Here is the thing - I figure that people who read this blog are: (1) Kind friends who read my blog in case I ask them about my blog, and don’t want to say that they haven’t read it, or (2) People who want to know what a fifteen-year educator knows about school selection. If you are the #2 kind of person - sorry for my wordiness, but it is hard to be succinct when you are passionate about something. If you are the #1 kind - I love you and you can be excused for today.
So before I launch into a diatribe about the critical nature of the school tour - let’s review. I am hoping that before you go into that next school tour you have talked with your partner/friend/significant other about your key educational values and your child’s critical needs in a school setting. If you have read this blog before, you might be gathering that I am obsessive about this point - and will return to it as often as necessary. (Read here and here if you don’t believe me.)
Without having this base, you are looking at a school without a focus. This can lead to distractions becoming a part of your school search. For instance:
--The “bright and shiny things” distraction. These are school amenities or programs that are available at a given school - but they may not contribute to the school in a way that is important to your family or your child. If you go into a school without your key values explicitly articulated, it is easy to be distracted by the new computer lab, the tennis courts, or the Nepalese bilingual immersion program. These could be amazing contributors to your child’s education - or they could take away from other programs that are deeply important to your family or your child. Something to think about is that even the schools with the most money and most resources have to make choices about where and how they focus those resources - they can't fund everything equally. Schools have to prioritize - as do families.
--The “personable people” distraction. Some schools have amazing admissions directors, heads of school, dynamic PTA leaders - and thank goodness for them. However, one person does not a school make. While I do think that principals/heads of school are important to the overall school climate and teaching atmosphere, it is important to find out how much that person you admire and connect with is involved in the children’s day-to-day lives at the school. What does their influence contribute to the school? The head of school may make you cry with joy when he talks about early childhood development, but he might not have much day-to-day contact with the teachers at the school. Also, it is important to know if having an enthusiastic head of school is important to you - or are there other things higher up on your priority list. It is important to decide before the personable people persuade you to sign up for a school that, in the end, doesn't match your needs.
--The "my best friend says" distraction. While other people's opinions, impressions, thoughts, etc. about schools you are looking at are important to hear - please don't let them choose for you. I recently spoke to a mom who did not consider a school for her child because her mother had negative things to say about it. Later, in desperation, she was convinced to look at the school and found it was exactly what she was looking for her children - and brought her mom on another tour later. Turns out that her mom had never seen the school either, but had "heard things" - which shaped her opinion. We all "hear" things about schools. Some of them are objectively true, some were true several years ago (but aren't true any more), and some are only subjectively true - they are true depending on who is doing the looking. Don't let other people sway you from checking out a school that seems like it matches your values. They are looking at the school from their value-colored lens...not from yours.
O.K. - so what do we do to keep from getting distracted while we are on the school tour?
--The "my best friend says" distraction. While other people's opinions, impressions, thoughts, etc. about schools you are looking at are important to hear - please don't let them choose for you. I recently spoke to a mom who did not consider a school for her child because her mother had negative things to say about it. Later, in desperation, she was convinced to look at the school and found it was exactly what she was looking for her children - and brought her mom on another tour later. Turns out that her mom had never seen the school either, but had "heard things" - which shaped her opinion. We all "hear" things about schools. Some of them are objectively true, some were true several years ago (but aren't true any more), and some are only subjectively true - they are true depending on who is doing the looking. Don't let other people sway you from checking out a school that seems like it matches your values. They are looking at the school from their value-colored lens...not from yours.
O.K. - so what do we do to keep from getting distracted while we are on the school tour?
(1) Have your top educational priorities written down in front of you for each school tour, to minimize the “bright and shiny” effect of certain tours. Check them off as you see them in the school and note how they are demonstrated. Are people just telling you that the school has "active learning" approach - or did you see the children in the classrooms participating actively with your own eyes. Write down your evidence and track it as you go through the tour. Then, later you can compare and contrast actual data on "active learning" (and other key priorities) between school sites when you are making your choice.
