Tommy
One obsticale for your kids going to local school may be langguage? Except for in the balinese langguage classes it's pretty much all in indonesian.
drbruce
Yes, the curriculum is different, but then it's different from international school to international school as well. Some subjects like mathematics are very similar. My children, who are in a local school here, have a very similar math curriculum to the one that I teach at the international school here. Social studies and science are somewhat similar as well. There are some excellent schools in Indonesia and some incredibly awful ones, but the same could be said for the States. If a child is motivated they can make quite a bit from even a mediocre school, especially if they can find one or two inspiring teachers.
Sergio
Some of you might be aware that I have been trying to move my family back to Bali for the past 2 years now... unfortunately we are not making much progress. The cost of the move alone with enough money to get started is a big enough obstacle but when I factor in all the living expenses it gets even more discouraging! My two boys mean everything to me and I can only think off good reasons to raise them in Bali... only expense play a roll and with health insurance (x 3) and international schooling (x 2)... all other expense I can live with! While I was sharing my concerns with a friend going to an Australia University in Sydney of how my kids needed to go to an International school because I wanted them to be able to go to a University in Canada or Australia should they so choose later on, she reminded me that there are many Indonesian students in Australian Universities doing just fine! Indeed, I have Indonesian friends that go there and they are doing fine!
My question is: can I still enjoy the occasional scotch on the rocks at Nuri's Warung and hangout with Roy and friends :P by putting my kids through Indonesian schools... or... will I be stuck drinking warm ice tea from a plastic bag on curb :cry: just so I can put my two boys through international school?
If the curriculum is so different (which I imagine it would be) how are these Indonesian students from Indonesian schools making the jump so well to foreign Universities?
rien.gluvers
I think it depends on what you want for your boys. If you think they will move to a western country for there carreers in the future local schools are not an option I think. If, on the other hand, you want to give them a good push forward not only the education, but allso the contacts made on an international school can mean a lot for them.
Sergio
^ just look at my grammer! :oops: I would not make it at [i]any[/i] University... I just want to make sure this will not happen to my boys!
balijeff
Dr. Bruce,
I have a Q for you...and I already know your reply!
What International School would you reccomend?
I ask because I am going to send my 2 year daughter to Montessori next year...unless you can name a better school of course. I would ask my in-laws, but they all live in Jakarta and cannot, in good faith, reccomend one to us.
Yes, Im aware I most likely mis-spelled reccomend. And yes, Im to lazy to get my dictionary (actually, I'm not sure where it is)
And a Q for Roy...
Where is your gallery again? Can you provide the street address...I love cartography and am desperate to see the exhibit....
Jeffrey
Sergio
Thanks guys,
Tommy - My boys are still young (7 months and 2 years) but if it takes more then 2 years for me to get there Language might be an issue for my oldest when he starts kindergarten. However at that age they pick up the language super quick and by grade one I am sure it won't be an issue any more.
drbruce - Thank you, your information helps a lot! I actually wanted to put my boys in local school just because it would seem more fun for them if they could go to school with their neighborhood friends... I would imagine they would be more accepted in the community this way as well.
rien.gluvers - I don't know where my boys dreams will lead them career wise, I just did not want to limit their dreams!
I just hope local school won't limit their dreams should their dreams lead them to study at a Canadian or Australian University... I know this is so all far away but I know how big of a role an elementary education can make in ones future... believe me, I know!
I think the biggest problem however will be if they take after me and ditch school all together to go surf! :oops:
Ratih
I have never attended an International school, so really I have no clue the difference in curriculum between local and international schools. I have gone to pulic schools in Denpasar from elemtary to college level.
Actually, when I continued my higher education in the State, the trouble was transferring my University credits. They simply didn't honor the classes that I took from a University in Denpasar. So, I had to start all over again for my undergraduate degree. There was no questions concerning my high school classes, since I graduated from high school.
The only pain was that since all the schools that I attended didn't used computerized system that we have here in the State, it has been very challenging and time consuming process to get an official transcript from them.
What I found interesting was that I was more advanced in math and science classes. I was surprised to learn that those type of classes that I learned while I was in a public highschools were taught as 1st - 2nd years classes at the undergraduate level at the University. The main problem is language, of course. Although I learned English since junior high, I was ill prepared for college works. I had to take some ESL classes before starting
classes at the University
Ratih
Bang_Bob
Sergio, I don't think that by putting your kids to local schools you are going to limit them from studying at an Australian or Canadian University. There are thousands of Indonesian Students who continue their higher Education at American, European, Canadian & Australian Colleges every year.
