School priorities and their consequences

[NoshowJones]

24 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

"militilistic" ?

Yes they all have to act like soldiers, little soldiers in the schools, right down to the haircuts, the police all lining up in front of their Lt Gens etc outside the police station and shouting in unison.

All the uniforms in the offices etc,etc. Just like the military. "Militilistic".

[FritsSikkink]

55 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Yes they all have to act like soldiers, little soldiers in the schools, right down to the haircuts, the police all lining up in front of their Lt Gens etc outside the police station and shouting in unison.

All the uniforms in the offices etc,etc. Just like the military. "Militilistic".

That would be militaristic.

[NoshowJones]

Oh Gees! and to think I used to be an English teacher. "I'm away to stand in the corner".

[MrJohnson]

14 hours ago, wildewillie89 said:

Why? I will be. The nursery is free, and the teacher is one of the family (so well looked after). School here is more for social development. I can teach the kids English. The Mrs got the second highest Thai score in the country, so can very effectively teach the kids the level of Thai they need to pass government/uni exams (the number one component failed in government exams is the Thai component). The kids aunt is a Science teacher with a Physics major. The kids grandfather is the Mayor so has implemented programs to benefit families (for example, starting nursery 6 months before the rest of the country to free up the parents if they work). My kids get free schooling (until finish their bachelor), half price private education and free medical due to their mother being a government official. 

If we wanted to, we could go back to Melbourne, however, we would be living in a shitty house and paying a ridiculous amount of rent or loan, or in a really nice house that is miles away from anything. Here we can have a very nice house on a big patch of land that is surrounded by farm land but only 3 km from the city (with your Tesco, Big C, HomePro, Global) etc. We save something like 15-20 million baht on a house. We save crap loads on nursery costs. The kid (kids in future) already has insurance policies so when she turns 18 she will have quite a bit of money to begin her life. And when we die she will inherent not only the money we leave behind (when wife dies the government pay the family a large sum), but around 15 rai of land 3kms from the city. The idea for me in a family is making the kids as comfortable as possible (no matter what career path they choose to go down), so if we can bring her and any future kids up to have a relatively financial stress free life, then I am happy to take a bit of the stress by moving here. 

 

Wildwillie89 you sound like someone with the very best of intentions. It sounds like you are an Aussie and no doubt concerned about the costs of living in Australia, especially Melbourne. If I may I'd like to share some experience of the Thai school system with you, both public and private. Both of my daughters attended a private Thai school from Kindergarten through to late primary school. By Thai standards it was a good school. Well qualified teachers, good facilities and resources. Unfortunately that was where the good ended. It was all form and no substance. The emphasis is on how it looks and not how well it works. The class sizes were ridiculously large, sometimes as many as 45 kids in a class. That's not teaching, that is crowd control. The pedagogy (teaching system) is heavily embedded in what is known in the 'reproductive  mode of learning, otherwise known as rote-learning. The kids are treated like parrots or performing seals. The content is also very poor. In terms of history, geography, social studies etcc. , it  is all taught as if Thailand is the centre of the universe. You child will be able to recite the names of all the Thai monarchs and their great victories over the Burmese and the Khmers (very dubious history there)  but will know nothing about the great civilizations of Greece or Rome, the industrial revolution, the Ottoman empire, the two world wars etc. The timetable will be disrupted by mindless marching up and down the playground and kowtowing to visiting officials. And on it goes. At the end you will have a child who cannot think for themselves and has a very myopic view of the world. Of course there will be exceptions. And I'm talking about the Thai private schools. My experience with the Thai public school system comes from a medium term project with eight Thai government schools in a large provincial town. The project revolved around teacher training and capacity building. If I thought things were bad in the private system they were tenfold worse in the public. All of the above amplified and then exacerbated by poorly trained, poorly paid and poorly treated teachers. This combination resulted in teachers being very poorly motivated. And then there are poor facilities and resources. The other big difference is that at least in the private schools the parents tend to be assertive and put pressure on the school management to at least try and do some things well. I worked with school administrators and teachers over a three-year period and feel I have a reasonable knowledge of what was going on and where the priorities lay. The thing about Thai schools is that they are designed to keep the populations docile, compliant and to not rock the boat, not to think for themselves. If I had my time over again I would have probably have put my kids straight into an international school (which is where they are now) or have home-schooled them up until age nine or ten and then put them in an international school. They are both teenagers now and look back on  their time at the Thai school with bemusement. The whole family breathed a sigh of relief when they changed schools. I neglected to  mention the three hours of mindless homework assigned every night - to a five year old! Good luck to you and I hope it goes well but I would be re-thinking my options if I were you. That pastoral utopia you speak of may not look the same after a couple more years there.

