Hello I have been researching for a few months now and am still struggling to find a good school for my kids to study in when going back to India. My job is remote so the location is not a constraint. Can anyone please share your advice and experiences. ? I keep reading that tier 1 cities like Bangalore will make it easier for kids to adjust. But again my kids will be outsiders learning a new language etc etc I see that IB schools will make the transition easier for the kids but I have heard that IB schools will still have iPads and other electronics which is again a menace. So I’m completely lost here. Looking for someone to help me make my decision easier. Oakridge and Kendriya vidyalaya are two options I’ve considered but again Oakridge might have iPads and Kendriya vidyala is a public school which might have public with bad habits I know I’m being picky but it will be a BIG MOVE for the kids I don’t want to have to move the kids again once I join them for any reason. In the us the middle schools my kid is going to has vaping , drugs which is the main reason I was planning on going to India. Also this made me realize I need to send my kids to a private school where kids need to pass some certain requirements to gain admission and not all scap from the streets is allowed to attend Also I can see my kids becoming Americanized talking and asking about boyfriends. I understand India is now also the same but it will be a bit better with the society condemning such things ( at least a little bit ) rather than ONLY parents condemning such things at home. This is the peak age where kids habits , nature are being formed so I want to make the best decision I can for them. Please help. And again please don’t waste precious time by finding faults in my posts and side tracking my posts. I am trying to juggle a full time job and manage the house, kids and their activities and find time in between to finalize e the schools and this whole moving to India part. !! I request you to make it easier for me and not harder. thank you for your cooperation. schools in India have already started on June 12th. I have been searching since March but u fortunately could not decide and finalize anything. There is no way we can go wrong as schools in USA start in September and in case we are making a mistake we can come back in Time for school in USA
I'm sorry to say this, but moving to India just because the middle school has issues with vaping and drugs seems extreme. From what I've read in your previous posts, as parents, it's our duty to protect, teach, monitor, and guide our children. We can only exert control up to a certain age, after which they must navigate their own lives. Avoiding problems won't solve them in the long run. If you run away from one issue, another may surface. Just because a middle school has issues with drugs doesn't mean your child will use them. Even if we shield them now, we can't always be there to watch over them. Therefore, our best option is to teach and monitor them until they mature.I have seen parents who are control freaks and refuse to trust their kids suffer alone later in life.
Wonder if you have left it too late. You should have been in India two months before school starts. But anyways, being in India and visiting schools and talking to parents and teachers would be the best way. no matter what someone says, seeing with your own eyes is helpful. Also where are you going to stay in India. This will take a few months to settle in. Leaving your American schooled kid in the middle of the school year with aggressive curriculum will give your kid a really rough start. My recommendation would be to go to India now and do the necessary knowledge gathering. Make a call based on what you find. If you leave tomorrow you will still have a month to do your homework and in case you want to postpone your move to a year, your kid will also have time to get back into school in US. Your plan b also should be to move your kid to a different middle school and this could be a private school which has more eyes watching the kids.
Either way I have my heart in moving back to India. If not now maybe next year. Can someone please share their experiences and where / which city they have joined their kids in ?? If I try now maybe I can make a decision by next year.
I take that back about Bangalore. It is not our home place but being in IT I think I would move there even for my career. So location especially Bangalore is fine with me. But where and which locality would kids be able to adjust. Which school ?? I read up Oakridge and it does not have good reviews as of now. Please share experiences of anyone who has moved to India successfully.
What do you mean the school does not have good reviews. Is that in comparison with another school. Do you have a link to share? What are you looking for in the school. Which grade?
First find an apartment in Bangalore . I have lived in Bangalore and recommend areas like malleswaram and nearby areas . Once you find home go to schools and try to get admission. Usually with donation you can get admission. Also find tutors for second language . First one year focus on adjusting not on grades . Kids are very resilient and they will have so much fun . Secondly enroll them in Indian activities like music or dance . You can make lots of friend . Third find a full time helper for you to help cooking and cleaning . If you find a home closer to school you don’t need car or driver . You should probably get oci for you and your kids. After a year you will have more data points to decide than now . Best of luck . Since your heart is set in moving back to India why delay . Btw if you have remote job you it is still good . You can sleep during day time and work in night time .
What grades are your children entering? It is not easy to join in the best schools in any Indian city. You should sort out the admissions first before you make plans to move. If you move to an apartment complex there will be a large community of kids so they will have friends. You will probably have to arrange for extra support until they get used to the education system. If you can afford it you can send them to a school like the American International School in Chennai but the fees are equivalent to a private school in the US.
Hi Eager, I don't know if you gave the thought about the "academic pressure". In my observation academic pressure is too high in india compare to US. Any kids coming from india even in the middle of the academic year will find it easy to grasp US syllabus but kids from US will find it hard to take the load of Indian syllabus ( whichever board it is). Then the other factors like culture, environment comes into picture. Same goes with work culture. In US at least 50 percentage of the time you can leave office on time, take vacations when you want or your family needs you. In india if you leave on time then people will think you are not committed enough. Then the travelling time. I am not saying india is bad or US is better but there are certain aspects that needs to consider as per situation. I am from india and I love my country. Grass is always greener on the other side!
Whatever you do you need few things. Money, time and people. If you have any of these 3 everything will be easy for you. From your previous posts I felt your people (family,friends)are in US. You will definitely get more personal time in US compare to india. If you have enough money to compensate everything above then it's upto you.
