English Kid In Thai School Good/bad Idea?

[antonuk2010]

HI

25 year old Brit here. I have been to Thailand many times and have caught the fever. I have been married to a Thai for 4 years and and have a 3 year old daughter. I am about to start a degree and on completion hope to do some teaching in Thailand. I know when emigrating there are many things to consider, but for me top of the list is my Childs education .Obviously I will be unable to afford to send my daughter to a international school, so it looks like a Thai school is the only suitable option left to us. A 5/6 year old farang child going to a Thai school with limited Thai and even less cultural experience seems to me to be a massive hurdle. I know allot of expats who have children in Thai schools, but all have been in Thailand from birth. Am I worrying about too much, some people I know' seem to think so.

If there's anyone who's overcome this and has some information i would be grateful.

Cheers antonuk2010

[Thaiboxer]

Has your daughter already picked up a good amount of Thai from her mother? If so, she should fit right in with the other Thai kids; no problem. If her Thai isn't that great, you could try putting her into a decent bilingual school where she'll receive a good portion of her education in English. Just from her living here and interacting with the other kids, she'll pick up Thai real quick. Once her Thai is good enough, you could then put her into an all Thai school if you wish and she should do just fine. Many young kids who move here with their parents adapt well to their new environment. Living here is certainly a great experience and I'm sure your daughter will enjoy it. Good luck!

[sbk]

Where in Thailand do you plan on living? Be aware that the educational opportunities in rural Thailand can be very limited and schools can be very poor with few facilities.

[Farma]

For the sake of your daughter’s long term future needs I sincerely hope you will keep her English education up to date with the associated English qualifications too. She or all of your family may wish to return to England in the future.

At a similar age to your daughter my son integrated very well into a Thai government school. He quickly picked up the Thai language and friends. My son was also receiving English distance education.

I will add this choice of schooling was out of my control and I did not approve of the situation.

It quickly came apparent his standard of English and general education was rapidly going downhill. His English reading ability had all but vanished. He had forgotten simple words learnt in an English speaking preschool. He was good at sports, that was about the only thing he appeared to learn at school.

His spoken English deteriorated so much so he had trouble communicating with his English speaking relatives including myself. He was living in a household with access to English speaking people but spent most of his time speaking Thai with his friends and Thai relatives.

After 3 years of Thai schooling he has now returned to an English speaking country and with a lot of effort is now catching up to the education standard of other kids his age.

I would suggest you give a lot of thought before continuing with this plan.

Farma

[GuestHouse]

I'd second what Farma says.

Education is hugely important, I wouldn't want a child of mine in a Thai state school.

[antonuk2010]

Hi thanks for the feedback

I have considered moving to Thailand for a few years now and have put allot of things in place to achieve and succeed, so not moving is really not an option.

I'm wondering with the international schools being of the highest standard of education in Thailand, are the state schools the next best thing or is there something in between the two. Also I imagine that Thai state schools differ in standard and fees within any one city. If this is the case what kind of standard could we expect.

[Thaiboxer]

Being a teacher myself and having taught kids in both a private and state run school, I can give you a quick rundown on the international school scene. Real international schools (not just those using "International" in their names) are of similar standard to the schools in the country which their cirrculum follows. Teachers are nearly always recruited directly from the respective countries and are highly qualified...many hold a Master's degree. These schools pay VERY high salaries by Thai standards and a good number of the teachers stick around for many years. The tuition fees, as you can imagine, are extremely high; often in the 300-400K baht per year range (or maybe per term?) Only well to do expat familes and the richest Thai families can afford to send their kids to such schools.

On the downside, these international schools surround the kids with a Western environment which can often alienate them from their Thai surroundings This can result in social difficulties down the road. They can develop an attitude problem like so many of their spoiled, rich counterparts. You will soon learn that MANY Thai families spoil their kids rotten and it would have to be worse with the rich families since they can afford the most luxuries. If your kids will eventually settle down back in the West, than an international school may be fine for them; no problems fitting in with the locals after graduation. Even if the international schools were perfect, most of us expats simply couldn't afford the fees.

State run schools are a nightmare in terms of education and how they are managed. Some are better than others but the level of education is really low and many students are weak in ALL subjects; not just English. Also, it seems many of the government schools are run by Communists who would certainly make Joseph Stalin proud if he were alive today.

