For Those Interested In The Schools Debate

[Greenside]

For those who take part in the lively and frequent debates about the pros and cons of the local school choices, Varee has an Open Day tomorrow from 9:00 until 2:00 with stalls, student events, pony & trap rides and even (I think) a bouncy castle so you can come along and see what it's like for yourselves. The school is on Mahidol Road between the Superhighway and Airport Plaza - here's a map.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Thank you, I just came back from the event. Lots of good information, and many foreign teachers. Strange to see the particular event where they dolled up 8 year old girls in national costumes, including some national costume best described as 'ghetto-ho'.. But it was fun all the same, and lots of food.

[Thighlander]

pony rides? I think I will puke.....

[Mapguy]

Going to an open day (most non-government schools in Chiang Mai have them) is a good idea, but fun open houses a good school do not make. They are marketing occasions regardless of the worth of the educational experience the school may offer.

The event highlights noted by OP Greenside, who has been a firm supporter of the school for quite some time, sounded like a lot of fun but don't seem very appealing for learning much important about what goes on in a classroom. Other open houses of other schools often are much more serious in focus.

I am not associated with any other school. And I don't have a particular bone to pick with Varee even though I don't think it is altogether educationally a good choice. For the price, well..... you might just get what you pay for. Otherwise, I have spent time in classrooms in a lot (not quite all) of comparable schools as well as being broadly familiar with the "educational scene" in Chiang Mai.

If you are serious about children and schools, there is quite a lot of good information and advice on previous threads. Because of the random nature of thread titles and posts it takes a bit of doing digging them out, but there is some good stuff posted previously.

[weary]

Let's not beat around the bush. For a comparable price: what school or schools are, in your opinion, Mapguy, better educational choices than Varee? Or are you just saying that it's impossible to get an acceptable education at that price level?

Edited May 21, 2011 by weary

[scorecard]

Going to an open day (most non-government schools in Chiang Mai have them) is a good idea, but fun open houses a good school do not make. They are marketing occasions regardless of the worth of the educational experience the school may offer.

The event highlights noted by OP Greenside, who has been a firm supporter of the school for quite some time, sounded like a lot of fun but don't seem very appealing for learning much important about what goes on in a classroom. Other open houses of other schools often are much more serious in focus.

I am not associated with any other school. And I don't have a particular bone to pick with Varee even though I don't think it is altogether educationally a good choice. For the price, well..... you might just get what you pay for. Otherwise, I have spent time in classrooms in a lot (not quite all) of comparable schools as well as being broadly familiar with the "educational scene" in Chiang Mai.

If you are serious about children and schools, there is quite a lot of good information and advice on previous threads. Because of the random nature of thread titles and posts it takes a bit of doing digging them out, but there is some good stuff posted previously.

Why are you so quickly assuming that last Saturday at Varee was just a fun event and did not include detailed information about education etc?

My 6 yr old granddaughter goes to Varee in the full English stream, Prathom 1, her father (my Thai adult son, who is also a professional teacher) and her mother (Thai, also a professional teacher) went to the event and came away quite happy with the overall information presented to the parent body about education, plus specific information about upcoming events, curriculum explanations etc etc. Her main farang teacher is highly professional, devoted to the kids, excellent at keeping the classroom under control, good listener, always willing to talk to parents, clearly has proper training and it shows.

Is Varee perfect? No, but they are certainly well up the list. There is no perfect school anywhere. We are quite with Varee.