Q. I am quite confused about the various options for schools from which I have to choose the best one for my daughter, who’s going to enter her academic career. Please help!
Ans. While you've been the primary teacher for your child in the first few years of her life, now it's time to broaden her horizons and let others help her develop into a smart, confident and respectful adult.
With the start of new academic year 2017-2018, parents are rushing for their child to get admission into the best school (CBSE, UP board or any other state board) where their kid may develop his/her academic as well as social skills in the best possible way. But choosing a school nowadays is not as easy as having a piece of cake. One has to check out for each and every aspect of the place where his child will spend the next 14-15 years of his/her life. Besides the quality education provided by the school, there are so many things that need to be considered.
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It’s not enough if the school has a great building, play areas, air conditioned classrooms, activity labs and computers or tablets. There is more to learning than just an infrastructure and facilities. Extra curricular activities, outreach to other prestigious organizations which can counsel the students for non-academic endeavors, annual fee structure, publishers supplying the study material, are some of the prime things which must be taken into account before enrolling your kid in a school. After all, passing out from a good school is a ticket to future success.
Thus, while taking the most crucial decision of choosing a school, parents must act very wisely and be inquisitive to find out all the necessary details, as it would impact your child’s present as well as future.
Here are 10 important things to consider while choosing the best school for your kid:
1. Education comes as a series of learning activities. Everytime your child will be posed to a new and different thing. So, ask the school how the faculty will teach your child to adapt to those uncertain and sudden changes.
2. Check out, how school will work to inculcate the habit of working successfully in groups and thinking critically to solve real life problems.
3. Find out, how well qualified the school teachers are. Inquire about their experience and abilities.
4. Ask the school authorities, if the teachers are being provided refresher training to keep them abreast of the latest methods of teaching and learning.
5. Check out, what efforts are taken by the school to break up the traditional classroom learning system. How many field trips, educational trips, community excursions and visits are scheduled in one academic year?
6. How the students are being given informational learning trainings through project work and activities other than the textbook?
7. How much school is able to get synchronized with the fast evolving technology? How this technology is woven with the traditional learning to make it more engaging and interesting? Are the teachers capable enough to use the digital aids, like images, video, and PPT presentations to augment their teaching?
8. Is the learning space, where your child will spend almost half a day daily, safe enough. How the school will take care of his/her emotional as well as physical well-being. Are background checks conducted on all employees, including the non-teaching support staff?
9. What elements do teachers use to inculcate the quality of discipline in a student. How do they deal with troublemakers? What extra efforts are made to take care of the weak students and help them meet their academic goals?
10. What is the criteria used by the school to evaluate a atudents abilities. Do assessments consist of observations and interviews that are far beyond the usual technique of pen and paper test? How the students are trained to be good at games (outdoor/indoor)and be a sportive personality.
Thus, all above mentioned queries must be taken into account to make the right decision of opting a school for your kids, so that you could put them on a path toward lifelong learning and a successful career.
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