[wildewillie89]

1 hour ago, MrJohnson said:

Wildwillie89 you sound like someone with the very best of intentions. It sounds like you are an Aussie and no doubt concerned about the costs of living in Australia, especially Melbourne. If I may I'd like to share some experience of the Thai school system with you, both public and private. Both of my daughters attended a private Thai school from Kindergarten through to late primary school. By Thai standards it was a good school. Well qualified teachers, good facilities and resources. Unfortunately that was where the good ended. It was all form and no substance. The emphasis is on how it looks and not how well it works. The class sizes were ridiculously large, sometimes as many as 45 kids in a class. That's not teaching, that is crowd control. The pedagogy (teaching system) is heavily embedded in what is known in the 'reproductive  mode of learning, otherwise known as rote-learning. The kids are treated like parrots or performing seals. The content is also very poor. In terms of history, geography, social studies etcc. , it  is all taught as if Thailand is the centre of the universe. You child will be able to recite the names of all the Thai monarchs and their great victories over the Burmese and the Khmers (very dubious history there)  but will know nothing about the great civilizations of Greece or Rome, the industrial revolution, the Ottoman empire, the two world wars etc. The timetable will be disrupted by mindless marching up and down the playground and kowtowing to visiting officials. And on it goes. At the end you will have a child who cannot think for themselves and has a very myopic view of the world. Of course there will be exceptions. And I'm talking about the Thai private schools. My experience with the Thai public school system comes from a medium term project with eight Thai government schools in a large provincial town. The project revolved around teacher training and capacity building. If I thought things were bad in the private system they were tenfold worse in the public. All of the above amplified and then exacerbated by poorly trained, poorly paid and poorly treated teachers. This combination resulted in teachers being very poorly motivated. And then there are poor facilities and resources. The other big difference is that at least in the private schools the parents tend to be assertive and put pressure on the school management to at least try and do some things well. I worked with school administrators and teachers over a three-year period and feel I have a reasonable knowledge of what was going on and where the priorities lay. The thing about Thai schools is that they are designed to keep the populations docile, compliant and to not rock the boat, not to think for themselves. If I had my time over again I would have probably have put my kids straight into an international school (which is where they are now) or have home-schooled them up until age nine or ten and then put them in an international school. They are both teenagers now and look back on  their time at the Thai school with bemusement. The whole family breathed a sigh of relief when they changed schools. I neglected to  mention the three hours of mindless homework assigned every night - to a five year old! Good luck to you and I hope it goes well but I would be re-thinking my options if I were you. That pastoral utopia you speak of may not look the same after a couple more years there.

Sorry, I misquoted. Shitty keyboard.

I fully agree with you...that is why my kids are only attending school purely for social development. They will not be attending kindergarten, as I see no use of formal learning before the age of 7 (inability to concentrate). They will just be playing at the nursery or being looked after at home until that age and naturally developing with the help of us. I am not quite sure which school I will be sending them to yet (government was not going to be likely as i work in government schools).  There is one private and one international school within a few kms from our house that will be more likely. I will obviously have to go and check both schools out. However, i will still see the school as more social development more than creating a genius. And to make sure if the fundamentals are being taught, I will make sure our kids are getting outside testing. My father and mother in law are both teachers at a top school in Melbourne, my sister has her masters in education and TEFL, my other sister before moving to Sweden was also a teacher. So we have a lot of opportunity for Skype sessions, holiday work etc. Just to add a bit of variety from just school and us.

My Thai sister in law is a Science teacher at a university school in Korat. My Mrs is not a teacher, however scored the second highest score in Thai language in all of Thailand. She lectures on a regular basis and the government use her if have projects in Malaysia or any TV informational programs when she used to work down South. 

I fully understand what you're saying  though, I have worked in the big government school here, and now work in a small one (same pay for half the hours).  I also used to tutor in Korat, Schools such as Sarasart, Maree, Surawiwat (students at Surawiwat are easily at the same level back home is).  So I do understand the difference in quality.  My school is quite sad really, one of the classes only has 6 kids in it. Realistically, they should be the best school in the country with the teacher to student ratio, but yes, incredibly lazy.

