The Value Of Your Child'S Education.

[samsiam]

I suppose I could ask the question, what do you learn at school?

Off the top of my head,

Physics - Flemings left hand rule.

Chemistry - hydrogen is the lightest element,

Geography - tectonics

History - great fire of London

Biology - ileum and duodenum make up the small intestine

Maths - I had a natural ability with, until A level when they replaced the numbers with letters.

French - I can ask for a croissant and orange juice.

When have I even used it? Well apart from now! The French is used the most often and I've only been to France about 10 times.

So why is school education important? I say school education as any parent worth their salt will teach their children the 3 R's. Plus factor in the general knowledge you can get now because of the Internet.

Agree....but who has the gonads to actually do this with their child....I would love to, but most likely will not.

I use and remember almost nothing of what I spent all those painful years in school learning...apart from readin, ritin and addin up stuff.....still cannot do long division.....but I retired at 39yo.......real life stuff is way more important and relative.

I am hoping to be able to provide somewhere for my kids to go to have a career and if that works out.....then the bullshit from outside employers may not be relevant....but in case it does not....to late to make that decision when they are 18yo.

[TommoPhysicist]

I love the rational applied here....go to a prospective employer and tell them...I have a good education..I know my 3 R's....LOL

Employers these days rightly or wrongly are more interested in the bits of paper you have, and which school you went to..its the game thats played today...especially in Thailand....at sometime in the future you will need a degree to sweep the floors...

My last major employers (in the UK) preferred to employ on 'personal recommendation' of existing staff.

Most of the lower jobs, if advertised nationally, would attract 3000+ applicants with honours degrees, but choosing from them was always second choice.

With most employers 'who you know' is far more important than paper you accumulate in education.

Your rationals indicate to me, you were never an employer, or never someone high up enough in a company to understand how they recruited. (if you went to Eton, Harrow or Rugby, then you would also have the personal recommendations)

Edited June 26, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[ajw1982]

I love the rational applied here....go to a prospective employer and tell them...I have a good education..I know my 3 R's....LOL

Employers these days rightly or wrongly are more interested in the bits of paper you have, and which school you went to..its the game thats played today...especially in Thailand....at sometime in the future you will need a degree to sweep the floors...

My last major employers (in the UK) preferred to employ on 'personal recommendation' of existing staff.

Most of the lower jobs, if advertised nationally, would attract 3000+ applicants with honours degrees, but choosing from them was always second choice.

With most employers 'who you know' is far more important than paper you accumulate in education.

I do quite a bit of hiring and currently have guys with MBA's and master's degrees (everyone seems to have one nowadays!) on minimum wage... because although they've passed exams they seemingly have nothing else to them. I've also got guys with only good A-levels or standard degrees making a lot of money, due to their drive and character.

The difference... yes, a good education is important (and I genuinely believe it is) but family, culture and personality (a result of the first two) also go a long way to defining long term success.

Ideally I'd like both for my kids which will probably mean sending them to the best international school I can find when I move to Thailand and devoting a lot of time to them outside of school as well.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

And this is the crux of what I am thinking. (I think we have discussed this in a previous thread about me moving to Samui and finding a school).

All of what you say I agree with 100% and it is what I can achieve at home. Which then leads me to think what school he goes to is quite irrelevant. Well, still a good school in a bad pond, but not such a priority.

"can achieve" perhaps, but don't underestimate the time and energy, with mine even at the earliest stages I need to devote much more to prep time than actual tutoring time, so if I plan to spend fifteen hours a week working with my kids, it's well over thirty altogether.

Fortunately since I've been teaching for many years as a profession, I have materials already prepared in some cases, and I can also plan to re-use what I do specifically for my kids.

I'm actively looking for private tutoring students in the 4-7 age range specifically to help subsidize my own work teaching my kids, since I'm now going to have to increase my income as they get older.

[Heng]

We encourage our kids to be 'middle of the pack' academically. Financially we spend about 3-4 times their tuition on family vacations each year and just IMO, I think the 'broadened horizons' factor is probably of greater times more benefit than that.

[Soutpeel]

Your rationals indicate to me, you were never an employer, or never someone high up enough in a company to understand how they recruited.

Wrong on both counts me old son...

and interesting enough the industry I am in works on the who "you know principle"....further we are not dicussing what happens today or in the recent past or i suspect in the distant past in your case ...We are talking about what will be occurring when our children are looking for a job...

Edited June 26, 2012 by Soutpeel

[brit1984]

In my opinion, a child's education is priceless, and you should be willing to make sacrifices to give your children the best education possible. Schools are one of the most important aspects of a child's education, and therefore it is important to send your kids to a good school.

Generally the more you pay, the better schooling your child will receive, although it is obviously important to do as much research as possible into other parents' views on the school, exam results and university admission track record.

