Hi, i have a 3 year old daughter and i am planning to live and work in thailand in 3 years (Ill have finished my degree in english by then, so hopefully with my teachers license i will be lucky enough to find a job).

My daughter will be 6 when we move, has anyone experianced placing an english kid into a thai school, im concerned over the thai writing system, thai culture at school etc.

I would be very gratefull if anyone would like to share their experiances with me,

cheers

Just send her to an international school. It would be worth it in my opinion, the Thai education system doesn't produce fantastic quality or foster creative thinking. It's all rote learning and nobody fails.

And I'd be very grateful if anyone can provide any information on the costs of an international school?

quote:

Originally posted by SteveR:
Just send her to an international school. It would be worth it in my opinion,

Well, if the OP was independently wealthy, that is. A decent international school will cost more than he is going to be earning while teaching English. Very few western parents pay their own fees in such schools.

quote:

Originally posted by caller:
And I'd be very grateful if anyone can provide any information on the costs of an international school?

I posted a lengthy reply to someone else here about international schools (though I don't know if they ever read it!) and if you look at the link to ISAT it will have links to every international school's website, many of which will have info about fees etc.

For one of the better schools you would be looking at B3-500,000 per year, but you would also end up forking out that much again just to get them enrolled with the various bonds and deposits. Someone else posted a link to Bromsgrove and quoted B800k a year for boarding students.

Thanks GTG - are Thai schools so bad after all?

I've been to one, in Bkk, it didn't unimpress - can what's missed at school be compensated for at home?

My secondry school did jack **** for me. The little I have achieved is despite of it, not because of it. But ask anyone at that time and it had a great reputation.

I kind of had doubts, confirmed when I saw a kid slap the headmaster, followed by a fatal stabbing in the playground.

This was in the 70's.

Moderator edit Please don't try to circumvent the language filter,it's there for a reason.

quote:

Originally posted by woodham1:
Hi, i have a 3 year old daughter and i am planning to live and work in thailand in 3 years (Ill have finished my degree in english by then, so hopefully with my teachers license i will be lucky enough to find a job).

I'm assuming you are talking about teaching in a language school here, so you would also need to get yourself a TEFL qualification - International House in Stowell Street has a good reputation. If you were serious about teaching you would need to do your PGCE and get some experience before you could get into an international school but you would then get free schooling for your daughter as well as a decent standard of living for yourselves. Many of those schools would be offering a British curriculum which would obviously make transferring much easier for her in both directions.

One concern is whether you are intending this arrangement to be for the long term because it would be very difficult to come back to the British system after a few years in a Thai school. Then again, there are many members here whose kids have managed that move very successfully.

How good is Jess's Thai at the moment - reading/writing rather than just spoken. Has her mam been teaching her, or will she be before you go. Otherwise it's not just going to be the problem of learning a foreign language but also being taught Maths, Science etc in a foreign language! Imagine having to cope with that! BTW I suspect we have a load of Thai school resources here somewhere as Lek was full of good intentions when we first moved back and went to an educational supplier before we left.

What might be better for her is one of the bilingual schools such as amnuay silpa where they would teach a combined Thai/British curriculum in both Thai and English (though hopefully not at the same time!) Worth noting that they regularly advertise for staff - in the TES as well as on ajarn.com

quote:

Originally posted by caller:
Thanks GTG - are Thai schools so bad after all?

I've been to one, in Bkk, it didn't unimpress - can what's missed at school be compensated for at home?

I really think it depends on what you are expecting your kids to do in the future, how long they will stay in the education system, where you think they will be living.

I am working for a school in Thailand with a good reputation and a number of foreign kids do attend. They seem to enjoy it but there are certain lessons from the British curriculum that they are not studying such as History and Geography.

As Gordie says, a lot depends on whether they will stay here or not. If you are planning on placing them back in the UK in the near future an International school would be essential in my opinion

Thanks for your reply, as GTG stated most cannot afford international schools, and i would fit into that section. I have passed my level 4 Cambridge TESOL, completed my CertED (Giving me a uk teaching license) and now got three years left of my degree in education. Ive bought two small properties in thailand, and hope to stay there for a long time, but because i will be new to teaching i would like gain some experiance in a thai school first before applying to international schools.

Do you have a rough idea how much is a school offering a bilingual school in english and thai ?

quote:

Posted 19 April 2007 23:15 Hide Post
Thanks GTG - are Thai schools so bad after all?

I've been to one, in Bkk, it didn't unimpress - can what's missed at school be compensated for at home?

The Thai schools can't all bad I have three nieces who live in the countryside near Nongphai aged 6/8/11, All, though can speak great English. and generally doing very well.

We are only talking about three years in Thailand, this would give the child a great grounding in Thai culture and language. it important to remember that children catch up very quickly.

If you wanted to keep up with the UK Curriculumn you could use a service like Tutorial support service. Which is a DVD based service which cost approx £500 a year. (Math English,Science)
TSS


Personally this is a great opportunity for a young family and as you are going there with the intention of being a teacher I sure you know what your child will need.

Good luckwith the plans....


the claw

quote:

Originally posted by theclawinorbit:
We are only talking about three years in Thailand, this would give the child a great grounding in Thai culture and language. it important to remember that children catch up very quickly.

I think if you read again you will see that the OP is planning on staying there for considerably longer than 3 years.

quote:

Originally posted by theclawinorbit:
Personally this is a great opportunity for a young family a

I second that.

thanks GTG I stand corrected on the time scale.

But being someone who was educated in the Chinese system back in the late 70's I will say this, it had no reputation 'but bad!!!' but my parents insured that my extra lessons followed what was happening in England, And this was a great benefit. (And to be honest the future career options went well with a second language though didn't tell them I FORGOTTEN HALF OF IT )

We did not have the kind of resources that are availible now (internet,dvd)etc but still as kids you don't have to miss out. but it will come down to what the parents want for the child in the end.


the claw

quote:

Do you have a rough idea how much is a school offering a bilingual school in english and thai ?

I have PM'd some details to you and with a teaching cert from the UK you should be able to demand a good salary and equally so, a great quality of life. The wage here is certainly less than the UK but the price of living is so much cheaper and the lifestyle is so much more convenient. I plan on returning to the UK to gain my PGCE and then come back again this time for good.

The schools here can be a fantastic experience depending on which you chose. I teach Mathiom 5 and 6, between 50-60 kids per class. There are some devils in kids uniforms but they equate to about 3% of my entire student base. The majority are polite, respectable and decent kids and will have a positive effect on any kids working with them.

At the end of the day, if a kid wants to learn they can gain a great education in Thailand.

Good luck