We
have found parents walking on Pen-rose stairs while looking for
admission of their children. Here are some important points parents should not
miss while they are selecting school for their children.
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- Look beneath the label : "Public" or "private"
doesn't really tell you much, so don't scratch a school off your list
just because of how it's governed. There are 194 thousand Private Unaided
schools in India. So it’s a huge number.
The performance of these schools varies from being excellent to poor. So it's a big risk if you go only for the label. - Go for a test-drive : Visit the schools you're interested in during
a regular school day. Ask to observe teachers in class so you can get a
feel for how the adults treat the kids, parents and one another. You
don't have to be an expert to get a good sense of what is — or isn't —
happening in a classroom when you visit. Be unobtrusive, blend in, and
everyone will forget you are there. Are the students being engaged by the
teacher? Does the teacher check for understanding as he or she teaches?
If the students are working in small groups, are they on task or
chattering away about cricket match? Can the teachers talk with you after
class about the curriculum and how they make decisions and set
expectations? Perhaps most fundamental is whether the classroom is a
place you'd want to spend time in. Also, don't just visit the grade your
child is entering; visit a few others too, so you can really get a sense
of the place.
- Be diligent, but don't go
overboard : No school is perfect,
and if you go looking for perfection, you'll end up disappointed and
needlessly anxious about your child's education. Likewise, once you've
made your choice, don't check out, but you do have to trust the
professionals at the school.
- Keep pushing for more choices: Even though you might have settled to a choice
between few schools, you should always be open if a new option arises.
Your list of schools is a function of your research and it might be
possible that you have missed few options. So it is recommended that you
should always look for more choices until final admissions are not done.
- Follow your instincts: No matter how much field work you do, you should
always go by your instincts. Environment of a school is something that
cannot be drawn with infrastructure or any other physical entity. So it’s
important you follow your instincts.