How much value is there to a USA education for Thai children?

[Elkski]

A friend of a friend met this Thai woman who has three children 10, 12, and 14.  They are dual US citizens. They speak English quite well.   Thinking about what is best for everyone and considering this friend has a very nice house in America with good Public Schools as well as this Thai woman has two houses in Thailand.  Combined they have enough resources to raise these children in either country.   

Can I please get your opinions on the pluses and minuses. 

This man knows the risks of bringing a Thai woman to his country.  Can we keep the replies strickly about what's best for the kids and family.  

[Elkski]

I should have said the children go to a private school north of Bangkok and go to after school classes until 7 pm.  

[tonray]

It really depends. It sounds like they are getting a good education here and what many do that can afford it is send their kids to High School in Singapore which has the best schools in Asia and family can still easily reside in Thailand while doing so with visits easy.

 

If they are getting what is a good education by International standards (testing not just passing) and after school tutoring, why mess with it ?

 

It also depends on what the parents plan for the kids. If they want them to have opportunities in the International job space after college or if they want them to attend Uni in the west, then yes they should start transitioning to western schools as soon as possible. If they plan to stay here and make a go of it, then really no reason to do so based upon current status.

[Rhys]

Ask the kids first...

[Scott]

I have dealt with both school systems, although much more so the Thai system.   Of students who have spent any length of time in the US school system -- including exchange students, they seem to function much better and have a better grasp on the process of learning.  

 

Thai schools (and Thai society) are centered more on listening and learning by rote.   Western schools, including the US, are more open and experiential.   

 

I would recommend an education in a western school system, in a western country over a Thai one.   There is more to education than just the school.  

[Elkski]

What ages are the tests in Thailand?

What are they called?

Of course you can't drag kids unwilling to USA. 

Another part of this question is what age would be best?  What is to late? I figured you can't just switch over for last 2 years of HS.  So can't delay this decision to much longer for the 14 yr old 8 th grader I think.  

It seems like an 10&12 yr old would be able to be indistinguishable by graduation.  

[GinBoy2]

To echo Scott's comments. My stepson went through the Thai school system through HS, before going to college in the US. Now I'd been in his life since the age of 3, so speaks flawless English, and I'd tried as best I could (I'm no teacher) to fill in some of the more appalling educational gaps as I could see them.

With all of that he struggled mightily in his freshman year to try to catch up with his peers. It probably took him that whole year to finally be able to shake the Thai instilled 'shut up, listen, regurgitate' mentality.

So, if i had to do do it all again, I should have moved back to the US to get him into school somewhere around middle school, say grades 7-10.

For the long term think this way. Should the kids end up going to college, a degree from a Thai university is worth less than the ink it takes to print it. A degree from even the lowliest State University in the US will be universal currency.

[Elkski]

I've been told a degree from a Thai uni is not accepted in most Western countries.  

 

[Ace of Pop]

I have a good Thai friend who speaks near perfect English,he learned it During Nam Era whilst maintaining US Airbase Aircons .That has always been a mystery to me, because. He doesnt have that awful Yank Twang.No bashing,Americas my ideal , but a Thai who doesnt sound Brit sounds nothing like perfect to my ears.Mine learned at Assumption with Grumpy old Brit teachers but thats many years age now.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Elkski]

The kids would have exposure to accent free English as spoken in The West ( Utah). And 12 hours from the   California dude sound.    No southern drawl, which I  see  as being a detriment in the future,  and no New York sound.  Kids could learn to ski, fish, and hunt.  

[Pdaz]

It's not just the education. Living in the West opens their mind and installs a work ethic. They learn to question others and not take everything as fact.  They then have a choice. Either returning to Thailand with excellent English language skills ( which makes them very employable ) Or staying in the West with a larger better paid job market. Win, win either way. 

[GinBoy2]

5 hours ago, Elkski said:

I've been told a degree from a Thai uni is not accepted in most Western countries.  

 

When I was still working I had that conversation with HR. Basically the bottom line from them was, that a 'degree' from a Thai university is treated roughly the same as a US High School Diploma. Philippino degrees not much better, maybe a 2 year associates degree, and thats only because the English language skills are better/

 

So at the end of the day, if you go down the Thai higher education road, you are essentially stuck in Thailand forever to make any use of it

[DavisH]

11 hours ago, Elkski said:

I've been told a degree from a Thai uni is not accepted in most Western countries.  

 

Not accepted for what purpose? My wife used her Thai Bachelor and Master's degree to study a PhD in Australia. 

[GinBoy2]

9 hours ago, DavisH said:

Not accepted for what purpose? My wife used her Thai Bachelor and Master's degree to study a PhD in Australia. 

I think the problem is, that a Thai degree will get you into a Western university,  mainly by virtue of reciprocity, which enables you to get a universally recognized credential, as is the case with your wife.

