var textForPages =["            INTERNATIONAL\nEDUCATION\n 2020-2021\n"," ",""," ",""," ",""," 44 TAKING A BIG LEAP\nProduced by Creative & Special Publications Text: Darunee Sukanan\nPhotographs: Supplied/POST\nDesign: Arthit Kannikar\nProject Manager: Piengdao Kanchanastiti Editor: Simon Kind\nDeputy Managing Editor: Ratch Lunchaprasit\nSpecial Publications Advertising +66 (0) 2616 4440 • Fax +66 (0) 2616 4560 Senior Vice President – Advertising Sales: Panchanida Jansongchai\nFirst Vice President – Advertising Sales: Nanthana Singkamala\nBangkok Post is edited by Soonruth Bunyamanee for Bangkok Post Plc, Printer, Publisher and Owner. Office Bangkok Post Building, 136 Na Ranong Road, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110. Tel +66 (0) 2616 4000 www.bangkokpost.com • 0920 •\nCONTENTS\n10 LEARNING IN THE TIME OF COVID-19\n13 Helping kiddos stay healthy\n16 The pluses of learning from afar 20 Universities and the ‘new normal’\n22 SPOILED FOR CHOICE\n25 CONUNDRUMS OF CURRICULUMS\n35 BECOMING\nLITTLE COSMOPOLITANS\n38 MAPPING HIS CHILDREN’S FUTURE\n39 41 42 43\nA nerds’ paradise\nMired in mediocrity\nSpecial considerations for special-needs The price of a Porsche (or two)\n48\nCHIN UP\nAND CARRY ON\n",""," LEARNING IN THE TIME OF COVID-19\nThe current pandemic has made online learning far more appealing. Yet there are some drawbacks to distance learning.\nRare are the parents who are not perpetually concerned about their children’s wellbeing. These days\nmany Thai and expatriate parents are particularly worried about one thing: that their offspring might contract Covid-19, a virulent disease that has transformed everyday life as we have known it.\nIn June this year, just before the reopening of schools around Thailand slated for July 1, Suan Dusit Rajabhat University conducted an online poll by asking more than 1,250 adults across the country about their greatest concerns ahead of the new academic year. Close to three-quarters of respondents, or nearly 74 percent, said\nBANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\nthey were especially concerned about whether adequate measures were in place at schools to prevent children from contracting the novel coronavirus that causes the disease.\nAs many as seven out of 10 parents surveyed cited concerns about children’s ability to learn adequately in the new environment during the ongoing pandemic. An equal number expressed worries about the readiness of schools to ensure the health and wellbeing of children, while they also questioned children’s ability to look after themselves in schools in the face of an invisible threat.\nTeachers could become role models for children about how to protect themselves against the spread of debilitating and potentially deadly viruses such as Covid-19.\n10\n","","Asked what schools should do to contain the spread of Covid-19, nearly half of respondents said schools should have clear-cut preventative measures in place for children to follow. A third of respondents suggested making sure that students wore their face masks at all times, washed their hands regularly and observed social distancing rules on campus.\nSome respondents also highlighted the need for creative new teaching and learning methods that would serve to maintain high standards of hygiene at schools. Others mentioned that teachers could become role models for children about how to protect themselves against the spread of debilitating and potentially deadly viruses such as Covid-19.\nThe results of the poll should come as no surprise to schools around Thailand. Although the country has had a stellar track record — or the good fortune — of keeping Covid-19 at bay with under 3,500 documented cases and fewer than 60 deaths attributed to the disease as of August this year, fears of a potential outbreak continue to linger.\nNot surprisingly, the pandemic has been posing grave challenges to Thai schools, students and educators alike. Earlier this year the Ministry of Education postponed the start of the 2020 academic year from May 16 to July 1, which meant that many\nstudents missed out on formal education for several weeks. To make up for lost learning time, schools will do away with midterm recess in October while the final-term break will be shortened from a month and a half to just two weeks.\n    Asked what schools should do to contain the spread of Covid-19, nearly half of respondents said schools should have clear-cut preventative measures in place for children to follow.\n  12 BANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n","E\nven as concerns about the spread of Covid-19 in schools are warranted, an atmosphere of paranoia would\nSchools should also do their best to enforce social distancing rules, require students to wear their face masks, encourage them to wash their hands frequently and enact other disease- prevention measures. This is especially important with younger children who may not be mature enough to look after themselves. By learning to protect themselves from viruses and harmful bacteria, students can acquire valuable life lessons that go beyond the immediate concerns of the current pandemic.\nIn addition, Thai schools should also improve their standards of hygiene. This should include the daily cleaning and disinfecting of classrooms, toilets, gymnasia and other facilities with particular attention to surfaces that are touched by many people: railings, tables, door handles, sports equipment, toys and learning aids. As a bonus, these measures can stop the spread of not only Covid-19 but also other communicable diseases such as influenza among their students and staff.\n“Precautions are necessary to prevent the potential spread of Covid-19 in school settings; however, care must also be taken to avoid stigmatising students and staff who may have been exposed to the virus,” the WHO counsels. “Education settings should continue to be welcoming, respectful, inclusive, and supportive environments to all. Measures taken by schools can prevent the entry and spread of Covid-19 by students and staff who may have been exposed to the virus, while minimising disruption and protecting students and staff from discrimination.”\nBANGKOK POST 13 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\nHELPING KIDDOS STAY HEALTHY\n   hardly be helpful to students, warns the World Health Organization (WHO) in its guidelines to schools on how to ensure a safe learning environment. “Any crisis presents the opportunity to help them learn, cultivate compassion and increase resilience while building a safer and more caring community,” the WHO explains. “Having information and facts about Covid-19 will help diminish students’ fears and anxieties around the disease and support their ability to cope with any secondary impacts in their lives,” the United Nations-affiliated agency adds.\nImportantly, health experts explain, adopting basic practices of disease prevention as part of school routines can help keep students and teachers safe from the disease. Students, teachers and others at school who exhibit any symptoms associated with Covid-19, such as a fever or a persistent cough, should be kept away.\nAdopting basic practices of disease prevention as part of school routines can help keep students and teachers safe from the disease.\n   "," ","","THE PLUSES OF LEARNING FROM AFAR\n Aprimary means of schools worldwide to contain the spread of the coronavirus among their students and members of staff is to institute distance-learning policies. By holding classes via social media apps and video-conferencing tools like Zoom, students can stay safely at their homes while taking advantage of learning material posted online. At the same time, they can engage in social interactions with their teachers and classmates conducted in cyberspace.\nThe best of both worlds? In some ways, yes. Distance learning certainly has its benefits, not the least of which is a degree of freedom afforded to students to learn in their own good time in the comfort of their own homes or other suitable locations such as co-learning spaces, which are becoming increasingly available at shopping malls and other venues in Bangkok.\n16 BANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\nDistance learning facilitates flexible learning schedules and allows students to study at their own pace. In future, e-learning will become a dominant form of education at many Thai leading schools, argues Suvit Maesincee, a former minister of higher education, science, research and innovation.\n“Flexible learning experiences will be available on-demand 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will be tailored to what each individual \[student\] wants to achieve,” Suvit told The Bangkok Post in a recent interview. “Students will be able to study in multiple modes, switching seamlessly between on-campus, blended or wholly online, to suit their lifestyle and fit study with work and other activities.”\nMany Thai students could well embrace online learning simply because it also obviates the need for them to commute to and from school. Such savings in time can\nbe a considerable benefit in a perennially gridlocked metropolis like Bangkok where many learners and teachers are forced to spend long hours each day just going to school and returning home from it.