Education - Thailand or abroad for your child?

[chrisandsu]

8 minutes ago, smotherb said:

Really? On which statistical platform is your posit based? So, you're telling me that all these girls selling their bodies would have a high chance of success in other businesses?

 

I wonder what percentage of high success Thais are foreign-educated? 

 

They would struggle massively?  I spent over 35 years developing automated systems for the US military-industrial complex; I saw foreign workers, even Thais, in almost every field at almost every level--and many of those systems were most sensitive and had to be as faultless as possible.

 

Certainly, not every Thai is capable of meeting better standards; like many Westerners who wile-away their lives in less than mediocre jobs and never seem to have enough in retirement.

What does selling bodies have to do with the point I made ? Actually what does working for the military who are the biggest wastemongers out of any arm of government have to do with this ? Don’t make a point with an even more pointless point . Regurgitate what you said and then come back with something slightly in line with what I said . 

[smotherb]

1 minute ago, chrisandsu said:

What does selling bodies have to do with the point I made ? Actually what does working for the military who are the biggest wastemongers out of any arm of government have to do with this ? Don’t make a point with an even more pointless point . Regurgitate what you said and then come back with something slightly in line with what I said . 

What does selling bodies . . . .  Well, let's look at your first sentence, "If you are just barely capable in Thailand you have a high chance of success . " I believe most ladies who sell their bodies are at least "barely capable."

 

What does working for the military . . . . I was in Europe, the Middle East and in Southeast Asia in addition to the US. In all those countries, I saw many different nationalities employed in technical and managerial jobs, even Thais. I made that statement in response to you saying, " If an employee held the same position in let’s say the USA as they do in Thailand they would struggle massively! "

 

Perhaps you should suck up your regurgitation and try once more to read and think at the same time.

 

 

[chrisandsu]

2 minutes ago, smotherb said:

What does selling bodies . . . .  Well, let's look at your first sentence, "If you are just barely capable in Thailand you have a high chance of success . " I believe most ladies who sell their bodies are at least "barely capable."

 

What does working for the military . . . . I was in Europe, the Middle East and in Southeast Asia in addition to the US. In all those countries, I saw many different nationalities employed in technical and managerial jobs, even Thais. I made that statement in response to you saying, " If an employee held the same position in let’s say the USA as they do in Thailand they would struggle massively! "

 

Perhaps you should suck up your regurgitation and try once more to read and think at the same time.

 

 

So you  linked being barely capable with being a brass ? Did you forget what the subject was that we originally spoke about ? Had nothing to do with your bar stool or favourite Gogo haunt . When we talk  about efficiency , which was the point I made , don’t ever mention the government as you lose all credentials (served in the army for 7 years). Thais are NOT effeciante . In Thailand they can get away with being barely capable . 

[KiChakayan]

On 10/6/2018 at 7:05 AM, EVENKEEL said:

As for being stuck here, not quite. But, I believe with all its flaws a life in Thailand for an educated person is more laid back than one in the US.

That's, indeed, pertinent if you are from the US. But, for people from Europe, or Australia who are used to a good work/life balance, with  6 weeks annual leave a year it is a no brainer..

Before settling here I was able to come to visit my Thai wife and child up to 10 weeks a year and have all remaining weekends for skiing and hiking. My monthly salary was about 22000 USD; that's the sort of life I'd want for my daughters.

[EVENKEEL]

4 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

That's, indeed, pertinent if you are from the US. But, for people from Europe, or Australia who are used to a good work/life balance, with  6 weeks annual leave a year it is a no brainer..

Before settling here I was able to come to visit my Thai wife and child up to 10 weeks a year and have all remaining weekends for skiing and hiking. My monthly salary was about 22000 USD; that's the sort of life I'd want for my daughters.

True on the US, 2 weeks a yr is basic starting time off. My job gives me 2 months off after a 4 mos hitch overseas working 7 days/week, rotating shifts and OT is the name of the game. 

 

So, yeah you had it good.

[Scott]

Off-topic posts removed.

[GinBoy2]

21 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Seems you made the right decision, I can tell you're proud of your son as you should be. 

Yeah, for us it was the right decision, but again it’s all an individual decision based on a raft of individual circumstances.

To be honest it was my wife who was most insistent on our son going to college in the US. 

She’s Thai, but US college educated, so she probably has a much better appreciation of the relative pluses and minuses than most of us.

 

As for being proud. Hell yes we are

[smotherb]

10 hours ago, chrisandsu said:

So you  linked being barely capable with being a brass ? Did you forget what the subject was that we originally spoke about ? Had nothing to do with your bar stool or favourite Gogo haunt . When we talk  about efficiency , which was the point I made , don’t ever mention the government as you lose all credentials (served in the army for 7 years). Thais are NOT effeciante . In Thailand they can get away with being barely capable . 

