Do any expat kids go to local schools?

R

rasi

Member
This has kinda been asked here, but do any of you send your kids to a 'local school'? My biggest money worry about moving to Bali is school fees. I have thought about sending my kids to a local school? They are half Indonesian though, so they wont look out of place too much!

But I have no idea about school and what they teach at a local school compared to an "international' school... Obviously their schooling would not be up to scratch if they wanted to move to Oz and go to Uni/get a job etc... but surely they can do a year 12 Tafe course first?

I don't want to home school them....But what is everyone's opinion of the local schools?? Are they really that bad? My husband seems to think the kids would be kidnapped.... hahaha
 
rasi said:
This has kinda been asked here, but do any of you send your kids to a 'local school'? My biggest money worry about moving to Bali is school fees. I have thought about sending my kids to a local school? They are half Indonesian though, so they wont look out of place too much!

But I have no idea about school and what they teach at a local school compared to an "international' school... Obviously their schooling would not be up to scratch if they wanted to move to Oz and go to Uni/get a job etc... but surely they can do a year 12 Tafe course first?

I don't want to home school them....But what is everyone's opinion of the local schools?? Are they really that bad? My husband seems to think the kids would be kidnapped.... hahaha
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I fully intend to send mine to a local school. Look around you, the kids haven't turned out that bad, have they?
There is plenty of opportunity for further education here [if needed].
 
I have no kids yet...but what I know (not that much) teaching/learning is a matter of positive motivation, along ofcourse with the quality/knowledge of the teachers...
The 'local' schools I have visited, lack both...so when/if I would be so lucky to have children, I very much doubt I would put tem into a 'local' school.
There probably are local-schools with a good track record, I just haven't been to one
 
mat said:
I fully intend to send mine to a local school. Look around you, the kids haven't turned out that bad, have they?
There is plenty of opportunity for further education here [if needed].
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Yes I agree! My husband (obviously) went to school in Java and he is smarter than me!
I guess I will have to look around and see what I can find because there is no way I can afford most of the schools in Bali! But I kind of like the idea of a local school :)
 
rasi said:
there is no way I can afford most of the schools in Bali! But I kind of like the idea of a local school :)
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You've hit the nail on the head (sorry to say), but lack of money is the reason why an expat would send their kids to a local school.

as for mat's comment "look around you, they haven't turned out that bad"...
I don't know where you're looking, but we are not looking into the same direction :icon_lol:
 
gilbert de jong said:
You've hit the nail on the head (sorry to say), but lack of money is the reason why an expat would send their kids to a local school.

as for mat's comment "look around you, they haven't turned out that bad"...
I don't know where you're looking, but we are not looking into the same direction :icon_lol:
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I was comparing them to the kids from the British schools, [one of the main reasons I want to bring up my children in Bali].
Seems to be too many of them killing each other. The streets are not safe with what the Brits are turning out now. My personal experience of schools and the kids in England also makes me want to educate my kids elsewhere. I see so much violence on the streets even in the small village I am from. Had one teenage death already this year from an unprovoked attack. I went to so called good schools many of them fee paying.
 
If they can afford it many Indonesian parents send their children to fee paying schools. Says a lot for the state schools :icon_rolleyes:
 
Can you educate at home?

I was wondering if you can teach your children at home? I have met many Balinese who have only spent a few years in the system here and then left [some as young as 11].
Just curious if anyone knows the law on this. I would love to play a big part in the education of my children, I certainly will have the time.
 
I don't know the law, but I think the socialization aspect of going to school, making friends etc, is why I would want my kids to go to school rather than be home schooled.
 
In Indonesia there's a law that says every child should go to school for a minimum of 9 years, that would be SD and SMP.
Netherlands for example has something similar but duration is 12 years, don't know about England?
And this law is enforced.....
in Indonesia to no-ones surprise this law is not enforced (as so many other laws)

Why children don't go to a selokah 'negara' but to an sekolah 'swasta' could also be that their grades are not up too par for admitance at registration to a sekolah negara.

@mat..and I thought the most dangerous of English schools was the cantine-food :icon_wink:
just joking, I understand what you mean :icon_e_smile:

@spicyayam..I too think that interacting with other children is very important..
 
rasi said:
This has kinda been asked here, but do any of you send your kids to a 'local school'? My biggest money worry about moving to Bali is school fees. I have thought about sending my kids to a local school? They are half Indonesian though, so they wont look out of place too much!