In the middle you have various private and private/bilingual schools. For those of us on a limited budget (if you work here for Thai wages) these may be the best bet, but you need to look really hard and do your homework as a good lot of them are just out to make money while providing little more than the standard government school. Talk to as many expats in your financial situation as possible and get LOTS of opinions. Also, talk to teachers too and see how they feel about their work places. Good luck!

[thaigene2]

Also, it seems many of the government schools are run by Communists who would certainly make Joseph Stalin proud if he were alive today.

Really? Well, maybe that's not such a bad thing in a place like this where consumerism is rammed down our throats 24/7..where money is king and corruption is admired.

As for Private and Bilingual schools what would you recommend Thai Boxer? I know what you mean about them just providing a mediocre education and always hitting you up for more and more money. Our eldest kid goes to a hi-so Thai bi-ling Kindergarten here and one day the teachers sent home with all the kids a CD Rom and brochure advertising to parents to visit a new Beauty Spa, presumably run by one of their relatives..I couldn't believe it!

Also, I've learned that the bilingual schools (at least this one above) only teaches in English 2 hours a day - the rest is Thai. An important lesson for me for when we start the hunt for a primary school

Any advice and names of good BKK schools would be appreciated. I may try Ajarn.Com too.

Thanks. TG2.

[The Dan Sai Kid]

Where are you thinking of moving to?

If you are thinking about Chiang Mai, then you may be able to afford the IS fees. CM schools have much lower fees than in BKK. The competition for work in CM is fierce, it's got to the point where a lot of the private schools (not international) are asking for teachers with qualifications that go beyond a random Bachelors and tefl certificate.

Outside of the usually tourist haunts it can be hard for schools to get hold of good teachers. Eg. I was offered a job over the phone, when I called a school in Phitsanulok!

Don't forget that even the private schools still have class sizes around 50. You need to look at their English programs. The EPs will typically have, at least, a farang teacher teaching English - they may also have ones for other subjects too. The EP class size will be smaller. The rooms will have a/c and other benefits like that.

The school I'm currently working at has quite a few luk krung kids and one or two non-thais as well. Those students in my year seem to really enjoy the school. Children are much more capable than adults at adapting to certain situations and can pick up language at a frightening pace! It's very important to speak as much English as possible at home - your wife mustn't speak any Thai to your daughter.

Good luck!

[Thaiboxer]

for Private and Bilingual schools what would you recommend Thai Boxer?

As Dan Sai Kid says, you need to figure out where you want to settle down, but I would definitely look at the more populated areas with more schools for a wider range of choices. BKK has some good ones, but you may not want to live in such a crowded area. I live with my Thai wife and family on the outskirts of the city, but the traffic is still pretty heavy. Ajarn.com is a great place to start, but you must also check out teflwatch.org as it contains reviews of the not so good schools. Although it speaks mainly from a farang teacher's point of view, it's a pretty accurate guide to choosing a school for your kids. Afterall, if teachers aren't happy and don't stick around for very long (typical in the teaching field here) your kids probably won't benefit from going there. Some private schools are more heavy handed than others regarding student discipline and academics so you'll need to examine these areas as well. Other schools may be great fun, but could be lacking in academics which may put kids at a disadvantage down the road.

Beware of the word "bilingual". Like it's counterpart "international", it's often over used. A "bilingual" school may well be just an expensive, private Thai school with a compliment of foreign teachers who teach some subjects in English whereas the majority of the cirriculum is in Thai. Thai will come naturally to your children, so they don't really need too much of it at school. Take a look at those schools which really do provide at least half (or better yet, most) of their cirriculum in English and also those schools with a fair number of staff who can communicate in English.

Best of luck!

[sylvafern]

If you are just starting your degree then the best thing you can do for yourself and your daughter would be to do a B.Ed or a PGCE .... that way you could get a job at an international school and earn a good salary (and gain all the other benefits that go along with it) and your daughter will get free education. Not all schools will employ new graduates, but there's nothing to stop you starting off at a smaller school and working your way up to working at a bigger school with more benefits, or taking on a different sort of position at one of the big schools such as an ESL support teacher, etc, and work your way up to being a class teacher.

Good luck!