Moving to Udon Thani

by **stoneman** » October 6, 2006, 2:55 pm

My family, consisting of my Thai wife and our 3 year old son will be moving from Bangkok to Udon Thani in about 18 months. We have purchased a 1 rai building plot in Nong Wor Sor and will start to build in Nov/Dec 2007. Giving the fill dirt a year to settle..

My main concern right now is a school for our son. As I understand it, there are only 2 "private' schools in Udon, St Mary's and Don Boscoe. I understand that St. Mary's is a girl's school , so that leaves Don Boscoe.

So I have a lot of questions from how good is Don Boscoe?..Is it the only choice?'... How difficult is it to get a child enrolled in Don Boscoe? Does it make any difference that our son is a US citizen?

Any comments concerning Don Boscoe or alternatives would be greatly appreciated

Stoneman

by **BKKSTAN** » October 6, 2006, 3:50 pm

I don't have first hand knowledge of Don Boscoe,but everything I have heard a read about it,sounds like the best option available in Udon!

Is your son also a Thai citizen?If so,there should not be any problems.I hear there is a waiting list at Don Boscoe!

I am very dissatified with Thai education.I won't go into detail here as I have already posted much on the subject!

If our daughter was 5 yrs.old,I would not put her in a Thai school unless I had no choice.If she was a US citizen,I would home school her with some very good plans available from America!
Another alternative plan,if my child was going to grow up in Thailand,I would send him to Don Boscoe and hire a tutor for regular ,English,math,history and science classes in English!Let him learn social skills and Thai at the Thai school w/o worrying about the lack of education or lousy curriculum!

by **bubbles** » October 6, 2006, 5:10 pm

Hi I have a stepson thai citizen enrolled him at Boscos about six months a go he is four years old, great school he has swimming lessons almost every night after school they have three swimming pools, will check out the costing if you need it or any other query,
Regards Bubs

by **stoneman** » October 6, 2006, 6:57 pm

BKKSTAN wrote::lol: I don't have first hand knowledge of Don Boscoe,but everything I have heard a read about it,sounds like the best option available in Udon!

Is your son also a Thai citizen?If so,there should not be any problems.I hear there is a waiting list at Don Boscoe!

I am very dissatified with Thai education.I won't go into detail here as I have already posted much on the subject!

If our daughter was 5 yrs.old,I would not put her in a Thai school unless I had no choice.If she was a US citizen,I would home school her with some very good plans available from America!
Another alternative plan,if my child was going to grow up in Thailand,I would send him to Don Boscoe and hire a tutor for regular ,English,math,history and science classes in English!Let him learn social skills and Thai at the Thai school w/o worrying about the lack of education or lousy curriculum!

Yes he is also a Thai citizen..born in BKK..

I agree with you about the Thai school system...I do not want to get any place even close to it... He is currently in a pre-kindergarten program here in BKK and I think it has really been good for him. His language skills in both English and Thai have increased rapidly.

So , I assume it is Don Boscoe...Any one know how long the waiting list is? I contacted the school via their website and basically was told that they are updating their website and to check back..

I like your idea of the tutor...how difficult would it be to find someone that could do this?...Math and science, with the proper text books, I think I could handle

by **stoneman** » October 6, 2006, 6:58 pm

bubbles wrote:Hi I have a stepson thai citizen enrolled him at Boscos about six months a go he is four years old, great school he has swimming lessons almost every night after school they have three swimming pools, will check out the costing if you need it or any other query,
Regards Bubs

Any additional information that you have would be much appreciated..

by **mackayae** » October 6, 2006, 7:35 pm

Don Bosco.
Tuition approximately 8,000 baht/semester
School year starts in May. Enroll in December before. If you are enrolling for noo-ban neung (kindergarten 1; 3-4 years old) they usually have vacancies. Any grades after that they are usually full, which means you might have to make a donation.

by **BKKSTAN** » October 6, 2006, 8:57 pm

I'm sorry ,I can't address the costs of or who to employ.It is a path that I would have taken because of the knowledge I have acquired,not one that I am currently on!My daughter is 15 and already corrupted by the system.She is in the highest rated and recommended school in Nong Khai,St.Paul of Nong khai.It is ''all show and no go''.For an example of their interest and capabilities,They have discontinued the use of their math(intermediate algebra and trig) text books because none of the class is at that level.They have a French,Japanese,Chinese,English classes with absolutely no discernable results after 3 years.They never flunk a student,ever!yada yada yada,I could go on and on!The problem is that this is the same experience and attitude towards education in 3 previous schools in BKK!Some schools ,including St.Paul,seem to do well with preschool children and 1-2 grades,the problem is the cirriculum doesn't change much in the following years classes and the staff-student ratio grows.The ''teachers'' qualifications don't seem to progress past 2-3 grade levels either.Discipline in the classroom deteriorates as ''fun'' is the only interest!There is absolutely nothing to motivate the students to learn or to reinforce any attempts to learn.
If you are really serious about the formal education of your son,I recommend that you take action as soon as possible to keep him from sliding into the abyss that the THAI SYSTEM IS ALMOST QUARANTEED TO TAKE HIM!

