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[Madam H]

If you have children at present, or just imagine the children you probably would have in the future, to which school would you send them, and why?

Would you send them to a bilingual school, where they will surely learn Thai, but would also most likely grow up having Thai traits (not just solely Filipino)?

Would you send them to an international school where there is a great likelihood they will be exposed to peer pressure and the lifestyle of the rich? Of course, the flip side being, they will be confident English speakers and more exposed to different kinds of culture...

Would you rather they do homestudy and teach them yourself?

Or would you opt to leave them with relatives in the Philippines?

...and why such an option???

[Chupau is BACK!!]

Hello mama heds,, As a parent I would like to have all the best for my children,, if possible give them everything they want BUT this may cause some problems in the future, so in choosing for their school I would prefer a thai school for them, 2 of my kids are now enrolled in a Thai school and have been there for 2 years now,they have learned the Language ( they speak better than me), they have been exposed to the Thai standard way of living. They had problems dealing with other students before but now their classmates likes them so much because they learn english from my kids. So they have learned how to deal with their problems before on their own. As for home study programs, it was fine for my eldest son however he misses out a lot of things which he may learn in high school.We tried to leave him in the Philippines for 2 years but we feel that he needs us to be around him, so we decided to send him back here. As for the International Schools are so expensive I cant afford it, it would also be ok to send my children to International schools pero hellooooooo 3 sila na international school???!!! patay tayo jan....LOL..

So my choice would be Thai schools.... mura na matututo pa sila ng Thai Language,, English has been with all filipinos since so its not a problem for them to learn it.

[Madam H]

Chupau,

     Thank you so much sa pag-share ha! I was just looking at my daughter's tuition fee slip today, while registering her at school. And I realized that your pare and I have just been lucky that one of us got a job teaching in an international school, thus the privileges of sending them to an IS for free.

      And I absolutely agree on the English part of this whole thing. Your pare and I have always believed our kids would eventually pick up English no matter which school they go to, because in the first place, we, their parents, grew up, were schooled and lived in the Philippines for a good 20 years or more of our lives, but we were still able to speak, write and read well in English. How much more for these kids of ours who are more exposed to the English language here, outside our home country.

      So, we started our kids, and we still speak to them, in our own dialect. We think it is very important for our kids to have a strong first language, before they are taught English. It is hard though, but I guess parents can't have it all. Right now, our kids can understand when they are spoken to in our dialect, but they answer in a combiantion of our dialect, Tagalog and English! With some Thai thrown in once in a while.

      I encourage other parents who may have different (or similar) choices and/or experiences to share their thoughts and ideas here. There are no right or wrong choices here. we started this thread to give parents ideas abolut their children's education whether they are already based here in Thailand, or they are thinking of relocating here, and would like to know what their choices are like.

      Again, Chupau, maraming salamat! Your post gives other parents a good idea about what would be in store for their kids in the Thai schools. Just like two other friends of ours, your kids' experiences are similar - they have become very popular with their classmates, because they are "special"; they have special gifts in another language! It's great for kids' self esteem, but yes, they will go through some rough times at first, as you said.

[LAPU-LAPU]

if i have children(to be) then they would stay with me here in bangkok as a family, or wherever i am with my wife(to be).

when living in bkk, they should go to school where they learn thai culture.
for the Filipino culture i teach them myself.

if i have the capacity to send them to an international school then it would be great.
but first i need to inform and ask my children about studying in the international school.
if they're too young to comprehend or answer satisfactorily, well at least i tried to inform them and ask their opinion.
i would also consult with my wife(to be) regarding this matter and we, me, my wife and children decide together the path we are about to take.
i would also make inquiries from friends or strangers or from the school or from the internet or from SIAMPINOY about certains matters.
after i have considerable information then and only then we, my family can make a wise decision.

i would send my children to school.
if there are some things that only i can teach, then i teach them personally.

we, the family would vacation in the Philippines from time to time and spent quality time with my relatives and the Filipino people. 

[yllorco]

I've been thinking about my boy's education in 4 years from now.  I find sarasas schools affordable, about 20,000Baht a term copared with about 100,000 baht among Assumption schools.  It's bilingual though. 

International schools are very good if parents teach there.  Most of them give free or discounted fees to the faculty children.

We are teaching our boy English as his first language at home, Thai his second, only when he gets out of the house to meet neighbors, Pilipino will be his third when he goes back to the Philippines, or when he meets other Filipinos around.  (I learned Pilipino about 12 years ago.  Tigas pa rin dila hanggang ngaun.  hehehe.)

We are designing curriculum for our baby boy.  We monitor his progress regularly.  He's just about a year old, but it's amazing that he likes books than toys.  He likes to listen to English music, movies and ads on TV, but not much to Thai ones.  Funny!  We are being careful with all our words, gesures, moods and actions at home since he's just so brilliant to copy everything.  Basic home education should be strong for him.

