Home schooling your own children

[slippery when wet]

Hello.
I am very seriously considering home schooling my children in Thailand.
The problem is that they wont have any Thai language skills but I was wondering if a Thai school would accept a flexi school type approach to combat this?
Thank you

[kannot]

Good for you, no more brainwashing , sorry i dont know the answer though.

[cooked]

Home schooling rules. Home schooling is legal in Thailand, but you have to find a school that will allow them to take exams periodically. Google 'Bangkok Post home schooling'.

Obviously, without speaking Thai, your kids really will fall into the trap of not having social contacts outside of the family, and will be judged to be uneducated by the Thai authorities, posing problems. How would you feel if kids came to your country and couldn't speak your language?

I went through all this stuff a year or two ago and decided to go through the system while giving lessons at weekends, working fine so far. However the regimentation and extermination of critical thought (just like when I was at school, 50 years ago!) has to be combated against all the time.

[farang000999]

I am sure there are many in this boat as well you can contact on Thai Visa. International school fees are expensive and many are unable or unwilling to pay them. Your kids aren't learning Thai simply by living in Thailand and having a Thai mother? Can you atleast send them to preschool where they can learn some Thai?

[thamteak]

I went through all this stuff a year or two ago and decided to go through the system while giving lessons at weekends, working fine so far. However the regimentation and extermination of critical thought (just like when I was at school, 50 years ago!) has to be combated against all the time.

What are curriculum are you using to teach them?

Will they sit any exams, other than the Thai school exams? For example the iGCSE's done through official outlets in Thailand (and around the World).

I think that I will be in the same boat as you.

[cooked]

Curriculum? I no longer speak Thai with her, teach her about botany and biology, cooking, thinking, taking responsibility, some music and rhythmic, whatever I feel qualified for. I have to find a balance between respect and critical thinking, working ok up to now, she is 7 years old.

Any home schooling will have to be accompanied by a permit from the local education authorities, and they will want to see the kid taking the end of year exams. The authorities may deny that HS is even possible or legal.

In the long term she will go to Europe for a year to round things off; my two sons in Switzerland both have contact with Thai females working in their companies on exchange schemes and find that they are pretty useless as regards work ethic and thinking that they can get better grades by sleeping around. That is the kind of thing that I should like to get her away from before I shuffle off my mortal coil/.

[star kicker]

would suggest normal schooling supplemented with private tutors at weekend/holidays. many of my thai friends do this with their children

[Colonel_Mustard]

Home school and get a private Thai tutor for 4-8 hours of Thai lessons per week. The best of both worlds.

[susan d]

Normal school, and home school at night or weekend. Your kid needs friends to play and communicate with.

Edited May 23, 2014 by susan d

[NanLaew]

... my two sons in Switzerland both have contact with Thai females working in their companies on exchange schemes and find that they are pretty useless as regards work ethic and thinking that they can get better grades by sleeping around. ...

You made that up didn't you?

[medisasean]

You can find English program for your children. I heard some schools also have foreign teachers. Your children can learn English and Thai together.

[cooked]

... my two sons in Switzerland both have contact with Thai females working in their companies on exchange schemes and find that they are pretty useless as regards work ethic and thinking that they can get better grades by sleeping around. ...

You made that up didn't you?

Sure. One is security chief with Calvin Klein, the other is International Customer Relations boss for Breguet time pieces, does a world trip about twice a year. I don't know why I bother sometimes. I am just repeating what they told me.

[sdanielmcev]

Do you have any knowledge of teaching? Do you work? Teaching is a full-time job. Not trying to discourage you, but have you thought this through?

[ppmacready]

I home school my daughter.

You will be amazed at the results.

Maybe not.

30 kids 1 teacher.

2 kids one teacher.

Its not rocket science.

[Datebayo]

If there is a country where home schooling is a huge merit over any school system, it is Thailand for sure. A proper and intelectual education, tailor made is very considerable to do for your child, especially when one wishes to live their lives in Thailand.