\nJust as importantly, e-learning enables learners to create their own preferred study space rather than having to rely on existing spaces at school, which may not be entirely to their liking.\n“Instead of having to soundproof your room because of noisy housemates or having to hunt for a spot in a crowded university library, you can set up your own quiet space in your room or another area of the house,” explains Study International News, an online resource for international students. “If you aren’t feeling productive at home, you can also study in a community library or a cafe, whatever is best for you. Some people find in-person classes distracting, so if you’re one of them you don’t have to worry about this with an online programme.”\n  By holding classes via social media apps and video-conferencing tools like Zoom, students can stay safely at their homes while taking advantage of learning material posted online.\n  "," Yet e-learning also has its disadvantages. By physically cutting off students from one another, online learning can lead to social isolation, which is especially a concern with younger students who thrive on social interactions with their peers and teachers. Socializing has enormous benefits for children as they learn to explore the world around them while making new friends and acquiring new social skills.\nBy its very nature, online learning fails to provide adequate face-to-face interactions among students, which severely curtails their ability to engage in proper playtime. Numerous studies have shown that without the benefits of regular social interactions children and teens can become withdrawn and socially awkward, among other antisocial personality traits.\nE-learning also requires a greater degree of self-motivation from students and many of them may lack such motivation if largely left to their own devices. Some students could well fall behind their peers in their studies without the proper means of catching up. Online learning also needs to be limited to certain areas of study and is largely unsuitable for classes such as physical education that are key to the mental wellbeing and physical development of children and teens alike.\nIn addition, many students may end up lacking essential learning tools that are readily available in school but unavailable to them at home.\nBANGKOK POST 17 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n  Online learning can lead to social isolation, which is especially a concern with younger students who thrive on\nsocial interactions with their peers and teachers.\n  ","        ","","UNIVERSITIES AND THE ‘NEW NORMAL’\n When it comes to the success of online learning a lot depends on teachers and schools in how they manage e-learning sessions for their students, experts stress. “You need creative and committed staff to deliver high-quality online learning,” says Sara Beck, chief operating officer at Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. “We may be working in a different way for the foreseeable future \[during the pandemic\], but we will still be working just as hard.”\nFaced with the need for a “new normal” during the unfolding pandemic, many Thai schools are resorting to creative new ways of imparting knowledge. Smaller classroom sizes with fewer students and rigorous social distancing measures in place in classrooms are one such way. A creative combination of in-person teaching and e-learning sessions is another.\n20 BANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\nThai educational experts have noted that higher educational institutions especially will need to adopt increasingly to changes in the way their students will prefer to learn and not just because of the current pandemic. “Technologies have evolved to a point that people can learn at any time anywhere,” says Suvit, the former education minister.\n“If universities do not move quickly to transform themselves into educational institutions for a technology-assisted future,\nthey risk becoming obsolete,” he argues. “The Covid-19 situation is a good example. We’ve seen how quickly schools and universities worldwide were forced to adopt online learning and distance learning. And people are getting used to it. I believe the adoption of online learning will continue to persist in the post- pandemic era.”\nThe spread of online learning among young adults is a welcome development, Suvit believes, because it can habituate them to continue to hone their existing skills and acquire new ones as they see fit.\n“Students will be able to create their own customisable degrees and teachers will create learning plans for students which will enable each student to learn at a pace that best suits their abilities and engage with content that is most beneficial to them,” Suvit says. “The old ‘one-size- fits-all’ model is outdated and has no\n  Technologies have evolved to a point that people can learn at any time anywhere.\n  ","place on the agenda of the institutions of tomorrow. Teachers will become facilitators of learning and students will have more control of their own learning journey.”\nOther educational experts likewise stress the importance of student- centric teaching methodologies in today’s knowledge-centric societies and economies where professionals often need several different skillsets to succeed in their chosen careers. That is why Thai universities must supplement their provision of traditionally imparted skills with a new mission to foster vital cognitive and social skills such as critical thinking, self-motivation and independence in their students.\n“Universities must teach students to learn to think, analyse and appraise. Universities must transform themselves into learning spaces for students,” Suvit posits. “Universities have to educate their students to be global citizens who have a global perspective,” the education expert elucidates. “If Thai universities cannot improve their standing \[on\] the global stage, students will turn their back on them.”\nA way for Thai colleges and universities to succeed on the global stage is to specialise in niche subjects that play to their strengths as educational institutions. Rather than teach a whole host of subjects by fair to middling standards, they should turn themselves into leaders in a few select disciplines by overhauling their curricula, hiring top-notch lecturers and attracting student talent.\nThailand has set out to become an educational hub for international students within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The country offers some of Southeast Asia’s most highly regarded international schools for primary and secondary school students as well as universities ranked highly on regional lists of higher educational institutions.\n“It may seem somewhat ambitious for Thailand to strive towards dominating the international education sector in this region,” observed Daniel Maxwell, a Thailand-based educator and education management specialist from the United Kingdom who formerly worked as head teacher at the Nantawan International School in Samut Prakan. “It is a goal that been nurtured and promoted by successive governments but Thailand’s international education sector has experienced huge growth and the Kingdom has developed some world- class international institutions.”\nYet in order for many local schools, particularly colleges and universities, to come into their own internationally, they will need to streamline their operations with a focus on particular strengths, Suvit argues. “The business model of being a multipurpose university with a combination of a range of degrees and faculties will not work. University administrators will have to choose the path they want and focus on a particular area such as teaching or certain types of research,” he says.\n“At present, most universities in Thailand are still doing the same \[which is to provide\] courses that can attract students to stay financially healthy,” Suvit adds. Such thinking by school administrators is ultimately short-sighted and needs to change, the education expert argues. The emphasis has to be on top-notch streams of study married to real-world needs. “Universities must also co-locate themselves with industry partners so they can collaborate on projects that solve real-world problems,” he says. “They will become precincts of innovation that actively apply research for the benefit of communities.”\n  Universities have to educate their students to be global citizens who have a global perspective, the education expert elucidates.\n   BANGKOK POST 21 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n"," SPOILED FOR CHOICE\nThailand, and Bangkok especially, offers international schools galore. Selecting a suitable one may require careful thought.\n Once upon a time, in centuries past, the mark of a good education in Thailand, or the Kingdom of Siam\nas it was then known, was attendance in a more prestigious temple school where children received tuition from learned monks. While temple schools still serve an important social function in educating disadvantaged children, these days the mark of a good education in the Kingdom is attendance in an international school.