tutoring for my oldest.

[tamada]

My lad is in his 2nd year at Udon Christian and after a pretty good showing in Prathom 4 last year, his mid-term grades this year have dipped badly. Along with the extra hour at UC, the 4:30 pick-up versus the 3:30 one, he benefited last year from 3 hours of 'Sunday school' at his P3 teachers house along with about 5 or 6 other kids. This year, we continued these Sunday sessions but something else may be required.

His spoken English and Thai is good, but his written English and Thai is ----. His English reading is pretty non-existent but I was surprised to learn that his Thai reading is also abysmal.

We dropped UC's extra hour option this year as we are in two minds if these were effective learning and/or homework sessions with good supervision or just an unsupervised cash cow.

He did say early last term that this years teacher isn't as good as last years, and commented once on her leaving them to get on with 'studying' while she did the smartphone thing.

So, we are looking for something else beyond signing back up for the extra hour at UC that may be less effective than last year and instead considering some form of tutoring. There's a new after-school tutoring place that has opened in a shop house near our home so Mrs tam is going to check that out and as well as the bona fides of the teacher. However, there may be other options that we haven't looked at yet, recommended private classes or individual tutors with a proven reputation. Any tips and recommendations much appreciated.

Ta
tam

[Brian Davis]

Just a contribution here, Tamada, I hope relevant still to the topic.
My son is in Prathom 1 and, like everyone, we received the half-term grades. He's done very well again, including English and Thai. I was surprised on the results sheet given to us (not in front of me now, so I can't check) but sure that the "reading" column for both English and Thai was marked "untested". Hmmmmm. My wife said that the results showed essentially only the scores from the written tests shortly before the end of term. I accept that, getting 35 kids to read a few sentences might be a bit difficult and time consuming on a test day, but surely the children should occasionally be asked to read aloud in normal lessons over the term, so a teacher can judge their ability and enter a mark, rather than a 'blank'.
I continue to find things to comment on at the school, in the interest of improvement(my viewpoint). Nothing seems to happen! I think they're pissed when they see me coming. My son is on his third "class teacher" this year. No information on the change was given to parents, which I feel is poor - just noticed the new face and name on the board outside. Maybe the kids take the change in their stride? On the teacher's own admission, her English is not strong.
I don't include my son in the extra hour's English (he's more than able already), but I'm sceptical the children gain a lot to justify the time/investment, judging from the banter that goes on when I am waiting outside the classroom. That's no criticism of the likeable, enthusiastic farang teacher usually involved, but I believe the pattern is to work through a textbook (rather than conversation 1 to 1), the ability of the children generally doesn't seem that high and I'm not sure how receptive they are at the end of the day anyway.

[hairyharry]

Just some thoughts.

Check he knows the written alphabet. You may get a shock.

The best way to help him is to read with him yourselves at bedtime ( Make the time).

Take him to Se-ed or Asian books and help him choose books in English (and in Thai). There are some really good English story books that will help him. Choose according to his ability not his age.

You may need English phonics to help him progress. They will help him understand the written letter combinations and how they sound.

[maaka]

My other half stands at the front of the room, and I am dismayed at the stories she tells me of what goes on in these places, and of the amount of unskilled workers there really are in the system..I do not hold out much hope for the wee one learning much of anything at all.. some workers are given the task of teaching Britannic, but can barely string afew words together themselves, let alone spell Britannic..I believe R5 abolished slavery, but not in my neck of the woods, or from the system at hand..My other half is one of the most dedicated there is..She is up at 3am, before the sparrow farts, slaving over a computer for 3 hrs, and the printer is spewing out reams of stuff non stop. The amount of stuff is over whelming and she only looks after 4 and 5yr olds..she off at 7.00am and back at 5.30..
Most weekends she has to head 100km to the Big Smoke for meetings of sorts, in the wee bus, when I am not here, or with other cohorts in a car. They have to buy special colored shirts @ 200bt that they wear once, and is back with double the load of work. its dragging her down, now she calls school "the jail "..the fella in charge would go well in the army, everything in triple, no holidays, even sundays are not off the cards..they get no extra dosh for these weekend meetings, you pay your fancy shirt, your food, accommodation if and Sat / Sun affair, out of your miserable salary..I wish we were closer as she would make a good tutor..However, the other night in all earnest, she said ' you know zombies ' " ahh yeah " 'do they have zombies in NZ "..I was lost for words due to the laughing, but there you go..You never know what goes on in someones head