 

Edited May 30, 2017 by wildewillie89

[Oceanbat]

15 hours ago, wildewillie89 said:

Thank you. Being only 26 with zero money when I moved here, I understood the risks (as I wont get my countries pension probably). And in all fairness to the poster I probably wouldn't have if my wife didn't have the position she does (would have brought her over at our young ages). However, our house will be easily paid off as the government pays 30% of it and the Mrs pension will be higher than my pension would have been from Australia anyway. So really, it was a no brainer.
Also I can use my university degree without having to pay for it as I am not getting an Australian income. Stomach has toughened up, got used to the weather...the only stress is just stupid ways Thai do things lol 

So this is where 35% of my income goes...

OB

[wildewillie89]

Just now, Oceanbat said:

So this is where 35% of my income goes...

OB

Where my income also used to go. If our incomes didn't go there, then the country would be as underdeveloped as Thailand is. 

[Oceanbat]

1 minute ago, wildewillie89 said:

Where my income also used to go. If our incomes didn't go there, then the country would be as underdeveloped as Thailand is. 

No, I mean here. My tax rate here is 35%. Paying for govt officials houses doesn't leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling.

OB

[Brunolem]

14 hours ago, possum1931 said:

They are more concerned about appearances than actually teaching, forcing young boys to have their heads shaved is nothing but bullying. I know personally a teacher who had a more senior one come into his classroom with a pair of scissors in his hand, he picked out a girl, took her on to the floor, and cut her hair in front of the class because it was a little bit below her ears, that was just pure assault, so I ask, is there a method to that madness?

Exactly right!

[Brunolem]

8 hours ago, lucjoker said:

a wise farang will raise his kids in Thailand......

in a public school.

If not , his kids will stay stupid , i mean ,they will never be able to" write and read" Thai......and, 

as their father, only speak 1 language ,witch is very stupid in a non English country.His kids will never be able to compete 

with farang kids who can read and write Thai,English,and French and Flemish and Spanish.....as smart farang - kids do.

The smart farang will teach his children at least 3 more languages ,because he is able to do it himself.

Those kids will be the next generation bosses , and those who can only speak Thai and English will be the small workers.

Imagine a business where the boss can not fluently read,write and speak Thai ......he has no controle at all, can not be understood properly and will not understand what his workers tell him .

No private school  will teach your farang-Thai children to write and read  Thai properly,they dont spend their time on it .

This is only my opinion, smart people will know what to do .

 

Something like that...basically kids go to school to learn to read and write the Thai language...the rest is up to the parents..

[NanLaew]

17 hours ago, Gumballl said:

Think about it... a wise farang would not raise his kids in Thailand.

Think about it... "A rich farang would not raise his kids in Thailand."

[wildewillie89]

20 minutes ago, Oceanbat said:

No, I mean here. My tax rate here is 35%. Paying for govt officials houses doesn't leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling.

OB

Ahhh. That is only in our situation that number applies to. If work out side of your home city first two years you are entitled to have rent paid on top of salary. If work in home city then no extra money. We didn't have to take that bigger loan to build our house so that extra money will end up paying about 30% of it. Soon as the loan finishes though, the rent money will stop coming. Many government people just keep on adding to their loan. The benefits are why nearly every graduate apply to be government officials, but only small percentages make the cut obviously.

[NanLaew]

Just now, Brunolem said:

Something like that...basically kids go to school to learn to read and write the Thai language...the rest is up to the parents..

Bugger me.... excluding the Thai language bit, that was EXACTLY the same as the Scottish education system when I was at school.

[NanLaew]

3 hours ago, possum1931 said:

Oh Gees! and to think I used to be an English teacher. "I'm away to stand in the corner".

Dinnae furget yer hat noo.

[Oceanbat]

2 minutes ago, wildewillie89 said:

Ahhh. That is only in our situation that number applies to. If work out side of your home city first two years you are entitled to have rent paid on top of salary. If work in home city then no extra money. We didn't have to take that bigger loan to build our house so that extra money will end up paying about 30% of it. Soon as the loan finishes though, the rent money will stop coming. Many government people just keep on adding to their loan. The benefits are why nearly every graduate apply to be government officials, but only small percentages make the cut obviously.

Gotcha..Excuse me I'm just having my usual once a year whinge for the tax I pay here for little or no benefit it seems...

You might also want to check out whether you  need to pay HECS. They changed the law this year so that you do even If living overseas.