(2) Craft your questions about the school in advance of the tour and create a "form" that you fill out at each tour when you get your answers. Try to make sure you ask the same questions at each tour so you can compare apples to apples when the time comes.
Note: Don't be afraid to ask a question. Any question. They should be ready for you or they should get back to you quickly. If they aren't ready for a question about school diversity, or teacher training, or school finance stability, then you have your answer...it's not on their radar.
(3) Give yourself time, space, and care to be a good observer. Going into a school tour tired, hungry, stressed, anxious, or with an infant in tow, will color your experience of the school. Also, sadly, it will impair your ability to observe the setting. If you can, get a good nights rest, have breakfast, and drop your youngest off at your mom's house. Do what you can to be a focused observer with a calm and open mind.
(4) If you can, have someone else go and look either with you or at a different time. If you have a partner, send them on a different tour (with the same priority-based checklist) and see what they see. If you are doing this alone, go twice to the schools that are in your top three choices. Having multiple experiences with the same place will help double-check your first impression of the place and give you more data to compare and contrast.
(5) Note the red flags. I feel like these are probably different depending on who you are, but my red flags are dirty bathrooms or hallways (signs of not great management of staff and/or disorganization); extremely messy classrooms (either an unprepared teacher or one with not enough support to organize a little throughout the week); a shouting teacher (stress and school climate issues); and unfriendly support staff (again, a hiring and management issue - also a sign of an unhappy working environment). One family I know saw a rat at a school tour...and that was their red flag. Everyone has theirs - articulate them and write them down if you see them.
Note: If it is a "yellow flag" (something you see that bothers you just a little), still write it down and your feelings about it. What you observed might become an important deciding factor later when it is time to choose.
These are my tricks - what are yours? What are you looking for on your tours? How do you organize yourself? Post below and let me know what you think!
Note: Don't be afraid to ask a question. Any question. They should be ready for you or they should get back to you quickly. If they aren't ready for a question about school diversity, or teacher training, or school finance stability, then you have your answer...it's not on their radar.
(3) Give yourself time, space, and care to be a good observer. Going into a school tour tired, hungry, stressed, anxious, or with an infant in tow, will color your experience of the school. Also, sadly, it will impair your ability to observe the setting. If you can, get a good nights rest, have breakfast, and drop your youngest off at your mom's house. Do what you can to be a focused observer with a calm and open mind.
(4) If you can, have someone else go and look either with you or at a different time. If you have a partner, send them on a different tour (with the same priority-based checklist) and see what they see. If you are doing this alone, go twice to the schools that are in your top three choices. Having multiple experiences with the same place will help double-check your first impression of the place and give you more data to compare and contrast.
(5) Note the red flags. I feel like these are probably different depending on who you are, but my red flags are dirty bathrooms or hallways (signs of not great management of staff and/or disorganization); extremely messy classrooms (either an unprepared teacher or one with not enough support to organize a little throughout the week); a shouting teacher (stress and school climate issues); and unfriendly support staff (again, a hiring and management issue - also a sign of an unhappy working environment). One family I know saw a rat at a school tour...and that was their red flag. Everyone has theirs - articulate them and write them down if you see them.
Note: If it is a "yellow flag" (something you see that bothers you just a little), still write it down and your feelings about it. What you observed might become an important deciding factor later when it is time to choose.
These are my tricks - what are yours? What are you looking for on your tours? How do you organize yourself? Post below and let me know what you think!
Although your target "audience" is in the bay area, I found your insights and tips to be highly relevant to ANYONE seeking out an optimal environment for their child's early education experience. Furthermore, as an Early Childhood educator, I appreciate your mentioning some typical "red flags" as it provided me with some perspective on my work place environment. Much Thanks!:)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for taking the time to comment - I am very glad that you feel these words would be helpful to anyone looking for a quality environment for their child.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity - do you have any "red flags" that are different from mine? I would be interested to hear another teacher's opinion. Thanks!