But I have no idea about school and what they teach at a local school compared to an "international' school... Obviously their schooling would not be up to scratch if they wanted to move to Oz and go to Uni/get a job etc... but surely they can do a year 12 Tafe course first?

I don't want to home school them....But what is everyone's opinion of the local schools?? Are they really that bad? My husband seems to think the kids would be kidnapped.... hahaha
Click to expand...
Instead of an "international school" your children could go to a national plus school. There are many around. My daughter goes to DCC ( Denpasar Children Centre ) and she likes it a lot. The students are a mix between local and expat children. The facilities are good, like they have a pool and there is security. I can't really judge the classes, as she is in her second year and is my only child. I do know there's a lot of homework ( even for a 7 year old ). The cost are around 10 juta a year, so not too expensive.
 
Why I don't......

Having visited a few local schools and seen the teaching methods I am really loathe to send my son to one.... He is of school age now and I am currently home teaching.

One of the main problems that I see is that much of the learning is centred on learning by rote instead of nurturing creative thinking and problem solving. A case of "sit down and shut up". I think that many of the people that I know here have excelled and grown despite their education instead of because of it.

I make sure that he has lots of playtime with other kids so that he gets that all important socialisation.

fingers crossed I will be able to lure a teacher to East Bali soon, start a small school and then all my problems will be solved!! Well, education wise anyway!!
 
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I don't know what the laws are now, but 10 years ago, ex-pats and Indos (mixed) weren't allowed to go to local schools. A group of discontent mothers set up their own not-for-profit school in Kerobokan as a result (this is now an international - but still not-for-profit - school called Sunrise School). Now there are national plus schools and international, but most of the national plus schools are just as expensive, if not more than some of the international schools.
 
Julesie said:
I don't know what the laws are now, but 10 years ago, ex-pats and Indos (mixed) weren't allowed to go to local schools. A group of discontent mothers set up their own not-for-profit school in Kerobokan as a result (this is now an international - but still not-for-profit - school called Sunrise School). Now there are national plus schools and international, but most of the national plus schools are just as expensive, if not more than some of the international schools.
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ooo.. just remembered seeing some Indo kids at a local school... so I guess it is OK... but I have to agree with DiveGuru on the ROTE learning... Indonesians are great with facts, but they are not taught to question.
 
Julesie said:
Indonesians are great with facts, but they are not taught to question.
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I think this is a common failing in many schools - even here in Germany! I'm amazed at how many kids don't question the things they are told!

I home schooled my daughter for two years - for one because of the fees and two because I did not want to live down south. Now she is back in a regular German school but I see a lot of things that are lacking as compared to the home schooling. In just two years my daughter learned to read and write both German and English. She started grade 5 in an American home school curriculum. That says a lot for the German public school system.

My niece goes to a public SD (East Bali) and when I have the time I teach her extra things like reading and writing in English and now starting on reading in German. She is one smart cookie!

So if local school I would suggest extra hour of private studies if the kid is up to it.....
 
I really, honestly believe that school is to learn HOW to learn (rather than the content) and about social skills. I think the reading, writing and mathematical strategies taught are important foundations, but in the older years (upper primary and secondary school), it is really learning about citizenship, social responsibilities and how to find the answers to problems.
I am actually a teacher, but I honestly believe that kids learn more by experiencing real-life (supported by a curriculum with predictive and reflective learning techniques), than they would in a traditional classroom. Schooling - home or traditional (or any other), is only as good as the teacher and the support provided by home. I know people that move their kids around schools according to the teacher that their kids will be having. It will be interesting to see how those kids turn out.
 
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.
 
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
 
Dave you are in for a world of pain and expenses. The people you need to talk with are the Ozzies here as Australia has a long history of home schooling their kids where the nearest neighbor was an airplane flight away from their station.

Home schooling isn't for the weak or busy as it requires a level of dedication from both student and teacher that most families can't bring to the party or least wise, not for the years and years it will take.

I can really recommend the International Baccalaureate if you intend the sprog to have a life in the west without having to wash other people's windows.
 
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