The top few international schools in Bangkok seem to be miles ahead of the rest in terms of the opportunities they provide for entry into the top universities worldwide.

Outside of the top international schools it seems most kids can only go to secondary universities abroad, or have to go to a Thai university for bachelors and then do a masters abroad afterwards.

We plan to start our kids in international school in Bangkok and then move to Hong Kong or Singapore for their high school years, where there are schools that are on a higher level than anything here.

If our view on Bangkok schools (or one particular school) improves we might keep them here for high-school too, but if our view worsens we may move earlier.

Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules

[TommoPhysicist]

Your rationals indicate to me, you were never an employer, or never someone high up enough in a company to understand how they recruited.

Wrong on both counts me old son...

and interesting enough the industry I am in works on the who "you know principle"....further we are not dicussing what happens today or in the recent past or i suspect in the distant past in your case ...We are talking about what will be occurring when our children are looking for a job...

5 years ago ..... I class as recent past ....... I'm confident It'll always work that way, even more so now.

Qualifications are a smokescreen the elite put up to convince the proles their children will have a chance.

[mjj]

OK, I've got it. In the world we live in unfortunately money is king as it buys freedom. Yes, love, health, friendship are important but they are things you can't get through a school education.

So, my son is not going to school, he is going to play football everyday and be better than Pele.

Anyone know of a good coach?

[edwinclapham]

Is there any thought given to say attending a government run school and finishing with the last two years in a International School?

Even is they had to repeat a year to get up to speed?

The above question is framed in the light that I know nothing of any worth about the Thai School System.

I went to a catholic school in Thailand which wasnt too bad and managed to get into Uni in the UK.

[Soutpeel]

So, my son is not going to school, he is going to play football everyday and be better than Pele.

and one hopes he will succeed in this....thats the way to go...professional sport....if someone can pull it off.

for the rest of the mortals...stay in school and get the best education you can get....

[TommoPhysicist]

So, my son is not going to school, he is going to play football everyday and be better than Pele.

It would probably give him a better chance of success than attending any crappy school in Thailand (no matter how much you paid them).

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Qualifications are a smokescreen the elite put up to convince the proles their children will have a chance.

But with solid knowledge-work skills a truly clever and ambitious person can do well no matter their background. At least in the states, don't know if the UK's similar that way.

Definitely less the case in a place like Thailand where connections and social status count far more (at least for the moment, not IMO in the future) than reality.

[mjj]

I should have added a poll, but I don't know how to do it - I should have gone to a good school lol!

Options,

1. The best school I can afford even if that means we can never go on a foreign holiday.

2. A second tier school and a foreign holiday a year.

3. A cheap school with a good reputation, foreign holidays and I will buy them a house and a car.

All include getting qualifications and going to uni.

You can chose half numbers if you want to do it.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

I should have added a poll, but I don't know how to do it - I should have gone to a good school lol!

Options,

1. The best school I can afford even if that means we can never go on a foreign holiday.

2. A second tier school and a foreign holiday a year.

3. A cheap school with a good reputation, foreign holidays and I will buy them a house and a car.

All include getting qualifications and going to uni.

You can chose half numbers if you want to do it.

Best school I can afford, but couldn't do the house/car or foreign holidays even if I didn't have kids.

[Soutpeel]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/563923-thai-education-standards-in-free-fall/

for those of you who are considering 10k Thai schools...

[tinfoilhat]

I think you summed it up at the end! Good parenting will be just as important, probably more than, the education they receive.

You should be providing the best education you can afford...its really that simple..

"Would you pay 400k for a state school in Farangland?"......yes If could afford it, without question...

So you would live on 6,000 baht a month like a Thai person, to pay for your child to go to the best school in Thailand?

State schools in the uk are free. And schooling in the uk is not all that good. Better than here no doubt, but not that great. These are some of the farang teachers in the international schools.

this is borne out daily by many posters on TV.

but as i saw written by a product of the UK educational system just yesterday, it is a mute [sic] point.

[brit1984]

I should have added a poll, but I don't know how to do it - I should have gone to a good school lol!

Options,

1. The best school I can afford even if that means we can never go on a foreign holiday.

2. A second tier school and a foreign holiday a year.

3. A cheap school with a good reputation, foreign holidays and I will buy them a house and a car.

All include getting qualifications and going to uni.

You can chose half numbers if you want to do it.

It seems you are in quite a precarious financial situation.

I don't think Thailand is the best country to raise kids on a tight budget.

Are you sure you want to live here?

[BigJohnnyBKK]

I should have added a poll, but I don't know how to do it - I should have gone to a good school lol!

Options,

1. The best school I can afford even if that means we can never go on a foreign holiday.

2. A second tier school and a foreign holiday a year.

3. A cheap school with a good reputation, foreign holidays and I will buy them a house and a car.

All include getting qualifications and going to uni.