You made vague and unsubstantiated statements; which constitute a very poor argument. Now, when I counter your blather, you make generic uninformed statements. I can't help it that you cannot understand the need and see the existence for efficient military systems. Many of us are still alive because of them.

[rickudon]

I am sure we would all like the best education for our children. But not all of us have the opportunity to do that. What you can do as an expat working for an international company and as a retired person are very different. 

 

Back in the UK, my 2 children got a good education by relocating our family within the county to an area with a highly rated comprehensive school, but still within commuting distance to work. It wasn't cheap doing that however. Both went on to University including one (eventually) at Cambridge. 

 

But then i got divorced and retired to Thailand. I no longer have a home in the UK (ex-wife has it).  In Thailand my wife quickly had a child (at 40) and i do think about education. On my income an international school is out of the question. Relocating back to the UK not very feasible either as rental costs for a family would put us very much into poverty in most areas. So Thailand it is and a private school following government curriculum (because then state aided, so i am told). About 40,000 baht a year. The school is, from my experience reasonably good by Thai standards, so have no intentions of moving her. But i do expect that by the time she is a teenager she would not compare well to the education she would get in the UK. 

 

But, being practical, by then i will only have a 50/50 chance of still being around, and if in the UK probably a poor family support network and a not very desirable location. Better for her to stay in Thailand in a middle class provincial school, in a city where she will have family support and have better opportunities than most Thais. Who knows, in 15 years it could be a better place than the UK.

 

She will still have the English skills and the passport to try a life in the UK (or elsewhere) when an adult if she wants too. She will have choices. And that is the best thing you can give your child.

[GinBoy2]

2 hours ago, rickudon said:

I am sure we would all like the best education for our children. But not all of us have the opportunity to do that. What you can do as an expat working for an international company and as a retired person are very different. 

 

Back in the UK, my 2 children got a good education by relocating our family within the county to an area with a highly rated comprehensive school, but still within commuting distance to work. It wasn't cheap doing that however. Both went on to University including one (eventually) at Cambridge. 

 

But then i got divorced and retired to Thailand. I no longer have a home in the UK (ex-wife has it).  In Thailand my wife quickly had a child (at 40) and i do think about education. On my income an international school is out of the question. Relocating back to the UK not very feasible either as rental costs for a family would put us very much into poverty in most areas. So Thailand it is and a private school following government curriculum (because then state aided, so i am told). About 40,000 baht a year. The school is, from my experience reasonably good by Thai standards, so have no intentions of moving her. But i do expect that by the time she is a teenager she would not compare well to the education she would get in the UK. 

 

But, being practical, by then i will only have a 50/50 chance of still being around, and if in the UK probably a poor family support network and a not very desirable location. Better for her to stay in Thailand in a middle class provincial school, in a city where she will have family support and have better opportunities than most Thais. Who knows, in 15 years it could be a better place than the UK.

 

She will still have the English skills and the passport to try a life in the UK (or elsewhere) when an adult if she wants too. She will have choices. And that is the best thing you can give your child.

I think you rather eloquently reinforced the point I had made earlier in this thread.

 

There are a myriad of personal circumstances which drive our choices, from financial to personal.

 

I think we all, unless you’re some sort of psychopath, want the best for our children.

 

You try to give them the best chances and opportunities you can, within the limitations of your own personal circumstances.

 

All my kids, 2 American daughters and my Thai son are now adults, and I’m happy in my own skin that I gave all three of them the best opportunities that I could. After that it’s up them how they use those opportunities.

 

I count myself very fortunate that all three of them now have great lives and good careers.

 

So you do the best you can, after that it’s all up them to make the best of the hand that they are dealt

[LukKrueng]

On 10/5/2018 at 8:02 AM, GinBoy2 said:

a degree from a Thai university is really not worth the paper it's printed on outside of Thailand

I don't know what you based this statement on. I know many Thai people that got their undergraduate/graduate degrees in Thailand and then followed up higher degrees in many different countries around the world (USA, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Europe etc), so obviously Thai university degrees are academically recognized around the world

[Kieran00001]

On 10/5/2018 at 10:33 AM, BritManToo said:

My Thai kids will be living and working in Thailand so they go to Thai government schools.  If I wanted them to be worthless layabouts, I'd send them to some 'spoilt brat' Thai school.  If they were going to be living and working in the UK I would have sent them to school in the UK.

 

My daughter has made it through Doi Saket Temple junior school, Mae Rim HighSchool, and now half way through Chiang Mai University. Top of her class all the way, it isn't about their school, it's about the work ethic you instil in them.

 

To be fair, a good deal of those attending "spoiled brat" schools are far from being worthless layabouts, there are schools in Thailand that boast of their percentage who win scholarships abroad.