But try using that same Thai degree to get you into employment outside Thailand, and it's literally worthless

I have a friend who is a professor in the veterinary Dept in Khon Kaen University. He has told me many times, had he not gone to the University of Chicago for his Masters & PhD, everything in Thailand would have been for nothing. In point of fact, his wife is taking the same route in Chicago as we speak. His plan is as soon as she completes her thesis they plan to emigrate

[Rhys]

Thai education ... your Thai MA is only good to teach in Siam...

 

[scorecard]

On 8/19/2017 at 10:46 PM, tonray said:

It really depends. It sounds like they are getting a good education here and what many do that can afford it is send their kids to High School in Singapore which has the best schools in Asia and family can still easily reside in Thailand while doing so with visits easy.

 

If they are getting what is a good education by International standards (testing not just passing) and after school tutoring, why mess with it ?

 

It also depends on what the parents plan for the kids. If they want them to have opportunities in the International job space after college or if they want them to attend Uni in the west, then yes they should start transitioning to western schools as soon as possible. If they plan to stay here and make a go of it, then really no reason to do so based upon current status.

 

Transitioning to Western universities would be quite easy if they attend high school in Singapore. My Thai son completed high school in Singapore (he was lucky that he already spoke very advanced English before he went to Singapore) and this gave him a strong head start in all his further education, business and work opportunities etc.

 

Further, there are already well established and admired world class universities with a mix of impressive local and foreign lecturers in Singapore and Sth. Korea and rising rapidly in China.  And Vietnam a step behind.

 

Also, it seems to me there's an open question whether the leading power / the business powerhouse in 20 years time will be the US or China?

[connda]

Better than Thailand; worse than most of the rest of the developed world.

[scorecard]

On 8/20/2017 at 2:49 AM, GinBoy2 said:

To echo Scott's comments. My stepson went through the Thai school system through HS, before going to college in the US. Now I'd been in his life since the age of 3, so speaks flawless English, and I'd tried as best I could (I'm no teacher) to fill in some of the more appalling educational gaps as I could see them.

With all of that he struggled mightily in his freshman year to try to catch up with his peers. It probably took him that whole year to finally be able to shake the Thai instilled 'shut up, listen, regurgitate' mentality.

So, if i had to do do it all again, I should have moved back to the US to get him into school somewhere around middle school, say grades 7-10.

For the long term think this way. Should the kids end up going to college, a degree from a Thai university is worth less than the ink it takes to print it. A degree from even the lowliest State University in the US will be universal currency.

 

"...a degree from a Thai university is worth less than the ink it takes to print it. A degree from even the lowliest State University in the US will be universal currency."

 

I don't entirely agree on both points.

 

Further, many universities in Australia take university applicants through two assessments:

 

1). Is the student capable of ultimately graduating?

 

2). Is the student ready to start university and cope well with a quite different appraoch to education right now, or put that another way, Is there a chance the student will drop out because the learning and teaching methodology is just so different? If the assessment is 'not ready'. then...

 

Several Australian universities offer transition programs that are well designed to get the students into a different mindset etc.,. from my understanding these progams range from 3 months full-time to one year full time and they have a good track record.

 

Does the US offer such programs? Anybody know about this?  

[milwaukeeboy]

Through a friend, I found myself playing golf with an executive vice president of a major Thai Bank one summer years ago in Wisconsin.  The Bank Exec sent his children to stay with relatives or friends to study at very good suburban Milwaukee public school rather than at his best choice in Thailand. 

Granted, as a Thai citizen, he would have had to pay a fortune in bribes and pull some strings to get his kids into ISB, but from my extensive experience in international education I believe that his kids got a much better education in the U.S. public school. 

[scorecard]

7 minutes ago, milwaukeeboy said:

Through a friend, I found myself playing golf with an executive vice president of a major Thai Bank one summer years ago in Wisconsin.  The Bank Exec sent his children to stay with relatives or friends to study at very good suburban Milwaukee public school rather than at his best choice in Thailand. 

Granted, as a Thai citizen, he would have had to pay a fortune in bribes and pull some strings to get his kids into ISB, but from my extensive experience in international education I believe that his kids got a much better education in the U.S. public school. 

 

You mentioned ''years ago''.

 

Of late there seems to be a lot of criticism of multiple aspects of US primary and secondary school education. 

 

Go for Singapore.  

[alex8912]

17 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

You mentioned ''years ago''.

 

Of late there seems to be a lot of criticism of multiple aspects of US primary and secondary school education. 

 

Go for Singapore.  

Not in a  " good" United States public school or private school. They are far better than Singapore in 2017.  Why do many rich Singaporeans send their children to schools in the USA and I have never heard of people in the states sending them to SG? 

[thaikahuna]

Given the cost of a private education in Thailand, it would be less expensive to educate them stateside. Additionally, your Thai degrees are not worth the paper its printed on except in Thailand.

