Starting Private School In Si Bunraung

[bigd987]

My Girlfriend just graduated from College with a degree in Business English and wanted to start her own school near her village. Her Aunt has donated some land and uncle has donated his time to construct the building including all construction costs. My GF, maybe future wife, will only be responsible for the cost of the interior including class room material, chairs, desk, white boards, and any above and beyond costs that she thinks will be required, such as airconditioning. Myself, not being to familar with the area or market for this type of venture was curious if anyone on the forum had some insight, or advice(good or bad). The bottom line is of course she wants me to assist with the costs, which are relativly low considering everyone in the area is helping, City planner donated his time to draw up plans, another relative donated a vehicle to help ferry kids to the school.

[mkawish]

Are you licensed by an accredited institution?

Are you licensed in your country? Hopefully not from Nigeria!

Do you know how to apply for a Thai work permit for a teacher?

Do you know.... how to write a lesson plan?

Do you ever write objectives?

Do you know Chi Square....?

Do you ever chair/attend an IEP meeting in Thai....?

Do you have any objection to spanking students in front of class....?

I am just kidding you.... most Farang teachers claiming to teach English in Thailand....

won't know much about all these either.... I guess....

[MeMock]

It is his girlfriends school, not his own.

[mkawish]

Thai admin are known to be working at their top snail speed....

If you wish to help your girl....

pls do start applying whatever needed promptly and right away....

it took way over two months just for a British friend of mine to receive the blessing from the Thai edu dept to teach....

that does not include traveling back and forth from the potential teaching site to the border to renew his visa et cetera....

It seems the whole process takes forever in our western mind.... but such is the fact of life in Thailand....

but then does your girl know someone at the governor office.... ? That would surely speed thing up tremendously.... Best of luck....

[rgs2001uk]

I hope the young lady isnt a graduate of the if I build it they will come school of thought.

Is there a market for this project?

What will her pricing structure be based on?

Can the locals afford her prices?

Whats available in the local area right now?

Whats her target audience?

I assume all the other Thai nit noi crap will be taken care of such as licensed teachers, accredited institution etc etc.

Are there actually enough locals in the area to make this financially viable?

Thats just of the top of my head, I would assume all these questions have already been answered by the lady in question,

and this isnt some pie in the sky "face" gaining exercise.

Best of luck in the venture.

[bigd987]

Are you licensed by an accredited institution?

Are you licensed in your country? Hopefully not from Nigeria!

Do you know how to apply for a Thai work permit for a teacher?

Do you know.... how to write a lesson plan?

Do you ever write objectives?

Do you know Chi Square....?

Do you ever chair/attend an IEP meeting in Thai....?

Do you have any objection to spanking students in front of class....?

I am just kidding you.... most Farang teachers claiming to teach English in Thailand....

won't know much about all these either.... I guess....

[bigd987]

Thanks for all the good replies, and comments. I want to start off first by saying that I am not personally going to be a teacher or facilitator at the school. I have had my fair share of teaching English, Japan 3 years, and I have no interest in returning to that profession. This is not to say I will not help and assist in a class if needed, but I am not inclined to be teaching English again as a source of income. As for my GF/Wife she has a decent amount of teaching under her belt, part time at a government school and fulltime at an English school in Udon. She has passed her teaching exam and was waiting on a fulltime government position when she decided to strike out on her own. Her inspiration for this venture came from teaching in her village and the opportunity of running her own school. The village donated an unused house for her to use as a classroom during the weekend. She realized the opportunity of opening her own school at a nearby town that has no such service. Originally she was going to rent an existing structure and renovate it to meet her needs at her own expense. Luckily, once some of her relatives caught wind of this they stepped in and donated a piece of property and are currently constructing the building at no cost to my GF. Her college friends in other cities have also started schools and are quite successful due to the fact the locations are far from metropolitan centers, which made attending daily classes almost impossible. Once the city officials heard of her plans the word spread quickly and currently she has a couple of classes lined up already for the summer break. We are not greedy in this project, we have offered the use of the school during non-use hours to local groups if desired and looking at making introductory lesson free. I know by your list of possible administrative hurdles we have not contemplated, that it will not be easy, but her mind is set on the project, with or without me. Oh, one more thing, as we found out today it will not be a school due to conflict with local educator; instead it will be a Learning Center. I was not keen on the idea at first, but after a little reasearch and review of her plans it was hard to say no, and for a guy who never really cared for thailand after being in asia for over 20 years, she really had to do allot of confincing. But she is the one who corrects my bad american grammer, translates japanese(yes, multi lingual, chinese also) for me and has a better head on her shoulder at 24 then I do in my late 30's. Thanks for your help, will be pressing on with the suggestions.