You can chose half numbers if you want to do it.

It seems you are in quite a precarious financial situation.

I don't think Thailand is the best country to raise kids on a tight budget.

Are you sure you want to live here?

I assume you're addressing me rather than mjj?

Don't see how I'd manage at all as a single father back home even if I had the triple airfares. Just the taxi from the airport's more than what we live on currently for over a week.

The states doesn't have the same social support net as other developed countries, and full-time childcare's outrageous.

Don't think any of my current SOs would be willing to take the plunge either and the marriage/fiance visa route for the US authorities seems to take well over six months to a year anyway.

Bit of a rock and a hard place for the moment. . .

[brit1984]

I should have added a poll, but I don't know how to do it - I should have gone to a good school lol!

Options,

1. The best school I can afford even if that means we can never go on a foreign holiday.

2. A second tier school and a foreign holiday a year.

3. A cheap school with a good reputation, foreign holidays and I will buy them a house and a car.

All include getting qualifications and going to uni.

You can chose half numbers if you want to do it.

It seems you are in quite a precarious financial situation.

I don't think Thailand is the best country to raise kids on a tight budget.

Are you sure you want to live here?

I assume you're addressing me rather than mjj?

Don't see how I'd manage at all as a single father back home even if I had the triple airfares. Just the taxi from the airport's more than what we live on currently for over a week.

The states doesn't have the same social support net as other developed countries, and full-time childcare's outrageous.

Don't think any of my current SOs would be willing to take the plunge either and the marriage/fiance visa route for the US authorities seems to take well over six months to a year anyway.

Bit of a rock and a hard place for the moment. . .

I was referring to mjj but I suppose the same applies to you.

If you really care so much about your kids I think you could find a way back.

Surely you could get a loan from a friend or family member to get set-up and pay them back once your up and running. Once you are there, your kids could go to a free school and you could get a proper job to pay the bills (and repay the loan).

It seems you just live here because it is easier for you to get girls here.

Edited June 26, 2012 by brit1984

[sirineou]

You all must love the sound of your own voices, or in this case thoughts

, or maybe i am antisocial, I dont know,

but Stutpeel said ir ( and perhaps others did ,but i lost interest and stopped reading after a few replies)

"you give the best education that you can afford:

all the rest is simple bla bla bla

Edited June 26, 2012 by sirineou

[Soutpeel]

You all must love the sound of your own voices, or in this case thoughts

, or maybe i am antisocial, I dont know,

but Stutpeel said ir ( and perhaps others did ,but i lost interest and stopped reading after a few replies)

"you give the best education that you can afford:

all the rest is simple bla bla bla

Why did you even bother posting this ?...your making no sense and rambling or is it the Chang/Leo talking....

[sirineou]

You all must love the sound of your own voices, or in this case thoughts

, or maybe i am antisocial, I dont know,

but Stutpeel said ir ( and perhaps others did ,but i lost interest and stopped reading after a few replies)

"you give the best education that you can afford:

all the rest is simple bla bla bla

Why did you even bother posting this ?...your making no sense and rambling or is it the Chang/Leo talking....

If you don't understand what i said, then i guess there is no sense explaining it

[lannarebirth]

My best friend here in Thailand is a physician. He started out in the army, put in his 10 years or so as a flight surgeon.and rose to the level of Lt. Cmdr.. He subsequently went into private practice which was lucrative by Thai standards really not all that much money. He made a decision early on to send his two boys to International Schools. He spent at least half his family's income on his boy's education for 12 years. Two years ago one of them graduated is now in the Medical School at Thamassat University. Last year the other graduated and is now in the Architectural Program at Chulalongkorn. Ironically, since they are now in university his expenses have gone way down. An additional benefit is that he worked so many jobs and is so fluent in the English language he got on with a MNC as their regional medical director and is now pulling in about 600k Bt/mo. You see it all works out in the end if your intentions are good.

[mjj]

I should have added a poll, but I don't know how to do it - I should have gone to a good school lol!

Options,

1. The best school I can afford even if that means we can never go on a foreign holiday.

2. A second tier school and a foreign holiday a year.

3. A cheap school with a good reputation, foreign holidays and I will buy them a house and a car.

All include getting qualifications and going to uni.

You can chose half numbers if you want to do it.

It seems you are in quite a precarious financial situation.

I don't think Thailand is the best country to raise kids on a tight budget.

Are you sure you want to live here?

I assume you're addressing me rather than mjj?

Don't see how I'd manage at all as a single father back home even if I had the triple airfares. Just the taxi from the airport's more than what we live on currently for over a week.

The states doesn't have the same social support net as other developed countries, and full-time childcare's outrageous.

