would you send your child to thai schools

[phuketrichard]

If u truly care about your child and their future, ( speaking as one who raised their daughter in an international school here in Phuket)

F#@K NO

Bilingual ok till 10 or so...

If your to poor to afford a good school,

go back to your home country.

[rct99q]

Yes I would and I do. Two children in the Thai system (government) but I assist with home schooling. I work in the Thai school system and have had no problems with the level of education if you support it with home schooling. Areas such as English (or second language), World Geography,and World History need to be supplemented outside of the system. Maths, sciences and Thai History are okay. If you are comfortable in those subjects it would not hurt to assist them as well but not a major problem if you do not.

You do not need to be an English major or have a "degree" in any field to home school. Nowadays with google and a bit of time you can learn any subject before your child hits school. I started re-teaching myself when my son was two months old. By the time he hit grade 1 I was learned enough in the major subjects to supplement his Thai teachings at home. This would consist of an extra 30 minutes to an hour after school. Both of my children enjoy the extra father time and is a very good boning experience. My wife assists them with their Thai studies. Once a week both my wife and I do a joint class of 20-30 minutes of review in both Thai and English.

However if you are not willing to put the effort in and are relying solely on the Thai system to educate your children...........then NO. Move to either Canada, US, Australia or perhaps Germany to get the quality of education you may be looking for.

This would include most of the "International Schools" here in Thailand. Even though they may have a higher level of educators than the Government Thai Schools most of the studies are still watered down to meet the level of the Thai students (who make up the largest percentage of students = $$$).

[Thai at Heart]

Having brought my kids home to the uk, I can happily say I am glad I did it.

The transformation in the way they have to answer questions is very enlightening. They are slowly getting used to absorbing information and explaining it onto the written paper.

Explain why, explain how, give your opinion.

Hardly a common style in thailand.

They were in private bilingual school in thailand.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[yourauntbob]

Two words "Home School"

nuf said....

Most home schoolers seem to be religious nutjobs

an exception, very exceptional Freeman Dyson

i have seen public, EP, and international schools here. You cant do any worse than any of them. In the first two they are taught not to think, in the third they are taught they dont need to think as they are priviladged.

If i couldnt put in the time to teach my own kid, i would move somewhere they could get a decent education. after all, isnt proper parenting about putting your kids first?

[xen]

My two step kids are going to local schools here in BKK , one is a muslim school and one is private. They are always coming home asking for more money for school. The schools seem to more interested is making the kids buy new uniforms and "extra learning fees and buying stupid things for the teacher. They seem to do an extraordinary amount of art and /or craft as homework but very little science , maths and/ or other social subjects. But even there art is stunted for their ages. I will not be satisfied until we have left the Thai education system behind and gone back home . I realise it will be hard as they are so far behind other kids in their age group but eventually they will catch up. They are not stupid but in a stupid based environment they will also end up stupid.

[Showbags]

Two words "Home School"

nuf said....

Most home schoolers seem to be religious nutjobs

an exception, very exceptional Freeman Dyson

i have seen public, EP, and international schools here. You cant do any worse than any of them. In the first two they are taught not to think, in the third they are taught they dont need to think as they are priviladged.

If i couldnt put in the time to teach my own kid, i would move somewhere they could get a decent education. after all, isnt proper parenting about putting your kids first?

I am picturing Will Farrell at the kids desk...

[drink75]

Yes I would and I do. Two children in the Thai system (government) but I assist with home schooling.

I totally agree with this. In the end, if you earn money out here you need time in the day to work and School is an excellent place for your kids to be while you bring in the bacon.

Then, when they come home and on weekends you can use your free time to be with them and teach them whatever you want.

Best of both worlds for your kids, all you should really be concerned about is if they are safe at the school you choose.

[Ulic]

A lot of positive and negative comments on various institutions around the world. While I think Gohmer (post 10) makes some

good points I think the scores of US schools in standard testing is enhanced by Chinese/ foreign students who work hard at wrote learning.

I think US high schools focus almost all there effort on prepping kids for the SAT much to there detriment.

I really like the approach of Recycler (post 15) and rct99q (post 32). The kids who will have success in school are the ones who

have parents involved in there education. Both in contact with the school/teachers and with after school supplementation.

I don't think kids have to start school early to be successful, age 6-7 would be ideal, but everyone wants to get the jump on

everyone else. Kids will learn a lot from playing, social interaction and time with parents. That does not mean putting them in front

of the TV while mum/dad is in the kitchen cooking. It could be colouring and drawing in the kitchen while talking to mum/dad etc.. etc...

