Education Expo

So, here we all are at the Education Expo, at the Queen Sirikit Convention Center in downtown Bangkok. It is a very small convention center for Bangkok. The Expo ran Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10-7. I worked the whole day all three days, so tired by Sunday night. Luckily, today, Monday is a holiday in Thailand, so I have the day off to rest and catch up on life. Nobody can tell me what the holiday is about, just that it is a Buddhist holiday.

The Expo was very exciting and gave me a chance to talk to many parents from around the world. Even the ones who didn't speak English, which was most of them, wanted to talk and find out more about Montessori. Montessori is old and new here. Let me explain. They use many blended curriculums in schools in Asia. So, many schools say they use a Montessori curriculum, however there are no trained Montessori teacher in these schools. So it isn't a true Montessori school or program. And since some of these school have been in Bangkok for quite sometime parents here think they know Montessori. They want to know what is unique and new about Montessori Academy of Bangkok. Well, for a start we are a true Montessori School, with trained teachers in each classroom.

Plus we are a tri-lingual program, English, Thai and Mandarin. That was what most parents were excited about and me too. I told Kent we should have done this when Kristina was 1 year old. Then she would have the gift of three languages. We aren't very good in states about teaching languages to our children. Most people in Thailand speak at least 2 or 3 languages. And I'm the only teacher at the school who does not have a second language. However, I am a native English speaker, this is very important to all of the parents. This may sound strange, but parents over here like that I look very western. At times in Colorado, I felt that if I wasn't blond and blue eyed I would have been able to go farther at schools. Because they are struggling to find diversity here my appearances are an asset. I am the diversity. Strange feeling.