[AyG]

This topic reminds me of some Lou Reed lyrics:

"It might be fun to have a kid that I could kick around

A little me to fill up with my thoughts

A little me or he or she to fill up with my dreams

A way of saying life is not a loss

"I'd keep the tyke away from school and tutor him myself

Keep him from the poison of the crowd

But then again pristine isolation might not be the best idea

It's not good trying to immortalize yourself"

[Colonel_Mustard]

Normal school, and home school at night or weekend. Your kid needs friends to play and communicate with.

It's fairly easy to arrange activities outside home school for them to interact and play with other kids.

If you can't afford an international school here, then it's the best option (and possibly still the best option even if you can afford one).

[cooked]

would suggest normal schooling supplemented with private tutors at weekend/holidays. many of my thai friends do this with their children

You always get this kind of remark when home schooling is being discussed. I went through a convention school system and finished up highly antisocial , as do many others. Home schooled kids are generally found to be more socially skilled. Here for instance she interacts with us two grandparents, her mother, uncles and cousins , neighbours and their kids. More normal than mixing uniquely with kids their own age.

Sent from my GT-S7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[thamteak]

Yes, people saying there are social issues really need to read up on it a bit more.

Anyway, I wouldn't want to do it without following a Western curriculum, such as the UK department of Education Key Stage curriculum.

The UK Primary Curriculum is here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-primary-curriculum

I think the most important thing about educating your Western child here, is that at the end they also have a Western qualification and not just the Thai M6 cert. Students can do the iGCSE exams through the British Council here quite cheaply. They usually do them at around age 16 I think. It is recommended to have 2 years of study before sitting them. And many Chinese families do that. Remove their child from Thai school at age 14 and study these courses at the BC etc. full time before sitting the iGCSE exams at 16.

5 iGCSE passes grants you entry to Thai university. I believe that the iGCSE exams are what the British International Schools use for examinations here.

I think it is a good option.

http://www.britishcouncil.or.th/en/exam/igcse

http://aims.co.th/IGCSE/index.html?gclid=CJGn7KjDw74CFRZxvAodKLwAHw#5

[thamteak]

We need these in Bangkok.

http://home-school-udon-thani.com/

[ppmacready]

[slippery when wet]

Thank you for all of your amazing messages and guidance..
Can anyone tell me the cost of a private Thai teacher, say 5 hours a week after school.
We will be in lopburi, so upcountry....thank you.

[melcoe]

^{Hi, I'm not sure what country you are from, but I am an Australian with a half thai/half aussie daughter. We are doing Thai school for socialisation and learning the language, but are also following the Australian curriculum ourselves. We do this through Sydney Distance Education School. They are fantastic and send us the whole term's work in fortnightly batches. She will be fully qualified via the Australian system, but also the local Thai system. I cannot afford the private schooling system, and as we live on Phi Phi there is only the local school option. You should check and see what the options for home schooling or schooling while travelling from your own home country as if it's like Australia, there are options you can do that don't cost the earth. What's more, the lessons are well prepared and fully explained so that anyone who can read can virtually act as the teacher. It's like step by step instructions so you can't stuff it up! My daughter has also spent a bit of time recently in Australia and went to her local school, and she was already leaps and bounds ahead of others in the same class as she had done one term from home of one on one instruction. Anyway, good luck with it all, cheers}

[laolover88]

This is one of a number of serious problems encountered by those of us with children in Thailand

You don't say where you are; nor the age/s of the children.

We have done some of this.

If the children are half Thai I don't see why/how they cannot have any Thai Language skills. My children read and speak Thai fluently but they are a bit averse to writing it!

I think you have to start with answering the question: What do you want for them? I was determined that they should entirely competent in both English and Thai, let alone another language, so that in due course they would have the choice of whether to be in Thailand or somewhere where English was the lingua franca; and have the choice of where to go to University

I think you have to accept that if you want them to be in Thailand they have to learn to BE 'Thai'....and Thai schools are much more about that than learning anything

If you choose to home school..get a permit from the education authority

If you want them to sit Thai exams you have to find a school director who will let them do so.