[yimlitnoy]

My son did his high school in French in Thailand until age 17, his marks and aspiration for a good future were poor.  He then went to Canada to get a degree.  Now graduated, he only thinks to attain success in life by doing business.  It is a passion for him, he works hard but so far he is doing good and he is very happy in Canada.  He has many international friends but few Canadian friends.  To us, he is more happy in living in Canada but still loves Thailand for the entertainment scene.  He has dual citizenship.  For us Thailand seems to be a dangerous place for a young man, we are happy that he is living in a safe Canada environment.

[scorecard]

41 minutes ago, thaikahuna said:

Given the cost of a private education in Thailand, it would be less expensive to educate them stateside. Additionally, your Thai degrees are not worth the paper its printed on except in Thailand.

 

"Thai degrees are not worth the paper its printed on except in Thailand."

 

I don't totally agree:

 

1. If Thai universities are so weak, how come many have had full exchange agreements with impressive European (especially European) and US universities for many years? It goes without saying that universities anywhere will never sign exchange agreements unless they are well satisfied with the 'other' university.

 

2. There is a point that Thai universities have an image problem. However it's not that well known that in most of the international programs (my comment is mostly about MBA programs) at Thai universities many / all of the professors have multiple masters degrees and many are Ph.D. holders from impressive offshore universities (I mean mostly western professors), Europe, England, US, Australia, Singapore, and more.  

 

Another point, many employers (all countries) make recruitment decisions on many points and what uni the candidate graduated from is not necessarily the major point. Many employers place stronger emphasis on whether the student can easily apply their learning with astuteness about gaining strong value, and can work well with other employees.  

 

I lecture MBA and Executive MBA programs at 4 Thai Unis, all with good names (locally) plus in Executive Leadership MBA programs in Singapore and in China and in Vietnam. I regularly get requests for personal recommendations / comments regarding students already graduated from companies based in Europe, Thailand, US and more countries and in some cases companies originating from the countries mentioned, who have operations in Thailand and often nowadays in Vietnam.

[thailand49]

Personally, there is no comparison when it comes to education U.S. vs Thailand, keep them in school in the US! 

[atyclb]

On 8/21/2017 at 4:09 AM, GinBoy2 said:

On 8/20/2017 at 6:30 PM, DavisH said:

Not accepted for what purpose? My wife used her Thai Bachelor and Master's degree to study a PhD in Australia. 

I think the problem is, that a Thai degree will get you into a Western university,  mainly by virtue of reciprocity, which enables you to get a universally recognized credential, as is the case with your wife.

But try using that same Thai degree to get you into employment outside Thailand, and it's literally worthless

I have a friend who is a professor in the veterinary Dept in Khon Kaen University. He has told me many times, had he not gone to the University of Chicago for his Masters & PhD, everything in Thailand would have been for nothing. In point of fact, his wife is taking the same route in Chicago as we speak. His plan is as soon as she completes her thesis they plan to emigrate

 

thai degreed people can access western university programs providing they get adequate english language prof scores and other applicable exams. there are also western universities that run profitable programs for international students.  yingluck did a masters at kentucky university and given her english ability, many find it astonishing how she could have completed it.

 

a thai professional degree is fine for thailand. thai friends have passed usa exams and done medical residency training and fellowships in america. they are exceptions and a relatively small group.

[wolfmanjack]

On 8/20/2017 at 6:32 AM, Elkski said:

I've been told a degree from a Thai uni is not accepted in most Western countries.  

 

I know that universities in the USA accept Thai degrees because I met my first Thai girlfriend while she was attending University in the USA to get her masters degree.

[elgenon]

On 8/20/2017 at 8:42 AM, Elkski said:

The kids would have exposure to accent free English as spoken in The West ( Utah). And 12 hours from the   California dude sound.    No southern drawl, which I  see  as being a detriment in the future,  and no New York sound.  Kids could learn to ski, fish, and hunt.  

Wow! Unbelievable. Utah? Really? Well, the males could have more than one wife. 555

[Ulic]

It probably depends on where and for what company they would possibly work for in the future. If they were to stay in Thailand and work for a Thai company a Thai education is probably preferable. If they were to stay in Thailand and work for an international company or outside Thailand a American education would probably open more doors. Not sure how

he would put three kids through US universities though. A State school is going to cost 12k USD a year per child, and an out of state school 40 k. USD Undergraduate degree, graduate degree.  The bills pile up quickly in the USA. 

 

[DavisH]

17 hours ago, Ulic said:

It probably depends on where and for what company they would possibly work for in the future. If they were to stay in Thailand and work for a Thai company a Thai education is probably preferable. If they were to stay in Thailand and work for an international company or outside Thailand a American education would probably open more doors. Not sure how

he would put three kids through US  universities though. A State school is going to cost 12k USD a year per child, and an out of state school 40 k. USD

Undergraduate degree, graduate degree. The bills pile up quickly in the USA. 

 

There are opportunities for Thai university graduates but it depends more on their ability more than where they studied. I know of a couple of Chula graduates - one works for Google in the US and another works for chevron in Thailand as an engineer. It's difficult for any bachelor graduate to get decent work these days. The market is saturated with graduates who don't have many skills useful to employers. That includes western countries as well as Thailand.