\nThais’ high regard for a western education has a long and august history, tracing its origin all the way back to the reign of King Mongkut in the mid-19th century. Rama IV, as the monarch is popularly known in Thailand, invited Anna Leonowens, an Anglo-Indian British educator to teach\nBangkok alone has\n76 international schools dotted all around the sprawling capital, according to the International Schools Database website, while the overall number of international schools in Thailand is twice that figure.\nEnglish language and British manners to his children. One of those children who went on to become King Chulalongkorn,\nor Rama V, likewise valued international education and sent many of his sons to boarding schools in Britain. Inspired by their king, many Thai nobles and well-off citizens followed suit.\nBefore long, international schools started operating on Thai soil as well, offering the best that Western-style education could offer. The first such establishment was International School Bangkok, which began operating on the grounds of the United States Embassy in the Thai capital in 1951, providing education to the children of embassy staff and other expatriates living in what was then still essentially a large town with plenty of bucolic charm and seemingly endless networks of canals plied by people in boats.\n   22\nBANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n","In the decades that followed, other international schools offering British, American and other foreign curricula opened their doors and fast became the schools of choice not only for the children of expatriates but for the offspring of well-to-do Thais as well. As the quality of education at government-run schools continued to languish, international schools offered a welcome alternative to parents in a country whose economy began to boom in the 1970s and 1980s.\nToday Bangkok alone has 76 international schools dotted all around the sprawling capital, according to the International Schools Database website, while the overall number of international schools in\nThailand is twice that figure. Many Thai parents prefer to send their children to theseschools,believing(notwithoutcause) that state-run educational institutions tend to provide substandard tuition in key subjects, including foreign languages.\n“\[W\]ith a national education system seemingly moribund and constrained by cultural norms and political instability, international education remains the only prospect for individuals to acquire the tools and knowledge to flourish in a digital economy,” argues Ian Bushell, a senior consultant at Mentor International, a Bangkok-based company offering educational counselling and advice for students.\n“Thailand has seen the phenomenal development of international schools, predominantly in the Bangkok region in the last 30 years. There are now 181 such institutions offering a US, UK or other international curricula and a western teaching ethos across the country,” Bushell explains. “These developments have been driven by business interests but underpinned by poor local standards of education and teaching across the wider country. But these developments represent the one area of educational success in the country with unrivalled opportunity for those able to afford fees that can reach over a million baht a year.”\n  BANGKOK POST INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n23\n"," Yet even for those parents who can pay the hefty tuition fees of international schools, picking the right school can be a bit of a challenge. In general, international schools in Thailand can be classified into three broad categories. The first type comprises schools that have been set up specifically to cater to the children of foreign expatriates who have come to work and live in the Kingdom. The second type of schools includes the local branches of prominent British and American franchise schools. The third type in turn comprises relatively new international schools that provide tuition at internationally accepted standards to both Thai and foreign students.\nMost international schools specialise in helping their students acquire high- standard education with special emphasis\non the mastering of key subjects as well as foreign languages, especially English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese and other dominant languages widely in use in professional environments around\nthe planet. International schools and educational programmes are also available for students of all ages from pre-school all the way to university-level education in the international programmes of some Thai higher educational institutions where subjects are taught in English, at least in part.\nAlthough international schools generally bill themselves as inclusive and diverse, students may be required to demonstrate an acceptable level of fluency in English or another selected language to be accepted. The most prestigious schools may well have waiting lists to deal with the large number of potential applicants. Be that as it may, Thai children who graduate from international schools will get a head start in life over their peers who do so from government-run institutions.\n  Thai children who graduate from international schools will get a head start in life over their peers who do so from government-run institutions.\n  24\nBANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n"," CONUNDRUMS OF CURRICULUMS\nAmerican, British or International?\nSchools offer various courses of study from preschool all the way to high school.\n Most international schools around Thailand offer guidelines for selecting them based on various\nadvertised criteria. These include the sizes of classes (the smaller the better, it is generally assumed by educators); the qualifications of teachers as well as the teacher-student ratio at school; the make- up of the student body; the available learning and recreational facilities on campus; and the range of in-class and extracurricular activities on offer to help students get ahead in their studies while also making them feel at home on campus.\nSeveral schools also offer services in individual counselling, substance abuse prevention, and study support, which can be additional factors in their favour. Other schools emphasise the safety of their school environment and the security arrangements of the school grounds —\nIdeally, a school’s\ncurriculum should incorporate the most advanced learning tools and techniques, including hi-tech tools and innovative testing methods.\nwhich can be an important consideration for foreign diplomats, for instance.\nMany international schools in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand place an emphasis on actively engaging all their students\nin learning activities. They also regularly communicate with parents about their children’s progress in classes and in the various extracurricular activities on offer.\nNeedless to say, the curricula, teaching methods and learning tools available at a school are also of primary importance. Ideally, a school’s curriculum should incorporate the most advanced learning tools and techniques, including hi-tech tools and innovative testing methods. Many schools boast modern student- centred teaching methods aimed at engaging learners while simultaneously challenging them to do their best in their studies and acquire a love of learning in the process.\nThe curricula offered at international schools fall into four main categories: American curriculum, British curriculum, International Baccalaureate curriculum, and various national curricula such as Canadian, Australian, French, German, Japanese or Singaporean.\n“Each system has its advantages and disadvantages and of course each school has its own strengths and weaknesses within their particular curriculum,” explains the International Schools Association of Thailand (ISAT), an association of private schools in the Kingdom that was set up in 1994, is headquartered in Nonthaburi, near Bangkok, and has more than 75 schools as members offering a range of curricula from American to British to international systems of study. “There are also other curriculums which do not fall into any of these categories, but may be developed by an individual school, or by individual people.”\n   BANGKOK POST INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n25\n","                                               St. Andrews International School\n","            ","When it comes to the American curriculum, it may vary from school to school in Thailand as individual states in the United States are free to offer their own custom-tailored and evolving curriculum, based on specific learning standards and benchmarks. Yet the quality of tuition tends to be universally high regardless of the specifics. “International American schools generally have higher standards than the public system schools within the US and they have to be accredited by one of four national non-governmental agencies,” ISAT observes.\n“To gain accreditation, the school’s curriculum must be in line with the standards determined by the organisation (e.g. the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, WASC, and New England Association of Schools and Colleges, NEASC),” it elucidates. “In Thailand, schooling for children under an American state curriculum may begin at the age of five or less in pre-schools or kindergartens. Learning at these ages is less academically based and is more intended to introduce children to a school’s social environment, although all schools will offer some degree of alphabetic and numerical teaching.”