[maldita]

I have children soon...(hopefully) and we are still here in Thailand, I prefer to enroll them in an International school, which will give them best education. However, of course that will depend on our income. Education here in Thailand is not that good and effective just like in Philippines.

[lengradwilson]

it's better to send them to an international school....

[ro_se]

for my child in the future, ok lang din siya magaral dito sa thailand, siyempre sa school ko na lang din, but when he/she gets into high school, i rather send him/her in the Philippines. iba pa rin education sa atin, kahit ano pa sabihin nila. just have a good pick of school.

[ajarn_ph]

if i have a child or two, both will go to a government or Christian school.

[thailand]

To Ruamrudee International School.

[lengradwilson]

To Ruamrudee International School.

So our children will be classmates then!

[ajarnailene]

We've been here for six years in Thailand  and my son is currently studying at an International school. Fortunately, both of us are working together so we got a tremendous discount  from the school management. Many filipinos said that education in th Philippines is better than here, but i completely disagree with that. As a facilitator of learning here in Thailand, I have realised the flaws of our educational system. However, this point of view  depends on how we look at it. Some parents opted to send their kids to Bilingual Schools to be exposed with 2languages, whilst others prefer them to stay in the Philippines (which is dreadful, of course!!).Well, it is really hard to decide talaga!!!

[Darfur]

We've been here for six years in Thailand  and my son is currently studying at an International school. Fortunately, both of us are working together so we got a tremendous discount  from the school management. Many filipinos said that education in th Philippines is better than here, but i completely disagree with that. As a facilitator of learning here in Thailand, I have realised the flaws of our educational system. However, this point of view  depends on how we look at it. Some parents opted to send their kids to Bilingual Schools to be exposed with 2languages, whilst others prefer them to stay in the Philippines (which is dreadful, of course!!).Well, it is really hard to decide talaga!!!

I still think la salle, ateneo, UP education is the best in asia.

[Madam H]

Actually, according to one research I have read one time, it is not the school, but rather the teacher, who makes an impact on your child's learning. The same research findings point out that a teacher will have an influence on your child three years after your child has studied from him/her.

But of course, most of the time, the schools that pay their teachers a lot more than the others are those more likely to hire more experienced and better qualified teachers to teach your kids.

On the other hand, some schools na mahal, at masyadong academically driven, napag-iiwanan ang mga batang underachievers, or who respond to a different learning style as that used frequently by the teacher.

The schools here and in the Philippines have both positive aspects to them. I've never had the privilege to study in the institutions you mentioned Capt. D, but I've had friends and relatived who have, and they seem to have had impressive training in terms of life skills.

Wherever they are, the kids will still grow up to be whoever you teach them to be starting at home. However, their environment does have a big role to play in how they turn out to be. In an intrnational school here in Thailand, there's always the risk of them succumbing to peer pressure, materialism, and too much emphasis on individual freedom as opposed to family oriented values.

It is tough to make decisions on how and where to have your children educated. Sometimes, we are not so lucky with the options we have in front of us. When that happens, we have to do our best to do athome whatever it is we know they lack in school.

Most important is, they grow up happy, and they progress to adulthood knowing what it is they want, yet they care enough about others to know when to make sacrifices.

[buddhist punk]

...Many filipinos said that education in th Philippines is better than here, but i completely disagree with that. As a facilitator of learning here in Thailand, I have realised the flaws of our educational system. ...

Hello po, thank you for posting. This was an interesting statemnt to read and I have never heard it before.

Would you indulge me for a few posts and list or at least mention some flaws in our [philippines] educational system compared with that of Thailand? Thanks again.

[Darfur]

i second the motion ma'am BP. please elaborate ung flaws na yan compared s thailand

[Madam H]

bump

[THAMES]

          Right now my eldest  study in Assumption in  Bangrak. Well Im amazed of how advance their facility was. At first when my wife told me how much is my son tuition fee per sem I almost fell in my chair while eating , coz I remember in Manila , Ateneo cozt only about 40-50T pesos per year for elementary student and that includes some book already.

          But when she mentioned to me that its more than 100t and not including the DONATION MONEY that we need to pay upon entrance exam I thought that EDUCATION system here was too commercialize. But at the end of the day all we want is just the best for our kids.

[Steve St. John]

Mine will be in a Government school. Save more money and learn a lot of survival things.

Like smoking, drinking and taking drugs. Sweettt.   

[curveball08]

I will have to consider several things before deciding.
First, it has to be affordable. I am afraid time will come that my kid will stop or transfer to another school because i can't affort the tuition anymore.
Second, the tract record of the school.
Third and last, the travel time. To and from