[mkawish]

Thanks for all the good replies, and comments. I want to start off first by saying that I am not personally going to be a teacher or facilitator at the school. I have had my fair share of teaching English, Japan 3 years, and I have no interest in returning to that profession. This is not to say I will not help and assist in a class if needed, but I am not inclined to be teaching English again as a source of income. As for my GF/Wife she has a decent amount of teaching under her belt, part time at a government school and fulltime at an English school in Udon. She has passed her teaching exam and was waiting on a fulltime government position when she decided to strike out on her own. Her inspiration for this venture came from teaching in her village and the opportunity of running her own school. The village donated an unused house for her to use as a classroom during the weekend. She realized the opportunity of opening her own school at a nearby town that has no such service. Originally she was going to rent an existing structure and renovate it to meet her needs at her own expense. Luckily, once some of her relatives caught wind of this they stepped in and donated a piece of property and are currently constructing the building at no cost to my GF. Her college friends in other cities have also started schools and are quite successful due to the fact the locations are far from metropolitan centers, which made attending daily classes almost impossible. Once the city officials heard of her plans the word spread quickly and currently she has a couple of classes lined up already for the summer break. We are not greedy in this project, we have offered the use of the school during non-use hours to local groups if desired and looking at making introductory lesson free. I know by your list of possible administrative hurdles we have not contemplated, that it will not be easy, but her mind is set on the project, with or without me. Oh, one more thing, as we found out today it will not be a school due to conflict with local educator; instead it will be a Learning Center. I was not keen on the idea at first, but after a little reasearch and review of her plans it was hard to say no, and for a guy who never really cared for thailand after being in asia for over 20 years, she really had to do allot of confincing. But she is the one who corrects my bad american grammer, translates japanese(yes, multi lingual, chinese also) for me and has a better head on her shoulder at 24 then I do in my late 30's. Thanks for your help, will be pressing on with the suggestions.

Way to go.....

Best wishes.... with all the successes....

Thai rural areas welcome your contributions however little, however much.... :clap2:

[bigd987]

I just wanted to give a quick update of our status with the school. Everything is still on track for a March grand opening followed by summer classes. Construction is running smoothly with the roof nearly complete, (Uncle who is doing the construction is from Taiwan, so had to take a few days of for Chinese New Year). Looking at different designs for the interior by making partitions between classes verse permanent walls. This will allow for ease of redesign of classes later if needed verse going with permanent walls. My GF is doing well as Project Manager, but is in the process of hiring office help along with an accountant in order to start focusing on teaching.

[kdc1899]

We are not greedy in this project, we have offered the use of the school, we have not contemplated, ( her mind is set on the project, with or without me. )

sorry, but it kinda sounds like a money pit. my advise is let her do it without your financial assistance.

it may be too late seeing that you said "we" 3 times.

even if she was your wife I would offer the same advice.

good luck

[mkawish]

I just wanted to give a quick update of our status with the school. Everything is still on track for a March grand opening followed by summer classes. Construction is running smoothly with the roof nearly complete, (Uncle who is doing the construction is from Taiwan, so had to take a few days of for Chinese New Year). Looking at different designs for the interior by making partitions between classes verse permanent walls. This will allow for ease of redesign of classes later if needed verse going with permanent walls. My GF is doing well as Project Manager, but is in the process of hiring office help along with an accountant in order to start focusing on teaching.

Would love to see some current pictures of the ongoing project.

Also a picture of your very determined g/f would be an added bonus for most of us.

Best wishes.... :jap:

In Thai society, it is best that you put in your part of personal assistance everyday, otherwise, people may speak of you negatively for years to come.... whether you are right or wrong in your personal belief or stand is truly immaterial to most Thai, particularly most rural Thai....

Just pull up your sleeves and help in whatever which way you personally can....

Do forget about what most other Farang said or advised on board here.... most are armchair quarterbacks not having any real opportunity to play in the field....

Make use of every opportunity to help her establish her own identity cementing your own personal relationship along the way.... Cheers mate....

[Monkey Fish]

Everything is still on track for a March grand opening followed by summer classes.

Your gf sounds like a catch. When contemplating the possibility of living in Isaan, I've often thought that a "learning center" like this would be the perfect way to stay busy, give meaning to one's existence, help the local kids, and integrate with the community. Of course, I imagined teaching there as well, which it doesn't sound like you're necessarily planning to do.

Best of luck.

[bigd987]

Everything is still on track for a March grand opening followed by summer classes.

Your gf sounds like a catch. When contemplating the possibility of living in Isaan, I've often thought that a "learning center" like this would be the perfect way to stay busy, give meaning to one's existence, help the local kids, and integrate with the community. Of course, I imagined teaching there as well, which it doesn't sound like you're necessarily planning to do.

Best of luck.

[bigd987]

In response to kdc1899, yeah you got me, I have dropped my guard down a lttle on this and taken ownership of the project. I have run with a few of projects over the years, from condos in the P.I. to foreclosed homes in Japan, i think i have touched a few shakey investments. But compared to my counterparts in the US and the recent housing crisis, got out 2006 prior to the big drop, I have always come out on top. I have never invested in a project that I am not wiling to lose every penny on if it fails, or in this case baht. Thanks for the concern and insight though, I still need to set some limits on the project. As for helping out with the teaching, yes I will be a part of that, but just not on a fulltime basis, still working elsewhere.

[bigd987]

Oh, and the pic someone requested, just a typical Isaan Girl.

Edited February 14, 2011 by bigd987

[mkawish]

Oh, and the pic someone requested, just a typical Isaan Girl.

Thx for the pix.

Yes, I'll endorse her and her project.

Best of everything.... :jap:

[TheWalkingMan]

The project sounds good and I wish you success.

TheWalkingMan

[bergen]

There is a real need for more/better English teaching all over Isaan, so best of luck with your school project.

[bergen]

Double post

Edited February 14, 2011 by bergen

[isaanbeef]

Has anyone seen bigd987? Tried sending a PM but no reply...