[Asiaphile]

Have you considered this?:
www.testdyslexia.com/about-this-test/

[marjamlew]

Great App for reading:
Learning to read can be easy and fun!
ABC Reading Eggs makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with great online reading games and activities.
Children love the games, songs, golden eggs and other rewards which, along with feeling proud of their reading, really motivate children to keep exploring and learning.
https://readingeggs.com.au/
Similar for numeracy:
http://au.mathletics.com/free-trial

Also the best tip here is from Hairy Harry. Read to your kids. We have a program called 1000 books before school. I read 3 or 4 picture story books per night with my almost 4 year old son.
Can't understand why any native speaker would hope or even believe that their own child could be taught English by a Thai. If you want to give your child a chance to be able to operate in an English speaking world you need to take responsibility for their English if you choose to live in a non English speaking environment.

[Chuchi]

Living here I was amazed by the extra tutorial classes after hours and weekends,the only extra hour I ever done was detention

[rick]

I've seen the result of standard Thai education in my Nephews and nieces. One niece has done well and is now at Khonkean university. The other 3 couldn't even cut Rajahabat university in Udon, and have all dropped out in their first years. All 3 have no realistic idea of what they want to do now. I suspect they will end up as shop floor workers.They only have first degrees in how to use a mobile phone ......

Udon Christian school does seem to have a luck lastre reputation, and i hear a fair bit of gang culture among the teenagers. The only falang pupil i knew there went off the rails at the age of 13, lost interest and spent half the time in fights, then got expelled and died in a motorbike crash a year later.

I am lucky that we got our daughter into St Mary's. which is sort of OK. But still basically a lot of rote learning and i can already see that glazed look in her eye when i ask what she did at school today. But currently she can read quite well but they do not seem to do maths beyond addition and subtraction - at age seven...... I would have hoped for a bit more.

[Brian Davis]

I'm a little confused there, Rick. Whilst I know there's a branch of the school going up the Nong Khai Rd, my Prathom 2 son goes to the Dutsadi Rd building, what I'd call a primary school, with the kids finishing there at 12 years old. So, teenagers?
Perhaps you meant post leaving there?
Leaving teaching quality aside, it appears a civil and courteous-enough school to me, with the kids being taught reasonable social skills. There'll always be the odd 'loose cannon' and I have to accept that in most Thai schools, playing between the boys often involves kung-fuing the other guy.

[tamada]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions so far; all taken onboard or not applicable as the case may be.

There's no denying that schools are the meat in the sausage but a good sausage needs the appropriate filler which is where good parenting counts. Finding time to do one-on-one with your progeny needs as much discipline as the kid needs to stop playing and do something comparatively boring instead of something fun. Making the reading and writing missions fun is not much fun unless you have that creative gene that teachers are blessed with. But it's no excuse for evading the responsibility and blaming all things that went wrong on the lamentable local education system or unmotivated, unprofessional and possibly unqualified teaching staff. It is what it is and the quality of teaching in any school can either shift glacially or can slide within a term with equal ease. A dip in teaching quality or teacher effort in a regular school may not be readily apparent so the best we can do is make sure that any extra tuition money is money well spent. That is something that we do have control over.

