http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/globalhealth/jan-june12/thailand_05-17.html

and

http://www.mechaifoundation.org/school.asp

I came upon this this morning and am especially interested as the branch mentioned as 'being near Buriram' is just down the road from us. The villagers here as well as the inhabitants of the town where it is to be found (Lamplaimatt) have never heard of it. My wife had to visit twice before she found it.

Any body heard of this school? Any comments? It seems to be run a bit like a Montessori school. Come on, guys, give me some feedback, my previous posting about home schooling met with an ear splitting silence.

I do NOT want our kid going to a Thai village school and I don't have the money nor the desire to send her to Bangkok in a ridiculously expensive private school.

My only criticism so far is that the classes seem to be very large

I can't comment on what the school is actually like, but after looking at the links your provided, it looks infinitely better than any village school. I can see why you're interested.

What are the actual class sizes? and what adult support does each class have? in that, I mean is it a teacher on their own, or do they have a TA in there as well. If there is a TA, what is their role? is it general dogs-body doing displays etc, or are they actively involved in working with the children?

So you live near Buriram town. There are two great schools for primary kids in Buriram. On is semi private and one is Government. My daughter goes to the government school and I have no problems.

Seems that you should get out and have a look, Just because we are in Buriram does not mean that all schools are "village schools".

... to be honest, I don't like the Thai education system at all but I hesitated to say so. Thanks for your PM .

The school itself does not look to bad. I did notice it say that they are not looking to empower the students new ideas and creativity skills. That kind of sucks, ok. It is a farming/culture school, no reason not to encourage new thinking! Nothing stops you from giving your child what the school lacks when they are at home.............that is what a parents obligation is.......... to teach them to think, to progress and to grow.......I saw it on the dotted line!

"Thai education has generally concentrated on literacy and numerical skills, with little emphasis on new ideas and creativity skills. The Mechai Pattana School intends to change this situation for poor, rural students.

The school strives towards getting its pupils to perform at their full potential by focusing on developing the complete individual. The lessons at the school are focused on enabling students to analyze and create"

from the first page of the website.

Si I dunno where you got that from