by **stoneman** » October 6, 2006, 9:29 pm

mackayae wrote:Don Bosco.
Tuition approximately 8,000 baht/semester
School year starts in May. Enroll in December before. If you are enrolling for noo-ban neung (kindergarten 1; 3-4 years old) they usually have vacancies. Any grades after that they are usually full, which means you might have to make a donation.

Thank you very much for the information..It is greatly appreciated

by **stoneman** » October 6, 2006, 9:39 pm

BKKSTAN wrote::) I'm sorry ,I can't address the costs of or who to employ.It is a path that I would have taken because of the knowledge I have acquired,not one that I am currently on!My daughter is 15 and already corrupted by the system.She is in the highest rated and recommended school in Nong Khai,St.Paul of Nong khai.It is ''all show and no go''.For an example of their interest and capabilities,They have discontinued the use of their math(intermediate algebra and trig) text books because none of the class is at that level.They have a French,Japanese,Chinese,English classes with absolutely no discernable results after 3 years.They never flunk a student,ever!yada yada yada,I could go on and on!The problem is that this is the same experience and attitude towards education in 3 previous schools in BKK!Some schools ,including St.Paul,seem to do well with preschool children and 1-2 grades,the problem is the cirriculum doesn't change much in the following years classes and the staff-student ratio grows.The ''teachers'' qualifications don't seem to progress past 2-3 grade levels either.Discipline in the classroom deteriorates as ''fun'' is the only interest!There is absolutely nothing to motivate the students to learn or to reinforce any attempts to learn.
If you are really serious about the formal education of your son,I recommend that you take action as soon as possible to keep him from sliding into the abyss that the THAI SYSTEM IS ALMOST QUARANTEED TO TAKE HIM!

I agree with your posting 100%...I will not allow our son to get sucked into the Thai public school system. He has to attend a private school, but I know that many of them are not really worth the money and effort required to get them admitted.

I hate to think that we will have to move back to the US to get our son the proper education. We had resigned ourselves to the fact that, once he reaches high school age, we were going to go back to Dallas and put him into the Jesuit School there, my alma mater also. But we may have to consider going earlier. But I do want to give the private schools a chance...

I want to thank everyone for the comments you have given...Certainly appreciate your time and we are looking forward to our move to Udon Thani.

Our first hurdle will be the construction of our home, so when that is started , I will be asking for help..In the meantime, I have got 50 avocado trees and 2,000 rubber trees started on our farm north of Ban Phue and we are enjoying watching this progress. Should have plenty of avocados in about 18 months..

by **BKKSTAN** » October 6, 2006, 9:42 pm

Lots of avocadoes will make for lots of friends :wink:

Let me know when to come visit :lol:

Best of luck!!

by **bubbles** » October 7, 2006, 4:43 am

Hi Again

Spoke to my wife it is ten thousand baht a term with two terms a year e had no problem enrolling him but I would advise maybe to contact them and enroll him ahead of time then you will not have a problem.
Regards bubs

by **rocket2** » October 7, 2006, 12:52 pm

I grew up in rural Canada. We didn't have any daycare or preschool services available so the neighbours got together and started up a cooperative to provide the service.

Does anyone know if something like this has been tried in Thailand for foreigners looking another education option for their children. It could be similar to homeschooling or an after hours teaching programme. I know a few foreigners that spend hours everyday teaching their children.

by **BKKSTAN** » October 7, 2006, 2:12 pm

If your children are Thai citizens only,they must follow a Thai gov't mandated curriculum,unless enrolled in an international school that is approved by the Gov't!

by **stoneman** » October 7, 2006, 5:53 pm

BKKSTAN wrote::lol: Lots of avocadoes will make for lots of friends Let me know when to come visit Best of luck!!

Yes I am also looking forward to the avocados...My wife is not sure what we will do with all of them 50 trees and each tree can produce up to 800 avocados...Not a big demand item in the Thai diet.

by **stoneman** » October 7, 2006, 5:56 pm

bubbles wrote:Hi Again

Spoke to my wife it is ten thousand baht a term with two terms a year e had no problem enrolling him but I would advise maybe to contact them and enroll him ahead of time then you will not have a problem.
Regards bubs

bubs..

Thanks for that information..Still have time before I need to start contacting the school, but I think that a visit there the next time we are in Udon might be worthwhile..

Stoneman

Moving to Udon Thani

Moving to Udon Thani

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