\nSchools with the American curriculum cover all the bases when it comes to children’s age, running nearly the entire gamut of childhood education from elementary to middle school and high school for students from age six to 18. The curriculum on offer enables the children of expatriates from the United States to immerse themselves in subjects that they would learn back home. The benefits are also considerable to other children who are non-native speakers of English because they are expected to be proficient in the language during their studies.\nIn addition, students are measured on their progress in the various subjects via exams and other assessments, which provide quantifiable benchmarks of their progress. “\[M\]ost schools will require students take exit examinations in core subject areas to enable students to graduate with an American-based high school diploma,” ISAT notes.\n28 BANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n“Students may also take external exams, such as Advanced Placements (AP) which strengthen university applications. Depending upon the specific admissions requirements of each college or university, the majority of overseas students looking to be offered a placement at a US college must also complete the external SATs or other college entrance examinations to whatever level the university prescribes,” ISAT explains. “In line with schools within the United States, schools in Thailand offering an American-based curriculum will balance academic life with a rich and diverse array of community activities, including sport, the arts, scholastic- based clubs and a number of tutoring and mentoring enterprises.”\nThe British curriculum, as its name suggests, is based on educational standards and methods employed in the United Kingdom. Various year groups, determined by children’s age, are marked by identifiable stages of educational goals with specific curricula and teaching materials for each cohort. “Throughout each Key Stage there are clear assessments and examinations to monitor and track each child’s academic progress. Students study the International version of the\nGeneral Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) over the two years of Key Stage 4, from the age of 14,” ISAT explains.\n“Most students study a compulsory core of English, Mathematics and Science plus a number of optional subjects. The norm is for students to take 8 or 9 IGCSE courses. The IGCSE examinations are a formal assessment of a child’s ability in each of the subjects they have studied,” ISAT says. “These are the final years of their compulsory high school education. The route however for students wishing to go to university is to continue into Key Stage 5, also known as Sixth Form, to follow two-year Advanced Level courses. GCSE and IGCSE are internationally recognised academic standards and used, alongside Advanced Levels, as part of the academic selection process for entry into the top universities around the World.”\nThe International Baccalaureate curriculum is another favourite with many parents in Thailand. The IB curriculum is widely popular globally, taught as it is to more than 1 million students at more than 3,500 schools in more than 140 countries. International schools in Bangkok offering\n  "," this expertly devised curriculum must be certified to do so and are regularly evaluated by IB experts to ensure consistently high standards for the various age groups that are taught from pre-school all the way to age 18. Because of its nature, the IB curriculum is considered to provide a truly international education free from dominant national influences, which many parents may see as a welcome benefit in an increasingly cosmopolitan world.\nSo-called IB World Schools provide education in one or more of the three available IB programmes based on students’ age: Primary, Middle Years and IB Diploma. During earlier years a holistic approach is adopted to facilitate children in becoming naturally curious and inquisitive observers of the world around them while absorbing critical thinking, analytical and other vital learning skills. “The programmes provide frameworks that encourage\nstudents to embrace and understand the connections between traditional subjects and the real world, and become critical and reflective thinkers,” ISAT explains.\nThe IB Diploma Programme is in turn for older students aged from 16 to 18 with a more academically challenging curriculum to equip these learners for their college and university studies with final exams\nand other assessments administered regularly to assist them in monitoring their progress. “The IB Diploma is respected by universities around the world for its depth and breadth of learning, the consistency of the value of the grades, and for the additional elements of Creativity, Action & Service and Theory of Knowledge, all of which make IB applicants stand out positively during the university admissions process,” ISAT says.\n“Parents choose to send their children to IB curriculum schools for a wide number of reasons, including the relevance of the programmes to all students regardless of home country or mother tongue. The IB is widely regarded as having a holistic approach and globally aware characteristics,” ISAT explains. “The programmes emphasise not only learning knowledge, but also challenge students to develop skills and positive attitudes, and to take responsible action.\nBANGKOK POST 29 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n  The British curriculum, as its name suggests, is based on educational standards and methods employed in the United Kingdom.\n  "," EXPERTISE\nTHAT INSPIRES\nEXPERIENCES\nTHAT TRANSFORM\nACCEPTING ENQUIRIES AND APPLICATIONS. CONTACT ADMISSIONS TO ARRANGE A SCHOOL TOUR.\nCity Campus 02 203 1222 Sukhumvit/Rama 9 enquiries-city@shrewsbury.ac.th\n3-11 Yrs. www.shrewsbury.ac.th/city @SHBcitycampus\nRiverside 02 675 1888 Charoenkrung/Sathorn enquiries@shrewsbury.ac.th\n3-18 Yrs. www.shrewsbury.ac.th/riverside @SHBriverside\nTHE SHREWSBURY WAY\nOPPORTUNITIES\nTHAT EMPOWER\n","76%\nA-LEVEL\n45% A*\n>1⁄2STUDENTS EARN STRAIGHT A*/A\nEXAM RESULTS 2020\n74%\nIGCSE\n48% A*\n>1⁄3STUDENTS EARN 7+ A* GRADES\nNow accepting applications\nfor August 2021 enrolment\nContact admissions to book a school tour today admissions@shrewsbury.ac.th\nwww.shrewsbury.ac.th/riverside\nCall us:\n02 675 1888 Ext. 1110\nLEARN MORE\nBit.ly/32D6I6G\n@SHBriverside\nOPENING A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY\nIMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON\nMAHIDOL RAMATHIBODI\nUNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE\nSTANFORD UNIVERSITY\nPRINCETON UNIVERSITY\n2020 EXAM RESULTS LEAD TO WORLD’S TOP UNIVERSITIES\n1:8 TO TOP 10\nUNIVERSITIES\n110 59\n11\nCOUNTRIES\nGRADUATES\nUNIVERSITIES\n(I)GCSE A*calculated as equivalent to 8/9 on UK numbered grading system. A+ equivalent to 7+ on numbered system\n"," IB teachers are all trained by the IB, providing a consistent, high-quality education in all IB schools. All of which in turn make it the curriculum of choice for many international families.”\nIn addition to these three internationally recognised curricula, some schools in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand offer education based on various countries’ curricula, which are taught, at least in part, in specific foreign languages from French to German to Japanese. “These schools are especially suited to families whose overseas stay is relatively short, or whose children plan to attend university in their home country,” ISAT says. “Frequently these schools are subsidised by the home country government. The advantage of attending a national curriculum school in Thailand is that students can follow the education they are used to while still gaining experience of living overseas, and they will be able to return to their home country with minimum disruption.”\nYet a curriculum alone will not make a school an ideal place of learning. Beyond the specific curriculum an international\nA wider range of courses on offer for different age groups, including science classes and courses in various languages, serves as a good indicator of a school’s dedication to a more holistic approach to learning and teaching. So is the ready availability of co-curricular and extracurricular activities and projects, including sporting events, arts initiatives, drama clubs, science clubs, and hobby clubs. A school should ideally have state- of-the-art, well-maintained facilities. A well-stocked library, sport areas (preferably with a good-sized swimming pool), and a cafeteria with healthy food are also inviting assets.\nWhen it comes down to it, however, a school, no matter how well-equipped, is only as good as its teachers. A good indicator of a faculty’s strengths is its members’ credentials as well as what expectations a school sets on its instructors. It’s not a secret that several schools in Thailand are in the habit of employing foreign teachers based on their being native speakers of English rather than on the merits of their overall qualifications and experience. Often, in\nschool offers, it is equally important to consider other variables, not least its educational track record. This should include indicators such as the rate of a school’s graduates that have gone on to higher educational institutions (and which ones) and the composition of its alumni. A school’s reputation also benefits students. Graduating from a more prestigious school often lends young people a leg- up as they apply for higher educational institutions and, later on, during their job search as they embark on a professional career.