I'm a product of the Indonesian Primary & Secondary School myself. I graduated from a University in the US and now working on my Graduate degree.
On average, I consider Indonesian primary & secondary schools' curriculum is very tough. If anything, I would be worry that your kids would not get as good as grades then if they had gone to International Schools. And that is a concern when they are applying to colleges outside Indonesia where grades are sometimes inflated. For example, in Indonesian High Schools the average top 10% grade is probably 7.5 out of 10. Compare that with the top 10% grade of public high schools in the US which is probably about 3.7-3.8 out of 4.0. I remember when I was an 8 grade student in the US, my GPA was 3.75. When I return to Indonesia and went to local school, I graduated with a GPA of 7.0 (70%). That's like getting 2.8 out 4.0 by US grading standard. But yet, during my first year studying as a chemical engineeering student in the US, I finished that semester with 3.8 GPA.
The only thing that I usually find Indonesian students lacking is writing skill. So if you do decide to put your kids through local schools, make sure you hire an English tutor to supplement their English curriculum. I know many Indonesian friends, who can afford it, that had put their kids through Indonesian schools up to the middle school and then transferred them to International High School in Indonesia or Singapore or to high schools the country where they plan to send their kids for higher education.
drbruce
Sergio,
Bang Bob is completely right about the grade situation. My two eldest daughters are ranked fourth and fifth in their classes and their average is just about 80 percent, and that average would put them close to the bottom at the international school. You will not be limiting your children by placing them in a local school. Supplementing the English language skills is a definite must however. Going to school with the kids in the neighborhood definitely helps with the friendships, but then it depends on where you live in Bali. When we were living in Singaraja, the kids went to a private school and most of their friends in the kampung went to the local public school.
As someone who has taught in international schools for 16 years, I would suggest that if you are not independently wealthy or being sponsored by a company, you are wasting your money paying for an international school.
Best of luck with the kids.
Sergio
Wow! Ratih, Bang_Bob thank you so very much for posting your experiences! drbruce I for sure value your view on this as well! Not only have you guys addressed all my concerns but your have given me new hope! It has been unbelievable depressing to calculate all the expenses needed to move and live in Bali even though my kids schooling is a couple years away still I feel a big weight lifted off my shoulders! Thank you so much!
drbruce, I sure am not independently wealthy at this point nor am I supported by a company but I am working on both. My first business adventure was a big failure and now I have to pick myself up again and start over... uhhhh! Well I am about 2-3 months away from my second attempt so hopefully I learned my mistakes and things will workout ok this time. My goal is to run the business online from Bali so everything hangs on this! I have a few business ideas for Bali as well but I need to get there first.
Actually there are three expenses that concerned me, not 2 as I mentioned before. The three killjoys are; health insurance, schooling (thanks to this thread I can now scratch that off my list) and internet connections (man are they ever slow and expensive! I don't know how Bert and Roy manage with those upload speeds?)
Thank you everyone! Bang_Bob, if you registered to respond to this thread I really do appreciate it! I hope you stick around and we see more of you.
drbruce
Jeffrey,
I'm not sure how you know my reply to your question as it took me a few minutes to decide what to say.
If your daughter is 2 years old, I would recommend keeping her at home. Children get plenty of schooling as it is these days. If you really need to organize something for your daughter, you might want to do an informal playgroup. I've run schools with pre-schools for children from the age of 3, and that is the absolute earliest that I feel children should be in school.
So that's my recommendation. Best of luck.
Roy
I agree with Dr. Bruce 100%. Age 2...at home period.
Ah, well if you are into maps, you will get quite a mouth full! Our earliest map of the region starts with Sebastian Munster, 1546 and works up from there.
We are on Jalan Lungsiakan near the intersection of Jalan Kedewatan in northwest Ubud proper. If you have a copy of the recent Bali Advertiser, we have a half page add in the Ubud section. Looking forward to meeting you!
Just look for the two huge bronze VOC cannons out front...hard to miss!
Roy
PS...in the add, there is a map to our gallery.