Since I am back on an overseas work gig that cuts my home time by 50%, Mrs tam needs a crutch right now since she has the younger sprog to mind as well. She has checked out the local teacher I mentioned in the OP who was honest enough to say that she couldn't deliver what was needed but recommended a peer that, after a meeting, fits the bill for some of my lad's shortcomings. That, in conjunction with a refocussed Sunday session with his former P4 teacher, and we think have the bases covered for now. Mum's all over this one like a rash and I bet tam jr's life is his idea of hell right now but he'll get over it.

Ta
tam

[rick]

Brian, yes, I think he went to the school up the Nong Khai road ... wasn't aware about the split in ages at the schools.

[tamada]

Brian, yes, I think he went to the school up the Nong Khai road ... wasn't aware about the split in ages at the schools.

Udon Christian opposite Dutsadi only does up to Prathom 6 or ~12 years old. Beyond that, they go to the one up the Nong Khai road. Not sure if it does the whole 6 Matthayom years or only the lower 3.

[tamada]

Update on tam jr's extra tuition. The new tutor that Mrs tam found is a qualified but as yet unplaced young teacher. Happens to speak good English according to my lad who's already fluent in the southerner lingo as well as Jockinese. Already started a 2-hour daily regimen to get the Thai and English up to scratch and my lad says it's all good so far. This tutor is new at it and has pulled the proverbial 'up to you' regards a decent stipend for 2-hours daily, 5-days a week (mon-fri). Any guidance on hourly-rates is much appreciated. Mrs tam was thinking 150/session initially to see how it plays out, incrementing on good results. I was thinking 200/session for starters and then performance-linked increases. I hope that UCS does a mid-term assessment but Mrs tam does have a very tight reign on things and is testing him hard.

Ta
tam

[Chuchi]

Update on tam jr's extra tuition. The new tutor that Mrs tam found is a qualified but as yet unplaced young teacher. Happens to speak good English according to my lad who's already fluent in the southerner lingo as well as Jockinese. Already started a 2-hour daily regimen to get the Thai and English up to scratch and my lad says it's all good so far. This tutor is new at it and has pulled the proverbial 'up to you' regards a decent stipend for 2-hours daily, 5-days a week (mon-fri). Any guidance on hourly-rates is much appreciated. Mrs tam was thinking 150/session initially to see how it plays out, incrementing on good results. I was thinking 200/session for starters and then performance-linked increases. I hope that UCS does a mid-term assessment but Mrs tam does have a very tight reign on things and is testing him hard.

Ta
tam

Don’t know how your getting on with the tutoring tam,for future reference Chuan (sponsor) my be worth a try,I know she teachers Thai youngsters English weekends,I’m sure she can accommodate Thai or English one on one.

[tamada]

Update on tam jr's extra tuition. The new tutor that Mrs tam found is a qualified but as yet unplaced young teacher. Happens to speak good English according to my lad who's already fluent in the southerner lingo as well as Jockinese. Already started a 2-hour daily regimen to get the Thai and English up to scratch and my lad says it's all good so far. This tutor is new at it and has pulled the proverbial 'up to you' regards a decent stipend for 2-hours daily, 5-days a week (mon-fri). Any guidance on hourly-rates is much appreciated. Mrs tam was thinking 150/session initially to see how it plays out, incrementing on good results. I was thinking 200/session for starters and then performance-linked increases. I hope that UCS does a mid-term assessment but Mrs tam does have a very tight reign on things and is testing him hard.

Ta
tam

Don’t know how your getting on with the tutoring tam,for future reference Chuan (sponsor) my be worth a try,I know she teachers Thai youngsters English weekends,I’m sure she can accommodate Thai or English one on one.

Noted Chuchi and thanks for that pointer. I have a 10-day 'drive-by' soon and will personally get to see how things are going. The good news from Mrs tam that our lad has totally taken onboard the significance of NOT having to repeat a year at UCS and is really making a go of it.

Considering that he hasn't suddenly become brain-dead this semester and bearing in mind that no two kids are the same, the broader abilities of his current teacher may be less than adequate? I guess I could be shopping around again early next year unless I get some sort of feel for his P6 teacher next year... if it's the same one as this year of course.