\n  A good indicator of\na faculty’s strengths is its members’ credentials as well as what expectations a school sets on its instructors.\n  32\nBANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n"," A New\nA New\n                        International\nInternational\nSchool Driven School Driven\nBy Design By Design\n  INNOVATIVE TEACHING APPROACH\nMoving beyond the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ curriculum, VERSO places each student at the center of their own learning. Students are organized into mixed-age groups and work with a team of learning designers. We value curiosity, self-direction, and independence and help students to think like designers. We have redesigned the school day so we can give students more time to dig deep into learning that truly engages them.\nAGILE LEARNING SPACES\nVERSO’s iconic ‘Loops’ are designed to bring a sense of fun, flow, movement, and interconnectedness to our learning. Traditional classrooms have been replaced by contemporary learning spaces that are flexible, agile, and adaptive to the needs of our learners. We consider our whole campus as a learning space with frequent opportunities to play and learn beyond the walls.\nA PASSIONATE LEARNING DESIGN TEAM\nAt VERSO, we believe in the creative capacity of our educational teams. We intentionally call our teachers Learning Designers. They are highly-skilled educators who work closely with our students to design deeply engaging learning experiences. At VERSO we are passionate about working in a highly collaborative and creative project-based environment that inspires learning for everyone.\nCONNECTED TO NATURE\nVERSO’s impressive campus was designed to complement the\nrich bio-diversity of its natural surroundings. Working closely with environmental and landscape specialists VERSO’s campus has been designed to support a thriving eco-system that allows us to connect with nature on a daily basis. We have a responsibility to help students develop a deeper understanding of the natural world and what we all need to do to protect it.\nVERSO’s innovative learning architecture has been designed using American curriculum standards. Learning is interdisciplinary, project-based, and personalized. VERSO will be fully accredited by WASC, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.\nVERSO is the first international school in the world to be conceptually designed by IDEO, the world-famous design and innovation company from San Francisco. Driven by design, VERSO delivers a highly creative, student-centered education in a stunning state-of-the-art campus.\n  admissions@verso.ac.th +66 2 080 6200 www.verso.ac.th\n  "," such schools teachers come and go on a regular basis, which can lead to an episodic quality in the course work of classes with haphazard teaching methods. That rarely benefits students.\nBetter schools place a strong emphasis on attracting the best available teachers with proper qualifications and retaining them for longer periods. The percentage of teachers with advanced degrees at a school is a tell-tale sign of that dedication. Such schools also often encourage their faculty to keep abreast of the latest developments in their fields and of educational trends in general. The sight of teachers who evidence a professional manner in their conduct and seem respected and well-adjusted at a school is a revealing sign of high standards. And so is the obverse.\nBANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\nThe location of a school campus can also be a determining factor in selection. A suburban ambience in a leafy residential area with cleaner air is a more inviting prospect than a commercial spot downtown with perennial traffic congestion and noxious fumes. Similarly, traffic being what it is in Bangkok, the easier and faster a school can be reached by its students, the better. Commuting long hours to school every day in a city famous for its constant gridlocks can be a drain on children’s energy, boundless though it may sometimes seem.\nIn addition, tuition fees can be steep at many an international school so selecting one whose fees are within a family’s means is certainly a wise decision.\n  Better schools place\na strong emphasis on attracting the best available teachers with proper qualifications and retaining them for longer periods.\nThe percentage of teachers with advanced degrees at a school is a tell-tale sign of that dedication.\n  34\n"," BECOMING LITTLE COSMOPOLITANS\nAttending a new international school can come as a bit of a culture shock to Thai children, but they can be helped to cope better.\n123\n      Let them tell you their story: No matter how busy, parents should find time daily for a 10-to-15-minute chat with their children, preferably in English. They should ask the youngsters about their day at school and listen to their answers. As they recount the day’s events, children will signal with their facial expressions and gestures whether they enjoy being in school or feel out of place there.\nParents should talk things over with their kids, offering them bits of advice about how to overcome difficulties and telling stories from their own childhood experiences in school.\nAppreciate cultural differences in a school: In a new learning environment, especially one with children from different cultures and backgrounds, occasional misunderstandings are inevitable. A child accustomed to the mores of one culture may get puzzled or even offended by customs in another.\nWhile international schools generally make an effort to help students learn about foreign cultures, youngsters may still run up against some problems on occasion: they may misinterpret gestures or facial expressions or they may be surprised by unusual religious customs.\nParents should teach children to respect others regardless of their looks, skin colour or beliefs. In the end, learning in a multi-ethnic and multicultural environment will greatly benefit children by broadening their cultural horizons and acquainting them with new ways of looking at the world.\nEncourage them to speak up: Thai children tend to be shy and withdrawn, especially among strangers. They may feel less confident in class and less willing to ask questions and speak up. Teachers at international schools usually make an effort to reach out to the less confident students, but parents, too, have a role to play. They should encourage their children to speak up freely both in school and at home. They should be encouraged to ask questions.\nBy the same token, parents should teach their children proper manners to ensure they do not become overbearing with other children and disrespectful with their teachers.\n BANGKOK POST INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n35\n"," 36\nBANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\nIf children are facing language comprehension problems in school, parents should seek out extra English courses for them either at the school\nor outside it.\nEncourage them to participate in activities: Parents should encourage their children to participate both in in- class activities and extracurricular ones in school. That way they can develop stronger bonds with their peers and make new friends.\nWhile many parents are naturally very protective of their children, they should let them attend afterschool events, sport days and field trips. Parents should also let their children play or hang out with their friends under the appropriate supervision depending on the age of the children. In addition, parents may consider attending school events to socialise with teachers and other parents.\nEnrol them in extra language courses:\nThai students and those from a non- native English-speaking background may well encounter communication problems at an international school where the language of tuition is English. The sooner they can adapt to the new language environment, the better for their academic progress and social life in school.\nIf children are facing language comprehension problems in school, parents should seek out extra English courses for them either at the school or outside it. Becoming conversant in a foreign tongue takes both time and practice, but children are especially adept at learning new languages. Parents should also encourage their children to watch cartoons and movies in English, read children’s books in the language, and listen to English- language songs.\nHaving foreign friends at school with whom they have to communicate in English will also help Thai youngsters become fluent in the foreign vernacular a lot faster.\n45\n",""," MAPPING HIS CHILDREN’S FUTURE\nA Bangkok-based American entrepreneur knows a thing or two about international schools. He attended one himself and now his two sons do too.