teachers, as can be expected. One of my past students moved to a Thai school in M4. I asked her if she is allowed to ask the teachers questions -"yes, but they don't really like it" was her response. This was supposedly a "good school" as well. The number of actitivies seems to vary with the school. We have a number - wai kru day, Sunthorn Phu day, etc. I've never seem them marching aimlessly though. Sports day, Science day, etc, take up quite a bit of time.; some activities are more productive than others. 

[DavisH]

10 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

My two luk krung boys attended very good Thai schools thanks to her family and their connections.  They went to P1-6 at a Sathit and then M1-3 at a private school.  After that we returned to the US so that they could attend high school and then university there. They are now 34 & 32, graduated in business and economics and have very good careers in their field.  Although they could return to Thailand to work they both prefer to live in the west.  My oldest son also heads up the SEA offices for his company including Bangkok.  He could transfer to Bangkok but would be taking a sizeable pay cut.  I cannot see why anyone would want to limit their children's options by only educating them in Thailand.  With dual citizenship they just have more opportunities.

So if Thai schools are so bad, why did you let them suffer through 9 years in a Thai school? And now they have successful careers? So it wasn't as bad as you say - one of out family friends graduated froma  good Thai highschool, did SAT's and get a scholarship to do eletrical engineering in the US. Did a couple of years at Oxford, then got a full scholarship to study at Princeton for his PhD. Now works at kasikorn bank on filthy money. 

[Keyser Soze666]

16 minutes ago, DavisH said:

Not really. My students have no problem asking questions, arguing with me and correcting me on various things. Most are quite outspoken. There act differently with their Thai teachers, as can be expected. One of my past students moved to a Thai school in M4. I asked her if she is allowed to ask the teachers questions -"yes, but they don't really like it" was her response. This was supposedly a "good school" as well. The number of actitivies seems to vary with the school. We have a number - wai kru day, Sunthorn Phu day, etc. I've never seem them marching aimlessly though. Sports day, Science day, etc, take up quite a bit of time.; some activities are more productive than others. 

Fair enough, but whether my daughter goes into a TL or EL programme it will be at the same school, so you would like to think they have a  similar culture and ethics across the board. 

[Scott]

Closed per OP request.