Grace International School

[p1p]

No updates as yet. As I wrote above, they have been offered the chance to negotiate a compromise solution and are refusing to do so.

They are, instead, taking full advantage of the situation to raise huge amounts of money from gullible individuals in the USA. "Your $ are Needed to Help Grace Academy fight the good fight against the heathen forces trying to destroy them in Chiang Mai. Send your donations to........"

My contacts in the US tell me they have breached $5M already, although I have no way to confirm this.

In any case, it is "Heaven Sent" for them to use as a fleecing method to give them bulging coffers. The longer they can drag it on, the more they can make out of it.

[BlackArtemis]

I love how Christian companies (a school IS a company) try to put that spin on it. I was fined $200 (along with 5 others) in Uni for damaging a already damaged door. (We were bowling) So $1200 to replace a door that costs no more than $300. Guess what they forgot to do? yeah... replace the door.

I have no problem coughing up the $ when it's my fault, but don't stick religion down my throat while I am doing it....

[ChiangMaiAjarn]

Grace educates the privileged and elite - not very Christian

Grace discriminates based on nationality, race and religion - not very Christian

Their volunteers live in houses that have more bedrooms than people and employ 'servants' to clean, cook and wash - not very Christian

If Jesus were around, he would throw these devils in God's clothes out of the country

Oh, he speaketh the truth. Never trust the unchristian christians that surround us...

If Jesus is coming back then Grace would be a great place to visit first... A lot like the money changers in the temple I think!

What I want to know is how we let their churches back in America know what a disgrace it is - their supposed missionaries indulgent lifestlyes out here on the backs of American christians!

[PeaceBlondie]

I recently visited in a missionary home where they send their kids to Grace. One doctor's degree, and stories of living many years in fifth world hot countries without air con. Their home is big, but not too big; sparsely and modestly furnished. I had never seen a Ph.D, MD, or Th.D. live in such modest housing. They minister to people whom the Thai Buddhists often look down upon. They could be safely home in their native country, enjoying a big pastorate or a seminary professorship. Their children deserve a first rate Western style education, and if they choose to raise their children in an evangelical bubble, that's a very reasonable choice (surely beats govt. schools in the West or Thailand). Oh, I forgot to ask them about Fidel.

[Bill97]

Yes PB, they are not all bad or not all of them are bad but as a group they have caused a lot of ill feelings. I have met some who connected to Grace, have no degrees, but home school their children, speak little Thai and have little good to say about things Thai. Any idea what they are doing here?

[Loaded]

I've also met missionaries and Christians in CM who are selfless and do good without preaching, or making their contribution conditional. However, Grace is a business with lots of money.

[infernalman7]

A lot of them are plainly good. Since I have been studying there for a LITTLE period of time. Most of them are just nice.

If you take the fact that they have a little ignorance if it comes to talks of religion.

But for the rest, they are just nice people to befriend with. Better than common others.

But again, they never stop from persuading me to convert. And I hate the fact that they keep telling me that I will end up going to hel_l no matter I'm a good or bad person until I accept God into my heart. So that was when I ultimately decided that I cannot study there anymore.

I can get bad teacher recommendation for not being a Christian. At least to be fair, they shouldn't call themselves an International school since they do NOT promote the differences of cultures. However, they should call themselves International Christian or something like that.

[KhunDave]

Having had personal experience of the patronising, supercilious attitude of the Grace people, I can't avoid a little schadenfruede on reading this thread.

IMO the whole set up at that place is wholly offensive. The have established a religio-fascistic operation in the midst of another culture, which back home in the Land Of The Free would most likely be illegal and un-consitutional. They deserve everything that seems to be coming to them.

Rant over.

[Sao Jiang Mai]

Cant remember the exact details, but my friend was invited to her 11 year old daughters assembly at Prem last week. The assembly were asked questions such as:

Who would you elect for president?

A person with a drug and alcohol record but who has rehabilitated?

Someone who occasionally enjoys alcohol and ciggarettes?

or

A vegetarian who doesnt drink or smoke?

Most kids chose the latter.

They were then told that they had just voted Adolf Hitler into office.

As I said I dont remember the details, but it is pretty powerful stuff to ask 11 year olds and it is great that they are open enough that they want kids to think beyond the face value.

[infernalman7]

Cant remember the exact details, but my friend was invited to her 11 year old daughters assembly at Prem last week. The assembly were asked questions such as:

Who would you elect for president?

A person with a drug and alcohol record but who has rehabilitated?

Someone who occasionally enjoys alcohol and ciggarettes?

or

A vegetarian who doesnt drink or smoke?

Most kids chose the latter.

They were then told that they had just voted Adolf Hitler into office.

As I said I dont remember the details, but it is pretty powerful stuff to ask 11 year olds and it is great that they are open enough that they want kids to think beyond the face value.

And it will get more and more intense as they get to 12th grade. I still remember the day I have to write 1200 word essay on "Can a Machine Know?"

It's a part of the IB curriculum where children need to learn how to think and create, not to follow or believe. Some Christian schools in the US even accused this curriculum "Anti-american" and "Anti-Christian" since there are issues that involve god, global warming, poverty, and peace.

The other weird thing is that all the papers have to be sent to Switzerland to be marked and accessed so that the standard is the same like other school world-wide.. which is not so cost-effective.

Edited January 30, 2008 by infernalman7

[Ricardo]

Cant remember the exact details, but my friend was invited to her 11 year old daughters assembly at Prem last week. The assembly were asked questions such as:

Who would you elect for president?

A person with a drug and alcohol record but who has rehabilitated?

Someone who occasionally enjoys alcohol and ciggarettes?

or

A vegetarian who doesnt drink or smoke?

Most kids chose the latter.

They were then told that they had just voted Adolf Hitler into office.

As I said I dont remember the details, but it is pretty powerful stuff to ask 11 year olds and it is great that they are open enough that they want kids to think beyond the face value.

I'm impressed that any kid that age even knows who he was !

I just asked my 12-year-old, who Adolf Hitler was, reply "He was a german guy who went a bit too crazy, wanted to take over most of the world, but when he got to Moscow most of his troops died." Not a bad level of knowledge !

He too goes to Prem.

I guess all those school-fees are well-spent !