\nA aron Frankel is not your average cartographer. The flamboyant American expatriate, who is 53\nand has spent almost his entire life in Thailand, boasts a manifestly Bohemian streak, which has been the trademark of his freewheeling “Groovy Map” guides that cover numerous travel destinations around Thailand and across Southeast Asia. Frankel’s maps, which have long been beloved by hip travellers, are foldable objects that fit snugly into your palm or back pocket.\nthat — way back in school. Frankel began attending a prestigious international school in Bangkok after he arrived in 1969 at age two in the Thai capital from the United States with his parents: a father who was a professor from the University of California, Berkeley, and a mother who was a teacher.\n“I went to International School Bangkok from kindergarten to 12th grade and I think the education I got there was excellent,” recalls Frankel, a youthful, personable man who has lately grown a hipster beard, which makes him seem like a shoe-in for a remake of the 1969 Hollywood cult classic Easy Rider as he zigzags around narrow Bangkok streets on one of his souped-up motorcycles. “I was fine when I went to college in the US, which was the University of California at Irvine, a pretty good school,” he adds.\n“I had no problems adjusting to the new environment at all. I found that the coursework in college was not as difficult as I had expected, the reason being that I had studied in the international school system in Bangkok, which was largely the American system at the time,” he elucidates. “In almost all the courses I took at university, whether it was history or anthropology, I didn’t find the material any heavier than it had been in high school back in Bangkok.”\n  In almost all the courses I took at university, whether it was history or anthropology, I didn’t find the material any heavier than it had been in high school back\nin Bangkok.\nAaron Frankel\nThe maps feature travel hotspots from Bangkok to Bali to Beijing and from Samui to Singapore to Sydney. On each, the inveterate globetrotter offers his tongue-in-cheek tips on the funkiest local eateries, hippest nightclubs, and must-see “secret haunts” for fun seekers. As popular interest in handheld maps has plummeted worldwide in recent years as a result of smartphone apps, Frankel has branched out into creating and selling “Groovy Gear” — everything from designer T-shirts and caps to travel- themed kitchen magnets and key chains.\nThe American entrepreneur launched his mapmaking business on a whim and has been at it for two decades. Yet his creative urges started much earlier than\n  38\nBANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n","Yet it wasn’t just the academic standards of his international school that would prove pivotal. It was also\nits milieu. “A school should encourage you to have an interest in afterschool activities like sport, theatre and art. When I was at ISB I did dance and acting and I was encouraged to do public speaking,” Frankel says, referring to International School Bangkok by its initials. ISB opened in 1951 on the grounds of the American Embassy and is the Thai capital’s oldest international school.\n“We all learned to speak well as we had lessons in oratory. I even participated in competitions with students from other internationals schools in Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines,” Frankel notes. “At university in the US I switched majors from economics to drama mostly because I got a taste of the performing arts at the international school where I had studied,” he adds.\n“One of the benefits of international schools here in Thailand was that jocks were not the heroes like they were back in the US,” the American expat explains. “One of the valedictorians in my year was celebrated for getting the best scores of us all. Nerds were respected even 30 years ago whereas in America it was athletes who were lionised.”\nWhen it came to the education of his two sons, now 16 and 12, Frankel decided to send them to an international school in agreement with his wife, Niki Thongborisute, a former lawyer who is a daughter of the late Sungkas Thongborisute, a renowned surgeon who founded Bangkok’s Paolo Hospital.\n“One teacher told me that the most important component of a child’s education is the interest of the parents in that education,” Frankel says. “Even in a school that isn’t great, if the parents are invested in the progress of their child, the kid can still get a good education,” he continues. “My parents were educators themselves so they were interested in us learning and being active in school, so that was fortunate for my siblings and me.”\nA NERDS’ PARADISE\n   One teacher told me that the most important component of a child’s education is the interest of the parents in that education.\n  BANGKOK POST INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n39\n","At first, though, Aaron and Niki took a chance on a government-run school. “We sent our sons to a Thai school for the first few years just to see what the level of education there was,” he says. “My older son hated it and so after a couple of years we had to take him out of nursery. He’s a very active kid and he doesn’t like to sit still. He didn’t like to follow orders, which is very much what Thai schools expect students to do,” Frankel observes.\n“We kept our other son for another three years at that Thai school and moved him over to an international school only at age seven, which was a bit unfair to him,” the doting father says. “I remember asking him after his first day in the new school what he thought about it and he goes ‘It’s different, daddy. In this school they ask\nme questions.’ He had never been asked questions in class before.”\nSuch shortcomings in teaching, which leave children largely to their own devices in learning, can be an especial Achilles’ heel of Thailand’s moribund educational\nsystem these days when even globally a once relatively robust reading culture has been on the decline. “No one reads books anymore. It’s crazy. The total sum of knowledge is online and very few people are interested in reading it. It’s all games and social media now,” Frankel laments.\n“I went into the publishing industry myself and it has been going downhill for 20 years. With my kids we have to force them to read, which we do by setting aside a mandatory half hour a day for reading age-appropriate books,” he says. “Are they responding well to this? I would say definitely not. It feels almost as if we were telling them to choose broccoli over Skittles because it’s better for them. It’s a hard sell. They would rather be playing games than reading books.”\n  One of the benefits of international schools here in Thailand was that jocks were not the heroes like they were back in the US.\n   40 BANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n","Thailand’s educational system has long been blamed by experts for its overreliance on discipline and rote learning, both of which stifle children’s creativity, curiosity and independence of mind. Not much has changed since Frankel’s own schooldays decades ago, the American businessman says.\n“I’d say Thai schools have changed a lot less in 30 years than international schools have,” he posits. “For instance, international schools teach their students how to read and interpret maps. One day I went into my son’s school as a mapmaker to teach children in his class at second grade level, and they already all knew about maps!” Frankel says, sounding as if he is still delighted by the revelation.\n“By age 10 children in this international school have already been exposed to Dora the Explorer and other age- appropriate materials with geographical content, whereas I can tell you that in\nmost Thai schools even senior members of the staff who have been to university do not know how to read maps.”\nSimilarly, whereas most Thai schools place a strong emphasis on conformity in the name of “traditions,” international schools tend to focus far more on independence. That too is a welcome change, he argues. “Back when I was a student many schools used to strive for homogeneity among their students because everyone was supposed to be\nthe same,” Frankel says. “Nowadays they recognise the value of students being individuals so that each one is different and responds to different things. The key to a good international school is that it looks at students as individuals and not as a collective.”\nHowever, not all international schools are alike. Each comes with particulars that may or may not be suitable for individual children or appealing to their parents. So Aaron and Niki set about finding the most suitable international school for their two sons.\n“My wife is very educated and she did the research on schools. She went and met most of the admission officers at many of the schools we had looked at, asking them what kinds of programmes they had and the like,” Frankel says. “There are a lot of international schools in Thailand so she drew up a shortlist and she kept cutting down the list to 10 and then five and then finally we settled on one that seemed the best.”\nBANGKOK POST 41 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\nMIRED IN MEDIOCRITY\n   The key to a good international school is that it looks at students as individuals and not as\na collective.