OB

[Brunolem]

4 hours ago, possum1931 said:

Yes they all have to act like soldiers, little soldiers in the schools, right down to the haircuts, the police all lining up in front of their Lt Gens etc outside the police station and shouting in unison.

All the uniforms in the offices etc,etc. Just like the military. "Militilistic".

That would be militaristic...

[wildewillie89]

Just now, Oceanbat said:

Gotcha..Excuse me I'm just having my usual once a year whinge for the tax I pay here for little or no benefit it seems...

You might also want to check out whether you  need to pay HECS. They changed the law this year so that you do even If living overseas.

OB

I think you have to earn quite a bit before you start paying HECS (as an overseas person). I think they are going after the big boys. I earn 30,000 baht 'officially' a month here. 

[Brunolem]

5 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Bugger me.... excluding the Thai language bit, that was EXACTLY the same as the Scottish education system when I was at school.

Well, I don't know about Scottland, but in France we used to (in the 60s and 70s) learn more than our language.

My English, as it is, was learned in a French high school, as well as some basic notions of mathematics, physics, history and geography...enough to enable us to educate ourselves further if we wished.

Yet, I am well aware that things have changed since my time and that in the West the school system tends to look more and more like the Thai one.

[wildewillie89]

2 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Well, I don't know about Scottland, but in France we used to (in the 60s and 70s) learn more than our language.

My English, as it is, was learned in a French high school, as well as some basic notions of mathematics, physics, history and geography...enough to enable us to educate ourselves further if we wished.

Yet, I am well aware that things have changed since my time and that in the West the school system tends to look more and more like the Thai one.

The problem with Thai schools is that they go for overly complicated concepts when the fundamentals are not there. My school does Thai, Chinese and English. Another school chucks in Korean and French too. Just too much, when the basics of one language haven't even been taught. I have just been given the topic 'English Learning in Modernized Thai Children', that a grade 4 has to give a 5 minute speech on, without the aid of paper to jog his memory and only a week to prepare it. 

How about just letting him talk about what he did on his holidays so he can actually learn how to formulate sentences and actually have some input into the making of the speech (rather than me just writing it/him remembering the sounds of words I say). I already told the school I am hoping he loses as if he wins then he must compete at regional level. Just more stress with no actual benefit, 

[Brunolem]

9 minutes ago, wildewillie89 said:

The problem with Thai schools is that they go for overly complicated concepts when the fundamentals are not there. My school does Thai, Chinese and English. Another school chucks in Korean and French too. Just too much, when the basics of one language haven't even been taught. I have just been given the topic 'English Learning in Modernized Thai Children', that a grade 4 has to give a 5 minute speech on, without the aid of paper to jog his memory and only a week to prepare it. 

How about just letting him talk about what he did on his holidays so he can actually learn how to formulate sentences and actually have some input into the making of the speech (rather than me just writing it/him remembering the sounds of words I say). I already told the school I am hoping he loses as if he wins then he must compete at regional level. Just more stress with no actual benefit, 

For some reason, they seem to enjoy competition, at national and international level, even though they always lose...but winning or losing doesn't seem to matter much, what matters most is the fun of travelling, sharing meals and other "sanouk" things...

Someday, I will explain why they have so much difficulties with learning in general, and learning foreign languages in particular.

There is a scientific reason for that..really...so much so that I wrote about it a few years ago and it was published in the Bangkok Post...

[wildewillie89]

4 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

For some reason, they seem to enjoy competition, at national and international level, even though they always lose...but winning or losing doesn't seem to matter much, what matters most is the fun of travelling, sharing meals and other "sanouk" things...

Someday, I will explain why they have so much difficulties with learning in general, and learning foreign languages in particular.

There is a scientific reason for that..really...so much so that I wrote about it a few years ago and it was published in the Bangkok Post...

I think it was Cambridge who did some research in Thailand on English teaching ages ago. From memory, 3% of teachers are fluent. 40% have enough basic skills to pass by. And 57% have zero skills. And, of course, most of the 'farang', are just here for 6 months to earn enough money to buy their next plane ticket, so just sit down and let the kids do whatever they want. 

Those issues don't even include the way timetabling is (some classes get an hour a month), organisational structure (both at institutional level and federal level), miscommunication, and just plain disregard of the student (focus is on teacher, rather than student).

[NoshowJones]

45 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Dinnae furget yer hat noo.