I do think that most kids who's parents respond to this post will have success because the parents are involved to some degree.

You cannot buy an education throwing a bunch of money at it. That is hit and miss. Be as involved as you can and I believe

your kids will reap the benefits.

[Sceptict11]

Reading the OP's opening post would indicate it was written by a person with high academic achievement .

Any Thai school will match or better the OP's personal standards.

[Blindside]

No never. Thai schools are useless and produce classes full of idiots. I would rather home school. Drawback with that is the kid doesn't have friends and social skills, but at least they would have a proper education...Which is more important ?

Homeschool? Only if you have the skills and time to do that. Most people that homeschool have no business teaching their kids anything.

To the original POSTER: If I were you I'd bite the bullet and start forking out the 200,000 + a year (more like 300,000 these days) for a decent international school education. That's the stark reality if you want to live here and want your kid to grow up smart.

Most teachers and institutions have no business teaching kids anything either!

200,000bht PA won't buy you squat Jack,.. and even if you paid triple that you still wouldn't be assured of anything like an objective and non institutionalized "education" for your kids.

Parents are naturally gifted and the best candidates to raise, lead and educate their kids. Yes there are good and bad parents but we don't by default neuter such "bad" parents or take their kids away from them.

The problem is that people have become so accustomed and indoctrinated with the belief for the past 160 years that schooling is essential. Prior to that (the industrial revolution period) parents educated their children privately and within their own family networks until the industrialists turned parents en masse into automated work forces and set up "schools" to accommodate and prepare their children to become the next generation of mindless job slaves!

Its no wonder that parents have such major issues with their kids in teenage years as they have become strangers to them by spending less than a few hours each week in anything like real commicative relationship. Kids resent being palmed off at age 6 to 16 (or 18) and you can't blame them for feeling that way.

If the truth be told,.. people send their kids to school because they have no choice as they have to work 5 or 6 days a week. The teaching skills that you speak of which people lack are NOT really teaching skills at all. All parents need to do is to learn how to supervise their kids learning as kids are natural information and learning magnets. It's not hard,.... just a matter of focus, personal choice in taking the responsibility and then working a simple plan and system.

The real problem is that the majority of parents have more loyalty to their jobs, employers and government than they do to their own kids!

I am a teacher and I could not agree more. Anyone who does not agree should watch or read Ken Robinson on education.

[Muhendis]

This is a bit of a broader answer than you might be looking for, but here is how I view the subject. First, my experience, I've been married to a Thai women for 6 years and I have two step-kids with her, 11yo and 13 yo, both go to gov't schools. We moved to the US recently and the kids will start school here next year. So, there's experience with kids in school in Thailand and, with my own kids here in America. Secondly, I worked in IT in Thailand as a Director in several software product development companies managing about 100 different Thai software engineers with educations ranging from BA to Ph.D. - almost all obtained from Thai universities. Thirdly, I've also managed software engineers from India, Vietnam, China, Philippines, Egypt, Lithuania, Mexico, Serbia, America, and England.

Now my opinion: Despite what you hear about how high Asian kids test and outrank their American and even European peers, the reality in what that means is far from what the testing indicates. There is a reason why very few things are invented in Asia and virtually nothing of significance has been invented in China for 900 years. I'm not being cynical, it is just a fact and, I'd be happy to have someone disprove this. There is a reason why this is true and it starts with the education systems in Asia and, Thailand is an exceptional example of this problem. There is little to no "critical thinking" taught. The reason Asian kids test so high is due to the regimented practicing and the repeat, repeat, memorize, memorize process they get indoctrinated to from their parents, school, and general society. NONE of the Asian software programmers from any of the countries I've worked with, nor the almost 100 Thai software programmers, have any education or training on how to figure out problems or deal with abstract concepts. This is what is needed to invent anything.

I have had to teach, train, mentor, re-socialize every Asian software programmer I've worked with, EXCEPT, those who were fortunate to be educated in America (I haven't worked with any educated in Europe so I can't claim anything on that point). I've had to start with the most basic of concepts required for invention, "ask questions", "challenge what you're told", etc. Concepts that are so foreign in Asian culture that it has been extremely difficult.

However, what they are great at is repeat, repeat, repeat. If you want software programmers to work just like assembly line factory workers, and, you give them perfect blueprints, instructions, or requirements documents, they are fantastic. Just hope they don't have to make a left or right choice in their code or design as they will be completely and utterly useless.

So, if you want you kid to be an assembly line worker, than I highly recommend any school, public or private, in any Asian country, but especially Thailand.