\n  ","SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR SPECIAL-NEEDS\nThe Frankels’ task to choose an appropriate school was complicated by the fact that one of their sons is considered to be a special-needs child. “He’s intelligent but has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder so we wanted a school that had some extra flexibility built in for kids like him,” Frankel says. “For example, we wanted to know if they might give him some extra 10 minutes on a math test or an extra 20 minutes on reading because he has more problems staying focused on reading than many other kids do.”\nThese days many international schools provide educational assistance to special-needs students, including those with various learning disabilities and behavioural problems. That wasn’t always the case. “When I was in school, you had your teacher and a school principal so when you were naughty you were sent to detention. I spent a number of days there,” Frankel remembers, chuckling at the memory.\n“Today you have your teacher, you have your learning support counsellor, you have a developmental counsellor and you have an academic counsellor. And all these people are involved in ensuring that each child gets the most benefit out of school by monitoring how they are developing, how they are with their peers, how they fit in, and what interests them,” Frankel says. “My son has to have afterschool support almost every day to make sure he understands the learning material and understands what he needs to do in class. He is not disciplined so they help him with that,” he adds.\nA campus should be an inclusive space where each child can thrive in his or her own way, Frankel says. “A good school is like a cocoon. It protects you by creating a safe environment for you and all those other kids around you. It gives you a chance to learn. And it should be fun, which I would say seems to be missing from many Thai schools,” he observes. “A\ngood social environment is key because without that environment children may feel left out. One of my sons, who has social issues and is a difficult child, feels left out a lot,” Frankel adds.\nAnother selling point for him and his wife in selecting a school was its curriculum. “We figured that the IB \[International Baccalaureate\] system was better for our son because it is a very modern method, which is about delving deep into a subject, developing your own ideas, doing research on them and collaborating with other students in solving problems. It’s supposed to prepare you for the real world by teaching independence, critical thinking and collaboration,” Frankel says.\n“Then we looked at how many of the kids go to university from a particular school and how prestigious those universities are. That is always an indication of how good an international school is.”\n  A good school is like a cocoon. It protects you by creating a safe environment for you and all those other kids around you.\n   42 BANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n","THE PRICE OF A PORSCHE (OR TWO)\n I\nlearned that at his own expense — and literally so.\n“The biggest expenditure of mine by far is the education of my two sons. I could have bought two Porsches by now with the money I have spent on their schooling,” he says. “You are committed for a long time to a very high expense. At the same time you hope you’re getting good value for all that money by helping your kids get a head start in their lives thanks to a good education,” he adds.\n“Most of the parents who can afford to send their kids to international schools in\nThailand have to be earning a good clip,” Frankel notes. “If I wasn’t convinced that it was a good education for my children and if I wasn’t convinced that education was very important for people in my social and economic bracket, then I would say it was not worth all that money,” he goes on.\n“But because I am convinced that a good education is very important for children, I feel I have no choice and I have to do it. If you had to argue what the greatest differences are between people in the world, then I would say that a good education is certainly one of them,” Frankel explains. “So my goal is to help my children get the best education available to them.”\nBANGKOK POST 43 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\nf there is a drawback to international education in Thailand, Frankel says, it\nis that it does not come cheap. He has\n  If you had to argue what the greatest differences are between people in the world, then I would say that a good education is certainly one of them.\n  "," TAKING A BIG LEAP\nGetting ready for university weighs heavily on many a young mind. But that does not need to be the case.\nWhen is the best time to start preparing myself for university admission? That is a question many high school students in Thailand ask themselves every year. Enrolling at a university may seem like a daunting prospect — not unlike taking a big leap into the unknown.\nYet based on the experiences of former students who have successfully made the transition to higher education, the preparation period does not need to be too much of a chore. Some useful tips can come in handy as you prepare yourself ready for enrolling at a university.\nEVALUATE YOUR NEEDS AND WANTS\nBefore you embark on a specific course of study it helps to have a clear purpose in mind as to what you want to do in your future career. A bit of introspection about your academic strengths and personal preferences can aid you in finding that out if you don’t know it just yet.\nNext, you should look for a university department that teaches the skills that you will need for your future vocation. You can then proceed to focus on the subjects that are specifically required for admission into that faculty. If you\nbegin to prepare yourself earlier, there is a higher probability that you will not miss out on qualifying as competition for available spots can be fierce, especially at prestigious institutions.\nIf you do not yet know what career will suit you best, do not despair. A school break can be a good time for you to start looking at your preferences and learning about yourself. You might fancy joining certain academic camps hosted by university faculties because these might assist you in finding out what to expect and whether you feel cut out for the challenges involved.\n  Before you embark on a specific course of study\nit helps to have a clear purpose in mind as to what you want to do in\nyour future career.\n  44\nBANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n"," STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD\nDesigning your application is key. The first time university administrators meet most students is when they look at submitted applications. That is why your portfolio needs to be strong enough for you to stand out from the crowd by showcasing your skills, your talents and your personality. A well-prepared application can show you to be a unique individual worth having at an institution.\nA student’s application package includes their academic transcripts, certificates, curriculum vitae and proofs of volunteer work and extracurricular activities. The more activities you have joined, the more experiences you will seem to have acquired, which is universally seen as a plus in applicants. During school breaks there are many study camps and activities waiting for you to explore. Don’t miss out on them!\nGET GOOD GRADES\nEvery university takes a hard look at the academic transcripts of new applicants. Grades can tell admission officials a lot about the level of your understanding of academic subjects and your interest in them.\nTake a look at your transcripts and see how much effort you have put into various subjects based on your scores\nand grades. You may well need to try harder on specific subjects required by the faculty in which you hope to enrol.\nIf your grades in the past two years were not that good, don’t give up just yet! You still have time to improve them in the current orupcomingacademicyear.If,thatis,you have begun preparing for the university admission procedure early enough.\n  Grades can tell admission officials a lot about the level of your understanding of academic subjects and your interest in them.\n  BANGKOK POST INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n45\n","ENROL IN EXTRA ACADEMIC COURSES\nSyllabuses at many international schools contain quite a few difficult subjects, especially mathematics, biology, physics and chemistry. They can be tricky subjects for many students but you may well need to get good scores on them in order to enrol at a more prestigious university.\nIf you need improvements in your knowledge, you can always take some extra courses either on campus or off it. If such courses are not readily available or you cannot take them for whatever reason, you can always decamp to the school library, fetch some textbooks and buckle down to it.\nIt is always a good idea to brush up on your knowledge of key subjects in your free time and during school breaks to\nget ready for new academic years in high school. That way you will not be struggling when school starts. As a result, you will have more time to study for your exams and get good scores.\nPARTICIPATE IN ACTIVITIES AT SCHOOL\nActivities in school can provide important life experiences and equip you with social skills. Not only that, but they tend to be plenty of fun too.