If they don't speak Thai you will have problems with school directors. In Chiang mai I had problems with school directors waving their hands saying: Please don't send your children here...because like the UK they are worried about their pass rates

We had huge problems finding tutors. Thai teachers don't want to know. They have done a days work..don't need more. We solved this through University students who were interested to teach them and in return had free English lessons!

We tried Kumon, too; but they again were much more interested in the length of the childrens' fingernails than them learning anything!

Whatever you do write it all down. The obsession with documentation in Thailand knows no bounds!

One solution we found, too, was to bring them back to the UK for the summer term. Then they finished a school year, got a report and went back to a Thai school for the second term in October!

Good luck

[Neeranam]

Bad idea in my opinion. I wanted bilingual kids so their mother always spoke Thai to them

[thamteak]

Thank you for all of your amazing messages and guidance..

Can anyone tell me the cost of a private Thai teacher, say 5 hours a week after school.

We will be in lopburi, so upcountry....thank you.

100-200b p/h.

[thamteak]

^{Hi, I'm not sure what country you are from, but I am an Australian with a half thai/half aussie daughter. We are doing Thai school for socialisation and learning the language, but are also following the Australian curriculum ourselves. We do this through Sydney Distance Education School. They are fantastic and send us the whole term's work in fortnightly batches. She will be fully qualified via the Australian system, but also the local Thai system. I cannot afford the private schooling system, and as we live on Phi Phi there is only the local school option. You should check and see what the options for home schooling or schooling while travelling from your own home country as if it's like Australia, there are options you can do that don't cost the earth. What's more, the lessons are well prepared and fully explained so that anyone who can read can virtually act as the teacher. It's like step by step instructions so you can't stuff it up! My daughter has also spent a bit of time recently in Australia and went to her local school, and she was already leaps and bounds ahead of others in the same class as she had done one term from home of one on one instruction. Anyway, good luck with it all, cheers}

"but are also following the Australian curriculum ourselves. We do this through Sydney Distance Education School. They are fantastic and send us the whole term's work in fortnightly batches."

Interesting, thanks.

Is this free or is there a cost?

I want to either partly or fully Homeschool my daughter, but it's not easy finding a decent curriculum with full materials. Many are American Christian one.

I want to follow the UK curriculum, it's not easy to find decent packages that have the full curriculum and materials.

For Aussies, this is great.

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/rde/distanceedu/index.php

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/rde/ruraledu/de-enrolproc.pdf

You're lucky to have such an option.

Edited May 27, 2014 by thamteak

[gaazzaazz]

As a teacher of 9 years (Primary mostly in Australia) i'm here to tel lyou that school is a FAILURE. Teaching time in the average classroom there and I have no doubt here is maybe 30%. teaching is not learning.

Children ache to learn and with mentoring / motivation will always surprise. Setting bounds and evaluating from objectives is not at all hard.

Sitting over a child while they learn is not teaching it is intimidation. Once rudimentary reading is mastered - I have excellent - excellent resouces in this regard, - freely available - any child can and will learn. Proviso - they must spend as much time out of a house and away from books as possible.

You can arrange "intern" work for 2- 4 hour sessions with local businesses for almost nothing. This expands minds, removes the tunnel vision that is the bane of education and and stimulates innate develompemtal streams.

Socializing with same age kids is usually conrtemptible descent to mediocrity to fit in. perhaps normal,

Any hald smart Thai teenager can help your kid throough the old Marnee and Friends readers and there are innumerable texts available for math science that are had for tuppence. Age does not weary such knowledge.

I commend you on the home school approach - the hardest thing is to not teach! Setting agreed objectives - assignments and pathways and then allowing your kids to find online info is wholly superior to a classroom where 70% of the time is spent on crowd control and the rest on mind control.

Some time with a smart Buddhist monk may be good too. Sorry I can;t speak for state regulations - but I find that school certifications are more a limit to your life than anything else. What was Richard Branson's education? I have had a number of successful businesses, none of which I had any training in.

