New to Expat.com, but in the Philippines for a decade.

GuestPoster9673 wrote:

I have been in the Philippines with my wife and our daughter for almost a decade.

I am retired (semi).

My wife and daughter are both dual citizens of the United States and the Philippines.

We bought land on Panay and built a house there.

We plan to return to the U.S. in a few years for our daughter to attend college. My wife and I will be returning to the workforce at that time.

In the meantime we are "loving living" in the Philippines.

Good to hear and welcome to the forum!

Are you sure that the grade and high school education you give your child(ren) here will translate well in a college Stateside? The level of education here in general is really low, and doesn’t translate in good at every level (I taught at a college here and looked at others).

Interesting that you bought land and built a house on Panay?
We live in Iloilo and have been casting about for a decent lot from Maasin to Guimeras and in between. Living in Villa west of the city centre, we’ve been looking for about 4 months, but as we get further into it, it’s is discouraging at best.
Where did you end up building?

Glad to hear back on how things unfolded for you,...

Bruce

I am positive, since I home school. We have engaged in SAT diagnostics for the past year and my student is consistently above the 90th percentile. We already have a strategy devised for her U.S. high school diploma and are planning to do the SAT and possibly the ACT as well. She should be a college freshmen by the time she is 17. We even have a short list of Universities and specific programs. She has been a coder for a few years now and excels in mathematics.

I have taken a lot of standardized tests like the ACT, SAT, GMAT and have held a few tech certs in the past, so I have been teaching her strategies for test taking.

I don't think we will have any problem at all (other than sorting through all of the scholarships). 

As for buying and building, I have outlined the buying process here: philippinedestiny.com/2019/09/buying-land-in-philippines-subdivision-survey.html

That is the first in a multi-part series and links to other parts are included.

I have not written about building yet.

Thank you!

Welcome to the forum Philippine Destiny, informative info on your site.
I personally hope you contribute further here.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl wrote:

Welcome to the forum Philippine Destiny, informative info on your site.
I personally hope you contribute further here.

Cheers, Steve.

Thank you very much and I do hope to contribute more.

robal wrote:

Philippine Destiny wrote:

I have been in the Philippines with my wife and our daughter for almost a decade.

I am retired (semi).

My wife and daughter are both dual citizens of the United States and the Philippines.

We bought land on Panay and built a house there.

We plan to return to the U.S. in a few years for our daughter to attend college. My wife and I will be returning to the workforce at that time.

In the meantime we are "loving living" in the Philippines.

Good to hear and welcome to the forum!

Thank you for the welcome.

I had to delete my original account and I am back with this new one now.

Welcome, thank you for your contributions to the forum.. and raising a capable daughter, haha.

There are accredited universities here in Philippines and tuition is 1/10 of the US.

moonunit0103 wrote:

There are accredited universities here in Philippines and tuition is 1/10 of the US.

I just finished (2 years ago) paying the four year college tuition for a relative here in the Philippines who is now a teacher.

1/10 the tuition is an exaggeration. And it is all relative. Quality is very wide ranging.

And the term "accredited" needs to be explained. Accredited by whom? The accreditation may not meet the requirements of our specific plan (if it did then I would have a different plan).

When you add in the grants and scholarships that we will have at US universities the cost may be less than even the cheapest Philippine university. It may actually be free.

We also have a good idea of the job field after graduation. A US degree will make getting a job with US employers go smoother. Many employers, particularly my former employer, require foreign degrees to be evaluated by a 3rd party service. And there is no guarantee of a pass.

Our daughter might actually go to the same university that I graduated from and maybe even through the same program, since it is now 100% online. I could then help her get a job with my former employer.

We have our plan all mapped out from primary/secondary through college and all the way to the workforce.

We have been living in the Philippines and homeschooling here for ten years and are now in the high school phase.

https://www.philippinedestiny.com/2019/ … pines.html

How was homeschooling?  I would like to know more about experience.

What University did you attend?  US University have become feminist indoctrination camps.  Nice girls from good homes go away to college now and come back with green hair, tattoos, etc.

