Do any expat kids go to local schools?

spicyayam

If you have any Chinese friends here they are good people to ask. They seem to have good knowledge of the different schools here. On the other hand, their pembantus seem to mostly raise their kids. There's a lot of info online, but nothing that I have seen cheap or well done.

Markit

In the spirit of fairness and never being too fecking old to learn (and doubting that anyone gives a rat's ass) I'd like to mention that I recently ran into a very interesting and intelligent young woman of around 25 and I thought it would be good to share what I learned here as it contradicts many of the comments I've made over the years re Bali schools. She told me that contrary to here Balinese education at The Bali International School (BALI ISLAND SCHOOL) being bad it was a wonderful time for her where she learned all she needed to get on in her life and carry her education further. She graduated here in Bali with the internationally respected IB (International Baccalaureate) and went on to get her degree at Nottingham University in the UK which she is now using to work here in her capacity as biology teacher. Her IB was eminently transferable and she had no difficulty with changing to the English system (other than the awful grub). Hope this helps anyone in the future and I would be grateful for further information about Bali international standard schooling.

Fred2

I must live in a low class area, my neighbors always talk to the mad Aussie, the sercuity guard that can only say good morning and Bintang always stops to chat. The cluster has a yearly meeting and I agree to everything:icon_rolleyes: And yes I do talk to the maids as they walk past.:icon_e_biggrin:. When I go to the village to stay the Indonesian are always happy to see you. Have you checked Surabaya grammar school,Mimi(sp), I think there is 5 international schools in my area.

Nydave

Many good points raised here,my kid who is mixed Indo and western is attending what I call a local school,not sure if that's the proper way to describe it so let me try,we pay an amount each year not very much compared to international schools so it's very affordable,then we pay a small fee each month, Granted he will move to a new school later this year as he will be going into first class,and again there are several schools here where you pay in the same way,some more expensive than others but not so much as they would bankrupt you,our problem is that what they teach is so far behing what they are teaching European kids the same age and it:s our plan that he will do his secondary education in europe,right now we feel that given what they teach here he probably wouldn't even pass an entrance exam in europe, We definitely have a problem so we are looking at getting the school books that are being used for 7 year Olds in europe and hoping to do some home education ourselves,honestly we have no idea if it will work but I think it's worth a try just to see,he is fluent in english,actually speaks better English than his Mom, As for complete home schooling how does it work,like is there a system where the kid gets tested each year by some governing body,how do we know if we have educated him enough to move him onto the next year's class,anyone have any ideas on this

Nydave

Thanks Markit,yeahI know it's going to be a lot of work because my country where he will eventually attend school is currently rated # 6 on the list of country's with the best education,so it's definitely going to be a challenge,i wasn't thinking of complete home schooling,more like attending regular school here and then a couple of hours a day at home,the school day here is quite short so a couple more hours just might help to bring him up to the level we are hoping for,he is a very smart kid but depends on what humor he is in at times,we were thinking this way because my sister in law is actually a teacher and speaks fluent English,also the fact I'm in Surabaya means I don't have the same variety of international schools available like in bali, About home schooling, how is it recognized by other schools hear many peoplesaying they homeschooled their kids but surely as they get older and move into higher education and new schools you have to show some kind of paperwork stating that they completed their lower years of education,

Nydave

Spicy,funny you should mention about Chinese,i am the only bule living in my area and my wife is one of 2 Javanese women in our complex,everyone else is Chinese, I don't mean to be disrespectful but having one of them as a friend will never happen,i used to think that it was because I'm foreign but later discovered being foreign has nothing to do with it, The Chinese here don't even speak to their other Chinese neighbours,i often sit out front and just watch life passing by,i can honestly say and I have experiences it that if two peoplebcome out from their houses at the same time rather than say good morning or even offer a smile they will immediately turn their heads away from each other,i have lived in several different countrys but have never experienced anything like this,im not bad mouthing them, perhaps that's the Chinese way or whatever to me it's just weird,

DenpasarHouse

Nydave wroteThe Chinese here don't even speak to their other Chinese neighbours,i often sit out front and just watch life passing by,i can honestly say and I have experiences it that if two peoplebcome out from their houses at the same time rather than say good morning or even offer a smile they will immediately turn their heads away from each other,i have lived in several different countrys but have never experienced anything like this,im not bad mouthing them, perhaps that's the Chinese way or whatever to me it's just weird,

I don't think my Chinese-Indonesian neighbours are as bad as this but they definitely keep to themselves. They never go for walks around the neighbourhood or even in our small cul-de-sac. A lady came to ask my advice about getting a KITAS for her foreigner friend and after she'd left I asked my wife which one of the neighbours she was related to and it turns out she'd been living one door down since before we even moved here. The usual MO is to enter and exit their cars after the pembantu has opened/closed the gate. They also have HEAVILY tinted windows on their car windows and even on the windscreen. I always wave if I'm passing them but I never know who I'm waving to, if they've seen me or if they are waving back. Now that I think of it, there's a middle class Javanese couple who act in the exact same manner so it must be a class thing. Not that I'm complaining. I much prefer a reserved neighbour to one who bails you up for half an hour every time they catch you in the street.

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