Opinions on Hi-Scope schools

[azrielariel]

It's getting close to the first scouting trip. This one is to lay the groundwork for the little ones school and from there find a place to live (very near by). The Hi-scope schools were said to be fairly good. Does anyone have their munchkins in one of these? What might they be like for a 5 and 7 year old? The plan is to go there for about 5 years and then come back. From what I've seen on-line they seem ok but as is sometimes the case with advertising, it may not be what you expect.

 

[waarmstrong]

Our daughter attended High Scope Cilandak through the third grade. We picked the school for several reasons, but mostly because it fit with our goal of introducing to our daughter, Indonesia language and culture as part of a well rounded up-bringing for a mixed marriage child. High Scope is a national plus, bilingual school. We were planning for her to attend through the 6th grade before returning to the States for middle and high school.

The school was pretty good academically, but culture-wise we got a bit more than we wanted. The attitudes of many of the students and their parents oozed class consciousness entitlement, and ostentatious, vulgar and pretentious displays of wealth and connection, as well as disdain for any sort of egalitarian ideas. The school, knowing from where its financial well being derived, sucked up to that element.

Such a mind set was beginning to make an impression; we decided to accelerate our move date.

 

[azrielariel]

I see it here within the wife's group of friends as well. The bigger the gap between haves and have nots the more compelled some feel to forcibly demonstrate they're an elite, whether they can afford it or not. I know most can't. I saw that by virtue of there being a star bucks in jakarta and they charge about the same price as they do here. "They want to be western" is what I was told. That's lame. I look at intrinsic value, not perception. 7-11 coffee is just as good and cost 1/4. As my wife says, I am beyond cheap and won't waste money to impress anyone. People don't realize no one really cares. It's not that hard to appear wealthy in a poor country and making a would be snob feel stupid isn't hard to do. Done that more times than I care to remember. Bottom line is, I'll have to stay on top of where the noses are pointed.

 

[William King]

I know of the schools, they are very good and very affordable.

 

[Minuteman]

When my son started the 1st grade in a "national plus" school, I anticipated the class status and race problems. It is a mostly Chinese Indonesian school with a good curriculum. I told my son AND the teaching staff that if he had to defend himself that he had my express permission to kick butt and then report to the staff. He did pretty well, never lost a fight and I was only called in twice in 11 years. He is now nearly 17, 6 feet 1 inch tall, a major player on the school basketball team and is tri-lingual: English, Indonesian and Mandarin...fluent in all.

 

[azrielariel]

Boxing may be part of the curriculum. It's like any other school then. My son is in Kindergarten here and has already been called in a couple times for the usual things boys do.

 

[Scooterindo]

Both our kids have attended high scope in Bali for a good few years now.
They are a good school to be honest and I have a pretty good relationship with the boys teachers and the headmistress is a personal friend.

They paint themselves as a very progressive school and in some ways they are but they still struggle to adequately handle issues of bullying and religious education is the usual brainwashing bullshit. I have confronted the school on both issues.

The boys eventually realised that as twins they hold the advantage and the pair of them gave the bully a good hiding. My wife had also confronted the school a number of times on the issue and when the call came she pointed out that she had already pointed out that their limp wristed "problem solving sessions" they do with the kids was a waste of time and if they had grown some balls and dealt with it like responsible adults in charge of a school then it wouldn't have resulted in a smashed laptop and a broken nose.

As for the religion shit I have argued the case that I want my boys to learn a bit about Christianity and Hinduism (we do live in Bali FFS) but they flatly refuse even as an extracurricular lesson because as muslims they can only learn about Islam.
The boys are 13 now and we discuss things on the subject, my kids soak this up and now challenge the RE teacher who doesn't answer their questions and wont engage in any debate - so its the usual brainwashing "accept what I say mentality"

Apart from that generally we are very happy with the school and its curriculum. The homework regime can be a bit heavy. But the lessons are interesting and the kids seem to enjoy school. The snobbery aspect of the parents isn't an issue in Bali and I'm pleased that my kids transcend all the economic spectrums of their school friends without issue or prejudice.