The one with the D on it, what does that stand for again?

[Brunolem]

2 minutes ago, wildewillie89 said:

I think it was Cambridge who did some research in Thailand on English teaching ages ago. From memory, 3% of teachers are fluent. 40% have enough basic skills to pass by. And 57% have zero skills. And, of course, most of the 'farang', are just here for 6 months to earn enough money to buy their next plane ticket, so just sit down and let the kids do whatever they want. 

Those issues don't even include the way timetabling is (some classes get an hour a month), organisational structure (both at institutional level and federal level), miscommunication, and just plain disregard of the student (focus is on teacher, rather than student).

There is also the selection process for the foreign teachers, probably implemented on purpose, but who knows...

According to this process, if one is, say, a German born English teacher with 20 years of experience, one will be rejected because, you know, one needs to be a "native English" to be considered.

On the other hand, if one is a former London cab driver, with zero experience in teaching, then one might well be recruited.

There are a few other major and obviously critical criterias to fulfill, such as being below the age of 40, since it is wellknown that a 50 year old is by definition unable to teach...

[NanLaew]

5 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Well, I don't know about Scottland, but in France we used to (in the 60s and 70s) learn more than our language.

My English, as it is, was learned in a French high school, as well as some basic notions of mathematics, physics, history and geography...enough to enable us to educate ourselves further if we wished.

Yet, I am well aware that things have changed since my time and that in the West the school system tends to look more and more like the Thai one.

When I was being school educated in the 1960's and 70's, there was the "11+" exam which as the name suggests, nationally tested 11 year-olds at the end of 'Primary' school as to their suitability for further education in 'Secondary' school. Pretty much divided all graduates (nobody failed as it was purely an assessment exercise) into 3 tiers where in addition to English, Math, Arithmetic, History, Geography, Art, Music and the 3 sciences of Chemistry, Physics and Biology, the top-tier had Latin and French, the middle tier had French only and the lowest tier had no languages but a 'technical' edge of Technical Drawing, Metalwork and Woodwork for boys. The girls had a menage of studies that came broadly under 'Homecraft'. Top tier and high-end middle tier would be expected to complete 5 more years and after passing another 2 suites of graded pass-fail tests, be suitable university material. The non-language tier was being groomed for the earliest legal exit from academic teaching at around 15 with easy ingress to either indentured apprenticeships, vocational or trade schools or just cheap labour.

 

It's a common complaint that the UK... OK, the English education system has been so dumbed down so that every kid has a chance of going to university when it is arguable that the greater part of them are not suitable for such. Granted, it does leverage some of the brighter ones that find their feet later than the norm in their early-to-mid teens but they are in a minority when compared with the numbers pre-selected for higher education by the system that patently just aren't up to it.

 

The Thai education system is lamentable with emphasis on the conformance of all to a nominally underachieving norm. My son recently changed schools when we moved from one end of the country to another. All the new schools we had short-listed had an entrance 'exam' with some being a one-chance affair where others offered a resit. Our lad after 5 years of a middle of the road private school education was deemed not suitable for the 'Intensive English Program' at the new school we chose so he was channeled into the easier, larger and cheaper Thai-with-nominal-English curriculum. It was a bit of a shock when he came home with a Chinese homework assignment... and the slight hindrance that despite only having a nominal Chinese class in a school over 3 years earlier, the new school did not have any Chinese class books available for him as they were sold out. A friendly word from the teacher to do your best to try and catch up was the best they could offer.

[NanLaew]

10 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

According to this process, if one is, say, a German born English teacher with 20 years of experience, one will be rejected because, you know, one needs to be a "native English" to be considered.

On the other hand, if one is a former London cab driver, with zero experience in teaching, then one might well be recruited.

My sister and her (then) American husband settled in Hawaii where armed with an Honours in English Literature, a Masters in Computer Science and a teaching endorsement, she applied for teaching only to be declined because she "didn't sound English."

 

Och aye! ye cannae make this up can ye?

 

You are dead right about the London cabbie who falls in love with Thailand so gets a TEFL paper and comes over to live the dream. The one I know comes from Scunthorpe.

[beautifulthailand99]

3 hours ago, Oceanbat said:

No, I mean here. My tax rate here is 35%. Paying for govt officials houses doesn't leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling.

OB

submarines , submarines , submarines ....

[wildewillie89]

2 hours ago, Brunolem said:

There is also the selection process for the foreign teachers, probably implemented on purpose, but who knows...