 

[GinBoy2]

16 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

I don't know what you based this statement on. I know many Thai people that got their undergraduate/graduate degrees in Thailand and then followed up higher degrees in many different countries around the world (USA, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Europe etc), so obviously Thai university degrees are academically recognized around the world

Well good luck with that. Hope it works out for you. 

 

The reality might be somewhat disappointing I fear

[JLCrab]

On 10/7/2018 at 8:33 PM, GinBoy2 said:

So you do the best you can, after that it’s all up them to make the best of the hand that they are dealt

Yes whatever that hand might be. The young Thai woman I mentioned page 1 this topic who attended London School of Economics and graduated with a law degree from City University, London on a Thai government scholarship is 100% blind so you can only imagine how talented that girl is and how hard she had to work.

[scorecard]

On 10/8/2018 at 12:00 AM, GinBoy2 said:

Well good luck with that. Hope it works out for you. 

 

The reality might be somewhat disappointing I fear

 

Lukkrueng makes a fair point.

 

Yes there's a big range of 'quality' in terms of Thai universities and the same can be said for a number of US universities and same in many other countries. 

 

A different point, my Thai uni has many German exchange students who come from prestigious German universities, these unis have formal agreements with several Thai unis, they come for 1 semester and more, and the credits they earn here are accepted at home.

 

Bottom line, the German universities, and we have the same exchange agreements with several prestigious Sth. Korean universities, would never have been formalized if the offshore unis weren't satisfied with the 'quality' of the Thai unis involved.  

 

[unblocktheplanet]

Rhetorically, I’m not so sure of the measure of success in the 21st-century. Is it money? I think it’s job satisfaction & quality of life. We sure don’t want our kids to be stressed to the max.

 

However, if you’ve watched any TV recently aimed at Western high-schoolers… Yikes! That’s not where you want your kid.

 

If you live in Thailand and raise your kids here for any considerable length of time, here’s what worked for us. Regardless of nationality or race, both parents must speak English in the home from the youngest possible age. Leave Thai language to the grandparents.

 

Off to school! It’s your responsibility as a parent, and no one else’s to investigate any school your considering for your child. Attend morning assemble, walk into classrooms unannounced, get to know the principal,

 

Thai primary school supplemented by critical thinking at home, lots of teacher conferences to let them know you mean business & will be an active participant in your child’s education. Make your presence be known at the school daily. Let your child see how active you are in their support. It will encourage them to assert themselves in school, too—and ask questions.

 

If you’ve been doing your job, your child will already be able to read by the time they go to school. If you live in BKK, you must take your child to the two huge annual bookfairs at Queen Sirikit and let them pick lots of books with your guidance. If you live in the provinces, the bookfairs should be your reason for a family outing to the capital.

 

In addition to books, they need culture, actively & as audience. Take your child to as many cultural events as possible. They should learn to play an instrument or more than one; drama, dance; swimming is essential, tennis, horseback riding, sailing, kayaking, muay Thai. Lots of govt programmes for cheap or free. Watch lots of movies together, with English subtitles. Fill your house with music, all genres.

 

Junior high. I favour a Thai JHS for the same reasons. You want your child to have Thai language & culture as a native. Same protocol as primary. Do your job!

 

Primary & JHS should be assessed on the basis of how many students in each class. 25 should really be the max. Choose your school on that criteria. Don’t be shy to talk to the principal to see if your child can get in to small classes. By JHS, chances are your child will know the best choices better than you do!

 

High school. At the least, I’d favour a Thai-based English language school. Even if your kid goes to Triam Udom, what they’re getting is a Thai education. Our daughter got a nearly-full scholarship to a middle-tier int’l school. The teachers, hired from overseas, cared. It not all about the eddication, it’s about the attitude.

 

There is a lot of competition for scholarships to Western universities. Our daughter didn’t make it. But getting in is half the battle. I’m retired & our kid is paying her own way. Sporadic bursaries, part-time jobs, govt student loans, and summer job.

 

I would have preferred her starting out with no debt. But by this time, I bet your ‘child’ has told you, “It’s my life!”, in no uncertain terms. She’s benefited from this maturity and we’ve been able to let go. We pay for her visits home.

 

If you’re from the US, you need to think long & hard about whether you want to grow that bullying, nationalistic streak in your child.

 

You & your child together need to look at both Thai & int’l university options. If your child has studied HS in English, they can only go into the int’l programme at a Thai university. I think all students should keep their int’l options open and, unfortunately, that doesn’t happen with a Thai degree. Better to come back to Thailand working for an int’l firm at a real wage.    

 

The takeaway is: “Do your job!” If your child does not succeed, it’s mostly your fault. Good luck!