One of the most important considerations in choosing a boarding school for your son or daughter is what goes on in the classroom and in the larger school community. In other words, what are they teaching, and how are they teaching it?
You must never assume that, just because a school enjoys a solid reputation, has been there forever, and looks wonderful on the surface, it will provide the kind of teaching you want and expect for your child. Doing your due diligence with respect to the curriculum and how it is taught has to be one of the most important parts of your school evaluation process.
Here's how to proceed:
- Observe
- Question
- Research
Observe
When you visit the school for your admissions interview, try to do so while the school is in session. Summer visits are often more convenient for all of us, but you won't be able to observe any classes. Summer sessions do not usually offer a typical classroom experience. So you cannot judge the teaching or what is being taught by what you see during the summer. The teaching staff is frequently not the same as the faculty who teach during the year. Because it is summer, the whole atmosphere is much more relaxed.
When you visit the school and observe a class, is the class size small? Do students interact with the teacher and each other? Are the students learning how to think analytically? Are they using texts? Laptops? Are they sitting around a table in the Harkness-style classroom? Does the teacher