The main reason I moved back to the US was to get my step-kids out of Thai schools. What doesn't show up in the testing scores of American schools and students is the fact that America has a gigantic population (10s of millions) of students who do not speak English as a 1st language. This brings our scores way down and would insinuate that our schools are of poorer quality. The reality is that when you take that into account, American schools are extremely good at getting non-English speakers up and running as fast and test as well as they do. If you took out the test scores of the millions of these kids, our test scores would sky rocket and not appear to be inferior to Asian tests. On top of that, add the critical thinking processes in our schools, the degree of socializing our kids do, and that explains why so many things are invented here. I'm not trying to tout America, I just believe these are facts and there's been plenty of research on the subject.

I enjoyed reading this post very much. It has given me a better understanding of the general outlook of the Asian populations. Just one minor point. You say "I've also managed software engineers from India, Vietnam, China, Philippines, Egypt, Lithuania, Mexico, Serbia, America, and England."

Then you say "(I haven't worked with any educated in Europe so I can't claim anything on that point)"

England is one of the member countries of the EU and is european so you may not realise that you have had the pleasure of working with Europeans....

​Ah! But in re-reading your second quote perhaps you consider English people with whom you have worked to be non-educated....

[dighambara]

Questions abound:

Why is the child only Thai? Not yours, then why haven't you adopted her and given her the benefits of your citizenship.??

I would adopt my stepchildren, but their Father won't permit it.

More discipline than Thai families is a very good thing. Thai discipline is nonexistent. My oldest had nearly the same experience; upset, pregnant teacher, but she had us to balance against, so became stonger Nieche - 'That which does not kill us, makes us stronger'

English is easy to teach and by age 6 the child should be moderately fluent. As they may eventually travel abroad, English is a necessity. My daughters are age 6 & 7 (Thai 7 & 8) and speak both languages, without my intervention, as I buy them DVDs to play the English language track. Their cartoons on TV are in English, their movies are in English, but nearly everything else is in Thai.

[96tehtarp]

In central Thailand/lower-north yes, and I do.

Both my wife and I get involved with my boy's homework, visit the school often, and meet regularly with other parents and his teachers. There are forty kids in his class (Anubahn Song) and three teachers. So far so good and he absolutely loves it.

Private v.s. government is not a black and white situation. The school my LuekKung son goes to is semi-private, the school uses the subsidy and knocks it off the tuition, we top up the rest. There are often several government schools to choose from in each Tamboon and I don't believe that all government schools are rubbish.

I know plenty of kids here in my Tamboon who go to the local government school at the local temple and I've seen first hand the absolutely appalling education many students come away with. The cause of this 90% of the time is defective parents who give 100% of the responsibility for the child's education to the school system. Many of these kids are not living with their real parents. The guardians these children are living with aren't aware that the children are not doing their homework and or skipping classes regularly, and they don't care. These parents help to give Thai government schools a bad name. This is my perspective here in Central Thailand. Issaan might be a whole different ball game. I've heard horrible things about Buriram etc.

I have read with interest on this and other threads on thaivisa forum about schooling children in Thailand. Notably, the pro's and cons of international schools where often kids get very little Thai in the curriculum and the school setting is almost 100% English immersion. Others have stated outright that international schools are recommended for those who plan to continue life outside Thailand. That would be why it is called "international". As xenophobic as Thailand is we all know how little tolerance Thai society has for things "international".

I have met quite a few 100% ethnic/racial Thai who have grown up and been educated in Europe or North America and they cannot function, or are treated as foreigners here. They can barely speak or read Thai and don't understand the culture even though they are Thai and have two Thai parents in the west. Many have told me how difficult this is for them when they try to integrate into Thai society.

My motivation for my boy aged six is to let him learn good and proper Thai first as well as gain a very strong grounding for all that living as a Thai in Thailand entails.

English is the world's language and anyone can learn it anytime, although the younger the better. Thai is a top priority for us at the moment.

I hope to give him some English immersion before he's 10 y/o. (I'm not sure how I'm going to do that yet.) Learning English in Thailand is extremely difficult for Thai people because almost no one speaks it. Having learnt three languages fluently myself, I have found that 100% immersion is the only way to do it. I'm currently looking for a English immersion summer camp in the vicinity of Thailand... Singapore/Malaysia/Philippines, or even India.

Don't laugh about India. I met a girl who works at the AIS English call center. She speaks perfect English with an American accent which she learnt when her father sent her to school in India to study. She's Thai and never been to the U.S.

Does anyone know of English camps in Central Thailand for 5-10 year olds? (within the triangle of Tak-Phitsanulok-Uthai Thani)?