You will not learn to love learning when learning is your diet 24/7. Kids thrive on creative play and that should be encouraged

All the best

[ppmacready]

^{Hi, I'm not sure what country you are from, but I am an Australian with a half thai/half aussie daughter. We are doing Thai school for socialisation and learning the language, but are also following the Australian curriculum ourselves. We do this through Sydney Distance Education School. They are fantastic and send us the whole term's work in fortnightly batches. She will be fully qualified via the Australian system, but also the local Thai system. I cannot afford the private schooling system, and as we live on Phi Phi there is only the local school option. You should check and see what the options for home schooling or schooling while travelling from your own home country as if it's like Australia, there are options you can do that don't cost the earth. What's more, the lessons are well prepared and fully explained so that anyone who can read can virtually act as the teacher. It's like step by step instructions so you can't stuff it up! My daughter has also spent a bit of time recently in Australia and went to her local school, and she was already leaps and bounds ahead of others in the same class as she had done one term from home of one on one instruction. Anyway, good luck with it all, cheers}

"but are also following the Australian curriculum ourselves. We do this through Sydney Distance Education School. They are fantastic and send us the whole term's work in fortnightly batches."

Interesting, thanks.

Is this free or is there a cost?

I want to either partly or fully Homeschool my daughter, but it's not easy finding a decent curriculum with full materials. Many are American Christian one.

I want to follow the UK curriculum, it's not easy to find decent packages that have the full curriculum and materials.

For Aussies, this is great.

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/rde/distanceedu/index.php

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/rde/ruraledu/de-enrolproc.pdf

You're lucky to have such an option.

http://www.interhigh.co.uk/

My friend uses this one and gives a very good report.

I intend my daughter to use it next year.

[cooked]

As a teacher of 9 years (Primary mostly in Australia) i'm here to tel lyou that school is a FAILURE. Teaching time in the average classroom there and I have no doubt here is maybe 30%. teaching is not learning.

Children ache to learn and with mentoring / motivation will always surprise. Setting bounds and evaluating from objectives is not at all hard.

Sitting over a child while they learn is not teaching it is intimidation. Once rudimentary reading is mastered - I have excellent - excellent resouces in this regard, - freely available - any child can and will learn. Proviso - they must spend as much time out of a house and away from books as possible.

You can arrange "intern" work for 2- 4 hour sessions with local businesses for almost nothing. This expands minds, removes the tunnel vision that is the bane of education and and stimulates innate develompemtal streams.

Socializing with same age kids is usually conrtemptible descent to mediocrity to fit in. perhaps normal,

Any hald smart Thai teenager can help your kid throough the old Marnee and Friends readers and there are innumerable texts available for math science that are had for tuppence. Age does not weary such knowledge.

I commend you on the home school approach - the hardest thing is to not teach! Setting agreed objectives - assignments and pathways and then allowing your kids to find online info is wholly superior to a classroom where 70% of the time is spent on crowd control and the rest on mind control.

Some time with a smart Buddhist monk may be good too. Sorry I can;t speak for state regulations - but I find that school certifications are more a limit to your life than anything else. What was Richard Branson's education? I have had a number of successful businesses, none of which I had any training in.

You will not learn to love learning when learning is your diet 24/7. Kids thrive on creative play and that should be encouraged

All the best

http://www.secularhomeschool.com/homeschool-links-info/

http://www.secularhomeschool.com/sitemap/f-58.html

I was surprised to see a teacher here supporting HS, they generally tend to be highly dismissive.

Another poster wrote about learning Thai as though it was a choice. If the mother is Thai, then the mother tongue is, and will remain Thai, even though the child later learns perfect English. My two sons grew up trilingual (+ a dialect or two), no problem as far as that is concerned. Our neighbours in French Switzerland were Swiss Germans, they started speaking a bad French with their kids when they moved there and I find that the kids are completely screwed up as regards to self confidence and social skills. Growing up polyglot isn't a disease, in Switzerland many kids have two languages plus a dialect.