Don't think any of my current SOs would be willing to take the plunge either and the marriage/fiance visa route for the US authorities seems to take well over six months to a year anyway.

Bit of a rock and a hard place for the moment. . .

I was referring to mjj but I suppose the same applies to you.

If you really care so much about your kids I think you could find a way back.

Surely you could get a loan from a friend or family member to get set-up and pay them back once your up and running. Once you are there, your kids could go to a free school and you could get a proper job to pay the bills (and repay the loan).

It seems you just live here because it is easier for you to get girls here.

Are you suggesting that if I can't afford to spend 5m baht on my sons schooling, plus uni fees, many foreign holidays and buy him a house and a car, I am in a precarious situation? Really!!

And because of this reason I must only be here for girls!!

Wow, just wow.

[brit1984]

Mjj, my comment about the girls was a reply to BigJohnny's post where he mentioned the difficulty of bringing "one of" his girlfriends back to the USA as a reason he was staying here.

I do think you are in a very difficult situation as you live in a country where you cannot afford to send your kids to a good school. Have you considered moving back home or elsewhere?

Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules

[StreetCowboy]

...

The above question is framed in the light that I know nothing of any worth about the Thai School System. [sC: My bold]

From what one reads on this forum, that is all there is to know...

My kids, who attend a top international school here, are performing academically one or two or three years ahead of their peers in the UK, I believe; though for all I know, they might still perform so well if they went to Gasworks Comp. in the UK

SC

[mjj]

Mjj, my comment about the girls was a reply to BigJohnny's post where he mentioned the difficulty of bringing "one of" his girlfriends back to the USA as a reason he was staying here.

I do think you are in a very difficult situation as you live in a country where you cannot afford to send your kids to a good school. Have you considered moving back home or elsewhere?

Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules

Ok, misunderstanding on the girls from.

With regard to the schooling for my son, without getting into too much detail and starting a pissing contest. I can afford to send my son to an international school, but I would be lying if I said I wouldn't feel the pinch.

As I stated in my op I think travel is important and I want to take my son around Asia, Europe, Australia, the Americas, etc. I also want to be able to pay for a good uni and help him when he needs to buy a house and car. Totalling up this cost, it is very unlikely that I would be able to do them all - so something has got to give.

Now if an international school was a guarantee of a good school, then sure I would pay it. No doubt they are better, but lets not kid ourselves they are not Eton are they?

How much better, if at all, is a Thai international school than a state school from the UK? It's just I'm not that convinced at the moment that it is more important than all my other factors.

[Geekfreaklover]

Of course education starts at home and any parent who believes they can simply buy a good education has a lot to learn. A Thai international school is the best option for a child who is growing up in Thailand and who will be probably attending an overseas university and perhaps working overseas (do they still have jobs in the UK for graduates?). An international school is also a good option for a hi-so Thai student who will automatically land a great job in Thailand due to family connections. For a regular Thai or Luk-Krueng student I consider a good private or government Thai pratum and mattayum (primary and secondary) school followed by overseas university the best way to go. At the private and government schools students are rewarded grades and put into classes on merit, and will be better intergrated into the nuances of Thai society meaning that a working future in Thailand in the top tier industry sectors would be much more realistic.

I know guys of my generation that have been to international schools, univerisites in Europe, and have come back to Bangkok and landed English teaching jobs at 30k a month. No one else wants them. They were trained at international schools for jobs in the west that do not exist anymore.

[GuestHouse]

5 years ago ..... I class as recent past ....... I'm confident It'll always work that way, even more so now.

Qualifications are a smokescreen the elite put up to convince the proles their children will have a chance.

This together with the other posts TP has made in this thread are almost perfect examples of the anti-education mindset that is common in the UK.

If I might share some personal experience. In the past year I've taken part in a large recruitment drive, interviewing young people in colleges/universities and recent graduates. The posts offered are very well paid, professional positions with a distinct chance of all those benefits we refer to as 'The Full Deal'.

Despite the recession the competition is fierce, not between candidates, but between would be employers - The prize they are after is the top 10% academic students.

Get over the idea these are people well schooled but with no practical, social or marketable skills - They are shockingly good candidates and they know their worth.

When I think back to my own experience of packing a well paid job in to go to university, I'm reminded of the anti education arguments being expressed here, the constant retort from colleagues and friends that 'qualifications have no meaning' - 'why are you going to university, the dole queues are full of graduates' and of course references to people who left school at 3 years old but became multi-millionaires.

OK you or your child might (and it is a big might) get lucky and make a great life for yourself without an education and qualifications - but the odds are stacked against you.

Education is almost always the best investment you can make, there are no guarantees that it will absolutely reward you with wealth and riches, but it almost always will give you (or your child) more options - and if you keep your ears open while in class it pays the added bonus of opening your mind to the world.

Get the best education you can for you and your kids - its a no brainer!