\nDuring your final year of high school, though, all that time for fun may well be up if your grades are not up to par. You may need to quit some activities and focus instead more on your upcoming exams. If you want to get good scores on exams to get into a university faculty of your\nchoosing, you will do well to spend your last year of high school studying hard.\nHowever, if you are already acing your exams there is no reason why you should not spend some time doing things other than cramming some more for exams.\n  Admission systems are quite tricky as they can be changed and updated each year. It is important to stay up to speed about requirements.\n   46 BANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n"," UNDERSTAND ADMISSION SYSTEMS AND BE UP TO DATE WITH REQUIREMENTS\nIf you wish to gain admission to a university in Thailand through the country’s university admission system, you need to stay alert. Admission systems are quite tricky as they can be changed and updated each year. It is important to stay up to speed about requirements.\nYou can find updated information from the Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT) at its website: http:// www.cupt.net.\nYou should also get to know TCAS, the current university entrance system. TCAS, which is short for Thai University Central Admission System, is a new system that has been in place since the 2018 academic year. The Ministry of Education\nassigned CUPT to design the system with the aim of improving admissions criteria. The university entrance system designed by CUPT consists of several steps:\n1. Portfolio: There is no written examination in this step. Most students are selected by their achievements and abilities, the outcomes of a personal interview and their portfolio. For those who have special skills such as athletic achievements and musical talents can apply directly to select institutes.\n2. Quota with written examination: In this step, each university has its own system and examination to select students.\n3. Admissions: It is the largest recruiting round because tests are provided to students throughout the country. CUPT hosts the tests, but each university can have its own criteria for selecting students.\n4. Direct admission: Each college and university can specify methods according to which they select students if there are available seats left in specific programmes.\nBANGKOK POST 47 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n  TCAS, which is short for Thai University Central Admission System,\nis a new system that has been in place since the 2018 academic year.\n  "," CHIN UP AND CARRY ON\nWhat happens if you miss out on a place at the university of your choice? There is no need to despair.\n Studying at a university is not only an important step for having a good future career but often an invaluable life experience as well. Frequently it is during those few years of college that young people begin to explore life to the fullest on their own for the first time in their lives, discover new avenues of knowledge and make new friends for life.\nYet not all colleges and universities are equal in the quality of education, social environment and prestige they offer. Most high-school students have their preferences, yet at the most prestigious institutions many times more applicants vie for limited places than can gain entry to them.\nThat means that many otherwise qualified candidates miss out on a place at their\nPrestigious universities are not the only places where you can thrive. In fact, much of what you accomplish at a place of higher education generally comes down to your own attitude.\nuniversity of choice. If that happens, what to do? Hanging your head in shame or despair will hardly be of much help. Instead, you can redouble your efforts to\nimprove your knowledge and study skills. It is time to refocus your attention on your textbooks in the hope that next year you will be in a better position to be accepted.\nHowever, you can also recalibrate your expectations and apply for another institution where you have a better chance of gaining entrance. Prestigious universities are not the only places where you can thrive. In fact, much of what you accomplish at a place of higher education generally comes down to your own attitude: your willingness to put in the hours during your studies, your openness to new experiences, and your seriousness about achieving your educational aims.\nHere are three things worth knowing before you enrol at a university:\n   48\nBANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n","1IT IS NOT A BAD IDEA TO TAKE A GAP YEAR\nIt is common for many teenagers graduating from high school in the West to take a year-long break to go travelling to explore the world or work as interns or volunteers. By doing so, they can learn a lot about themselves, including what really interests them and what profession they might find most rewarding to pursue as their future career.\nIn Thailand, taking a gap year is not all that common. In fact, many people frown upon the very idea. High-school students are expected transition to their university studies as soon as they graduate from secondary school. The prevalent attitude here is that that young people are better off finishing their studies and finding a well- paying job at their earliest chance. Taking a year off between high school and university is widely seen as wasting one’s time.\nSuch pressures, however, force many students to embark on courses of study for which they may be temperamentally unsuited or in which they might lack real interest. That is hardly a recipe for a fulfilling career. As a result, upon graduating from a university many Thai students end up being back at square one with the need or desire, or both, to enrol in a new course of study that they find more suitable for themselves and their envisioned career.\nStarting at a university a year or two late does not mean you are falling behind. If anything, it can be a blessing by enabling you to become a more mature university student with a better idea of what you want to do in future.\n  Starting at a university\na year or two late does not mean you are falling behind. If anything, it can be a blessing by enabling you to become a more mature university student.\n   BANGKOK POST INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\n49\n"," 2 TRY TO GET GOOD GRADES, BUT DON’T FORGET TO ACQUIRE LIFE EXPERIENCES\nMany professionals in the know stress that experience and dedication are often much more reliable predictors of success in a chosen career than merely having acquired good grades in school in certain subjects. As a result, many university students make a mistake by focusing almost exclusively on their exams while missing out on extracurricular and other activities.\nTo be sure, focusing on too many things might well leave you with too little time to focus on your studies, which can lead to poor grades. Yet burying your nose in books all the time may not be a wise course of action, either. It is a bit of a balancing act.\nLife experiences could well count for a lot in future when you apply for a job. Companies are often overwhelmed by applications for coveted job openings and recruiters usually evaluate candidates based both on their transcripts and on their levels of experience. Well-rounded candidates tend to have both good grades and valuable experience in equal measure.\nMany universities offer plenty of extracurricular activities, from volunteer work to athletic pursuits, to their students. Participating in various activities can be a good thing because doing so provides you with various extra benefits: better social skills, new areas of knowledge and opportunities to test yourself.\nThe trick is to organise your time so that you can focus on your studies as well. Good transcripts are not everything but you might miss some opportunities if you do not have them!\n3\nA UNIVERSITY DOES NOT TEACH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO LEARN\n50\nBANGKOK POST\nINTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 2020-2021\nAn often-voiced complaint about many universities is that the subjects that are taught there tend to have too heavy a focus on their theoretical aspects with few real-world applications. As a result, students never acquire practical knowledge and valuable life experience in their selected fields of study. Yet they will need to have such knowledge and experience for a successful career.\nThis might be true. However, students do not need to limit themselves to content taught in the classroom. In fact, smart students rarely do. Insights into many subjects can be acquired outside classrooms through extracurricular activities, online seminars and the like.\nLife experiences could well count for a lot in future when you apply for a job.\nThe modern world provides curious minds with endless opportunities to broaden their horizons and acquire practical knowledge or direct experiences. Often all you need to do so is have a bit of initiative. The Internet is a seemingly infinite depository of human knowledge if you know where to look so you can set about exploring the world at large even from your bedroom.\n",""," "];