Enjoying this topic. Thanks.

[JaiLai]

Thai school hours are absurd, dawn till dusk!!

Nation is still full of idiots - think that's your answer there!

[Showbags]

Homeschool? Only if you have the skills and time to do that. Most people that homeschool have no business teaching their kids anything.

To the original POSTER: If I were you I'd bite the bullet and start forking out the 200,000 + a year (more like 300,000 these days) for a decent international school education. That's the stark reality if you want to live here and want your kid to grow up smart.

Most teachers and institutions have no business teaching kids anything either!

200,000bht PA won't buy you squat Jack,.. and even if you paid triple that you still wouldn't be assured of anything like an objective and non institutionalized "education" for your kids.

Parents are naturally gifted and the best candidates to raise, lead and educate their kids. Yes there are good and bad parents but we don't by default neuter such "bad" parents or take their kids away from them.

The problem is that people have become so accustomed and indoctrinated with the belief for the past 160 years that schooling is essential. Prior to that (the industrial revolution period) parents educated their children privately and within their own family networks until the industrialists turned parents en masse into automated work forces and set up "schools" to accommodate and prepare their children to become the next generation of mindless job slaves!

Its no wonder that parents have such major issues with their kids in teenage years as they have become strangers to them by spending less than a few hours each week in anything like real commicative relationship. Kids resent being palmed off at age 6 to 16 (or 18) and you can't blame them for feeling that way.

If the truth be told,.. people send their kids to school because they have no choice as they have to work 5 or 6 days a week. The teaching skills that you speak of which people lack are NOT really teaching skills at all. All parents need to do is to learn how to supervise their kids learning as kids are natural information and learning magnets. It's not hard,.... just a matter of focus, personal choice in taking the responsibility and then working a simple plan and system.

The real problem is that the majority of parents have more loyalty to their jobs, employers and government than they do to their own kids!

I am a teacher and I could not agree more. Anyone who does not agree should watch or read Ken Robinson on education.

I would like to also agree.

But how would you homeschool your kids if you hated school yourself and kinda failed....not really fail, just did not go to pass.

And if your child is in secondary school and the work is getting harder and more involved...how can you homeschool if you do not have the knowledge yourself to answer all the questions from the kids?

[romeijoe]

i have researched quite a bit but have found no way to delte my account with thai forum does anybody have any ideas?

[kingstonkid]

I have read this and re read most of it.

A few things come to mind.

First each school does serve a purpose and I will agree that if you leave your child to learn in a government school ONLY then the child is going to have issues.

For people that cannot afford the international schools it is still possible to get your child an international school education. The issues in a Thai school are ot that much different than those in North America ( Canada and US) in low income areas where the parents have little knowledge of what their kids do.

The kids are taught some great stuff. I am blown away with the subject content and abilities that are taught.

The problem is that the kids know that they will pass so if they are under 17 they do not care. This is not a school or government or teacher issue.

This is a MOM and DAD issue. If you send your child to school and leave them there and do not ensure that they are doing what they are supposed to then you could have them in any school in the world and they will not succeed at a high level.

Parents must make it clear to their children that they only thing they will accept from their child is their best attempt. As a teacher my agreement withmy students is that if you try you are guaranteed not to fail or get a mark below 55.

If you screw around and do not try well if I have to pass you will get 50 and as a teacher we all know that universities look at the marks and see a 50 they know that the kid failed.

Schools have rules. They are Thai rules. That is life.

What you can do is to make sure that your kids are not just getting taught at school but also at home. My daughter sucked big time at math in grade 3. At that point I met with the teacher found out the course material and started to teach multiplication tables.. Her mark went from 35 to 75 at the end of the year.

Why because all of a sudden she was accountable and her mother and i were making sure that she gave everything her best shot.

NOT EVERYONE CAN GO TO HARROW OR SHrEWESBURY OR A FANCY SCHOOL AND NOT EVERYONE IS GONG TO BE THE NEXT EINSTEIN.

BUT EVERYONE HAS PARENTS AND AS PARENTS START TO SHOW YOU CARE AND HOLD YOUR KIIDS RESPONSIBLE and the world is theirs.

[bkk_mike]

Two of my kids went to nursery in Thai kindergartens. But when it came to school, they went to an international school (that I paid for myself).

But I was always assuming that there was a possibility we'd have to return to the UK at some point for work. As it happens, we ended up returning to the UK not for my work but so that they'd be resident the required 3 years (minimum - longer obviously for the youngest) so that they'd be allowed to get student loans.