Post
by runrunshaw » August 3, 2018, 7:27 pm
My son attended DB in 2017, level K-1. No hidden costs, and a straightforward admission process. It was recently ranked in--I believe--the top ten of schools in Thailand. Still, we pulled him out and sent him to St. Mary's where my daughter was attending. Dealing with DB traffic, and then a repeat of the madness at St. Mary's twice a day, was just too much.
My international school teacher friends in Bangkok, who have been teaching all over the country for the last 30 years, recently advised me that it's not critical to get the kids into the #1 school from such a young age. The advice was, as long as they're in a decent school, they're fine, until they get older; that's when you transfer them into a place like DB or the right international school.
At St. Mary's--which is generally considered the #2 school in town and costs roughly the same(give or take a couple of thousand baht, as I recall)--we pay for official "extra learning" for both of them, and also have them in additional weekend classes. They're both doing well.
Don Bosco has the cachet, and so one acquires "face" by having your kids in those 40-50 student classes. And it's truly a good pedigree for a graduation certificate.
The crazy thing for me is, St. Mary's has a better vibe. I never liked the feeling I got at DB. Just sayin.'
The best gadget is the human brain.