Not sure if I would pay for college unless it was STEM.  My daughters became a dental hygienist and the other a chiropractor.  In the US, many college grads are saddled with huge school loans, yet are waiting tables, unable to find a career in Gender Studies.

moonunit0103 wrote:

How was homeschooling?  I would like to know more about experience.

What University did you attend?  US University have become feminist indoctrination camps.  Nice girls from good homes go away to college now and come back with green hair, tattoos, etc.

Not sure if I would pay for college unless it was STEM.  My daughters became a dental hygienist and the other a chiropractor.  In the US, many college grads are saddled with huge school loans, yet are waiting tables, unable to find a career in Gender Studies.

This is my homeschool article:
https://www.philippinedestiny.com/2019/ … pines.html

I majored in Business Information Systems. I came out of college with $0 in loans. I was eligible for grants and scholarships and worked two jobs through most of it with one of my employers paying the tuition for about a year.

I understand the state of university politics. Colleges and universities have been left leaning since at least   the 1960s (long before that honestly). STEM is not immune.

We like the more rural state universities. We are also looking at online programs where we can live in any part of a particular state and still get in-state rates. One in particular is affordable even if attending from the Philippines. It started out as a two year school and began offering bachelors'. They serve the military community, so they began a robust set of online programs.

I am from Virginia, and am impressed with Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA. Is the largest online University in US.

I attended Virginia Tech undergraduate, Mercer University for Pharmacy, and Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry. 

I read your website about homeschooling. Very good information.

Is your wife Filipino?

It is looking like the powers that be are planning very bad things for Virginia. Lines are being formed.

Not sure what to make of it, but I have friends who are looking to move, one is interested in the Philippines.

Is your wife a Filipina? What drove your decision to move to Philippines?  I have been here 6 months this time, married, and have applied for a CR1 Visa for her to come to US. I am happy here, but have some medical issues that require that I be in the US.

moonunit0103 wrote:

Not sure what to make of it, but I have friends who are looking to move, one is interested in the Philippines.

Is your wife a Filipina? What drove your decision to move to Philippines?  I have been here 6 months this time, married, and have applied for a CR1 Visa for her to come to US. I am happy here, but have some medical issues that require that I be in the US.

What is happening in the US is happening everywhere.

Anyhow, my wife and daughter are both dual citizens of the US and the Philippines.

@daenr

I'm not sure where you get that. If you are talking about public schools, I might agree, but there are private schools here that are better than most schools in the US. My daughter goes to SHS Ateneo de Cebu (there is a branch in Iloilo too), and the education is top notch. In the ninth grade, her curriculum includes trigonometry, chemistry, social studies, computer studies, home economics (where they study budgeting), gym, English, Mandarin Chinese and Tagalog, among other things. You would be hard pressed to find a school teaching ninth grade students at that level in the US. The system here is certainly different that in the US, but the education is NOT necessarily inferior. Don't believe what you hear from those who don't actually have first-hand experience.

@Headshot1k

Hello and welcome !

Thank you for sharing !

However, please note that this is an old thread. We will be glad to read your experience on more recent topics of the Philippines forum.

All the best

Bhavna

@Headshot1k

, but the education is NOT necessarily inferior

Really? The vast majority of Filipinos cannot even name the capitals of neighbouring countries in their backyard.

The level of ignorance is quite astounding. Given that they spend most of the day glued to their phones you would think that at least they would take the time to self educate themselves instead of watching Tik Tok memes

"Filipino students score in reading (347), science (357) and math (353) remain well below OECD average of 472-485. Our students ranked 60th out of 62 countries in creative thinking. Another study showed that GEN Z students is (sic) the first generation to show a lower IQ than their previous generation. The numbers don’t lie, our human resource asset, which we rely heavily on for overseas employment and dollars, is losing its quality."

source: pna.gov.ph

@Bhavna

Thanks for that, but people are still replying. Is there an easy way to navigate the website to pick out all new topics?