According to this process, if one is, say, a German born English teacher with 20 years of experience, one will be rejected because, you know, one needs to be a "native English" to be considered.

On the other hand, if one is a former London cab driver, with zero experience in teaching, then one might well be recruited.

There are a few other major and obviously critical criterias to fulfill, such as being below the age of 40, since it is wellknown that a 50 year old is by definition unable to teach...

Oh it extend to more extremes that that. Many schools will not choose a candidate if they do not fit the image they think parents are looking for, An innocent looking young blonde female for example. Or a clean shaven young man. You could be experienced, educated, and a native speaker but of Indian or African appearance and also not be chosen by the bigger schools. Really, all the farang are there for is as advertisement for the school, and a reason to charge extra for 'English' lessons. Unless families pay the fee, then there isn't a position in the school for the student. It is why the directors always call the farang over to stand next to them in the photos.

My wife didn't do the English program growing up and is quite good in English and had to do all the stupid competitions for both Thai and English (extremely good at Thai so probably has a natural language brain), her sister and cousins did do the paid English programs and are very bad at English lol. So it certainly doesn't guarantee anything like Thai families believe. Actually her brother is of equal English as the other sister purely from being in the army and training with other countries. 12 years studying an English program versus a few weeks training with some farangs. Something doesn't add up the way things are being done. I cannot talk, I do not have a bachelor in Education. But i do use the fact all of my immediate family are teachers and ask for help from them as much as i can. I studied at a reasonably good university also, so I dont at all feel as I am providing nothing to the kids. The last city competition, my two best kids matched the private school. 

Edited May 30, 2017 by wildewillie89

[Brunolem]

4 hours ago, NanLaew said:

 

 

The Thai education system is lamentable with emphasis on the conformance of all to a nominally underachieving norm.

Actually there is another school system similar to the Thai system, it is called the school of fish.

One cannot tell one from the other, they all move together aimlessly, change direction all at once without the need of a leader...and end up eaten alive in the factories of the rich city boys, always in search of fresh meat to replace the previous lot that didn't last long...

[kannot]

On 5/28/2017 at 5:26 PM, grollies said:

I think you'd do better providing practical help to the school rather than trying to engage in local politics?

be better teaching his  own kid........if  i had one the last place it would go to would be a Thai school..........conform obey is  all they need to know........from the Thai viewpoint anyway

[kannot]

7 hours ago, wildewillie89 said:

Sorry, I misquoted. Shitty keyboard.

I fully agree with you...that is why my kids are only attending school purely for social development. They will not be attending kindergarten, as I see no use of formal learning before the age of 7 (inability to concentrate). They will just be playing at the nursery or being looked after at home until that age and naturally developing with the help of us. I am not quite sure which school I will be sending them to yet (government was not going to be likely as i work in government schools).  There is one private and one international school within a few kms from our house that will be more likely. I will obviously have to go and check both schools out. However, i will still see the school as more social development more than creating a genius. And to make sure if the fundamentals are being taught, I will make sure our kids are getting outside testing. My father and mother in law are both teachers at a top school in Melbourne, my sister has her masters in education and TEFL, my other sister before moving to Sweden was also a teacher. So we have a lot of opportunity for Skype sessions, holiday work etc. Just to add a bit of variety from just school and us.

My Thai sister in law is a Science teacher at a university school in Korat. My Mrs is not a teacher, however scored the second highest score in Thai language in all of Thailand. She lectures on a regular basis and the government use her if have projects in Malaysia or any TV informational programs when she used to work down South. 

I fully understand what you're saying  though, I have worked in the big government school here, and now work in a small one (same pay for half the hours).  I also used to tutor in Korat, Schools such as Sarasart, Maree, Surawiwat (students at Surawiwat are easily at the same level back home is).  So I do understand the difference in quality.  My school is quite sad really, one of the classes only has 6 kids in it. Realistically, they should be the best school in the country with the teacher to student ratio, but yes, incredibly lazy.

 

you're wasting 7 years when kids actually  learn the most, re inability to concentrate

 

Studies by Harvard University confirm that the creativity, critical thinking skills, and flexibility of the mind are significantly enhanced if children learn a second language at a younger age. Preschool years, especially the first three years of life, are believed to be a vital period in a child’s life. This is when the foundations for attitudes, thinking, and learning, among others, are laid down.

Edited May 30, 2017 by kannot