 

[azrielariel]

Just got back from the intro trip. Went to the school in S. Jakarta and it seems pretty decent. Now it's a matter of getting visas and all the rest of the mumbo jumbo done plus the house and car in place. My goodness, the SUVs are expensive and the funny thing is I won't even be able to drive the thing. The wife doesn't want to even though it is her country. It will take a while but eventually I'll take the wheel (properly licensed) and see what happens.

The place we picked out to live is within about 10 minutes walking distance to the school and it's a rental for a year. So, even if the driver (which was initially a surprise that we have to hire) is a no show the little ones can hike it in with their mom. With the exchange rate being what it is, the cost is a little less painful. To me, anything above zero is a pain. Here goes.

 

[Puspawarna]

Thanks for the update, and good luck with settling in.

 

[snpark]

Another useful addition to the family would be a little scooter thingy, that way at least the wife or the maid can pop down to the shops and / or also drop the kids off at school (assuming you trust her on a bike and she can ride one)
Then the 10min walk is a 1 min ride only

 

[steveandpenny]

Might I ask where you are coming from ? Cause if it's the states any school here is safer then the schools there . No one here gets shot here because someone is having a bad day. Yes I'm from the states and am loving the new exchange rate. Good luck

 

[waarmstrong]

Shot in school here? Not likely. Getting blown up while at the mall is a possibility. But take heart, its about as common as getting shot in an American school.

 

[steveandpenny]

Shot in school here? Not likely. Getting blown up while at the mall is a possibility. But take heart, its about as common as getting shot in an American school.

Lol yeah the way not to get shoot in some areas of the states is never look at anybody , stay inside and carry a gun. It all comes easy when you live there and I lived there for 50 years and i was only shoot at twice in all those years . Had guns pointed at me many times but i was a asshole.
And you know I'm just being cheeky except about being shot at twice.

 

[azrielariel]

Told the wife about the getting shot thing and her response was the only place where you can be where you won't run into crazy people is the deep jungle. But, you may run into a lion, tiger or a band of starving monkeys.

 

[snpark]

More likely to get crushed by a lambo in a warung or poisoned by some coffee

 

[snpark]

btw if they tell you the stock market is collapsing, they mean it literally

 

[El_Goretto]

Having a driver is a matter of preference, really.

It's a good idea to have a driver if you can afford one when you arrive, because it can be overwhelming. After a while and once you have learned a bit of bahasa Indonesia (if you haven't already) and you're more adjusted, you can start by taking the car on Sunday mornings when your driver is off and the streets are quiet and take it from there.

That's what I did and when my driver disappeared, I found it too much hassle to hire a new one. Been driving myself since then (about 6.5 years).

 

[waarmstrong]

Same here, finding long term household help can be more hassle than it seems to be worth. We did the throw up our hands thing after two drivers quit w/o explanation in rapid succession. Wife now drives in Jakarta when we don't use Grab and I drive in Pella (small Midwestern town USA). I do have an Indonesian SIM, but rarely get behind the Kijang wheel any more.

 

[jstar]

It breaks my heart to say this; but in fact you don't need a car here of course. I calculated already a couple of times for people what would be more profitable. And if they take 3 return trips per day (one from Jakarta Utara to Jakarta Pusat and two in Utara itself) it is still much cheaper to take a Grab than owning your own car.

Not to forget the stress of driving yourself, or having to facilitate and feed a driver, and getting a parking at a shopping mall / school / work / etc. So the only time owning a car is really indispensable -not considering the financials- is if you have (younger) kids at school which is not located close by. (That's more from a convenience and safety view.)

 

[azrielariel]

Jstar you're right. A lot of people don't need a car and many can't really afford it but the streets of Jakarta sing a different tune. There are a lot of strange to the west concepts and family interactions that I'm just beginning to recognize even exist let alone comprehend, this being one of them.