@Lotus Eater

I agree that the Philippines does NOT emphasize geography, but there is a reason why half of the registered nurses in the US are from the Philippines. They are well-trained. The Philippine educational system emphasizes those things that will get them the jobs they want. I have two siblings who majored in Geography at well-known universities in the US, and neither of them actually worked in a job related to geography.

On the other hand, there is also a reason why half of those staying in the Philippines are unemployed or underemployed. The public school system (DEPED) is failing the Filipino children, and most students have no choice but to use these schools. There are some excellent private schools here (not all but some) that teach far above the level experienced by American students. That education, however, comes at a price that most Filipinos can't afford.

@Bhavna
Thanks for that, but people are still replying. Is there an easy way to navigate the website to pick out all new topics? - @Headshot1k

New topics are first on the forum. You can also check the date.

@Headshot1k

“have two siblings who majored in Geography at well-known universities in the US, and neither of them actually worked in a job related to geography.”

You miss the point. Geography is just one aspect of the knowledge spectrum which I used as an example. Your two siblings apply for a position in a firm. The interviewer states he is from a relatively unknown country and the sibling will know the capital. This will impress and can be used in business and networking conversations worldwide.

Most of the state education which I was referring to in my original post is done on a rote basis. The majority of Filipinos struggle to think laterally and outside the box and close circles when in group mode and gang up. It’s the mindset.

The most important cerebral deficit they suffer from  is something that they don’t  teach in schools. Common sense.

@BhavnaThanks for that, but people are still replying. Is there an easy way to navigate the website to pick out all new topics? - @Headshot1k

When you posted to this thread you resurrected it.

There is no policy against posting to older threads, but the OP (original poster) daenr, to whom you were replying, has not signed on to expat.com in over a year. It is doubtful that you will receive a reply/response from them.

Headshot1K said to . . . daenr   I'm not sure where you get that. If you are talking about public schools, I might agree, but there are private schools here that are better than most schools in the US. My daughter goes to SHS Ateneo de Cebu (there is a branch in Iloilo too), and the education is top notch. In the ninth grade, her curriculum includes trigonometry, chemistry, social studies, computer studies, home economics (where they study budgeting), gym, English, Mandarin Chinese and Tagalog, among other things. You would be hard pressed to find a school teaching ninth grade students at that level in the US. The system here is certainly different that in the US, but the education is NOT necessarily inferior. Don't believe what you hear from those who don't actually have first-hand experience.

*****************************

My grandson who is living with us goes to public school, I'm shocked . . . . The school has so many off days for flimsy reasons. If  his teacher is out there are no substitutes.

I inquired into private Manila schools:

Budget: $3,000 to $4700

Mid Tier: $5800 to $9200

Premium $1100 to $16,000

All in USD.

Headshot1K cost may very where you live. Would you mind  sharing the cost, others can chime in too.

@Enzyte Bob

Annual tuition this year for ninth grade at SHS Ateneo de Cebu was 129k pesos, which is about $2,150 USD. With the exception of the two international schools here in Cebu, Ateneo is the most expensive school in the area. I agree with you that they have way too many holidays here. Catholic schools have even more days off than the public schools have.

Rote learning IS still a big thing here in the Philippines, but they also use a lot of group projects and written essays in the private schools. Rote learning for some things isn't a bad thing (for the most part geography, languages and math are learned through rote, otherwise known as memorization), but you are right in that most Filipinos have a hard time thinking for themselves. That is partly because of the way students stay with the same group all the way through school (what they call batches). However, those who can think for themselves likely went to better private schools. University education here is a totally different can of worms. Those who haven't learned to think for themselves really struggle. It is getting better since they changed primary and secondary education from ten grades to twelve grades.

A lot of Filipinos don't like the new twelve grade system, but there are always short-sighted people (regardless of where you are in the world). It depends on how the schools use the extra two years as to how much improvement there is in the kids' education. Then again, one thing I have learned living here in the Philippines is that foreigners should NEVER advise Filipinos on how to run their country. If you want to live here, you either use their systems or you go your own way (such as with home schooling). It does no good to complain about how they do things. It will only make you unpopular and unhappy.

Bill