Choosing the right school for your child is a crucial decision that can shape their educational journey. In this fireside chat, we explore key considerations, expert insights, and practical tips to help parents make informed choices that best suit their child's needs and family aspirations.
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NewsTranscript
00:00This is the second session that we're doing today, a very important one, about choosing
00:06the right school for your child.
00:09As we know, choosing the right school for your child is a crucial decision that can
00:13shape their educational journey, but can also have an influence on their future growth,
00:17their development, and have a big impact on the wider family.
00:21The UAE, particularly Dubai and the UAE, offers a multitude of educational opportunities for
00:26children.
00:27A diverse range of international and private schools came with various curricular cultures
00:32and preferences, and as a result, choosing the right school can be quite overwhelming.
00:36But in this next session, we're going to be in conversation about how to choose the right
00:41school for your child.
00:42We'll be joined on stage once again by Matthew DeSanto, Principal of the American School
00:46of Creative Science.
00:47Thank you very much for having me on stage again.
00:50A simple question to start with.
00:53As a family, what are the key things to consider before planning on the right school for your
00:59child?
01:00It's an easy one, but what are some of the key things?
01:05Especially for the first child, that's what the families, they always wonder, where should
01:10we send them?
01:11Should we send them to this school, that school?
01:14In most cases, usually parents should look at the culture of whatever they're looking
01:22at.
01:23They would like their child to be, for example, in the end, are they going to go and study
01:28in their home country?
01:29Then I need to decide where should I send them to?
01:33What school curricular should I send my child?
01:36We live in UAE, which is completely different than if we were living in our own home.
01:44UAE has a variety of different schooling and different curriculums and all that.
01:50But then what might be suitable to a family may not be suitable to another family.
01:56So I guess, in my thinking, when I want to think of the best place for my own kids, I
02:02don't think, is it American?
02:04Is it British?
02:05Is it Indian curriculum?
02:07Pakistani?
02:08I would first look at the cultural environment that is suitable for my own child.
02:15And then I start forming my own decision where and how to send them from that specific culture
02:24or that specific environment.
02:26So parents are often concerned about assessment methods and subjects and teaching styles.
02:31But for you, the key is culture.
02:34How do they then assess if the culture of the school is the right one for their child?
02:39So you as a parent first want to know, what do I want to achieve from the schooling of
02:47my own child?
02:49We all want our kids to learn in the end.
02:52We all want them to achieve and learn.
02:55But then, do I want them to be ready for the future?
03:02Do I want them to be compromising their own culture in the meantime?
03:09Do I want them to know their own native language?
03:12Do I want them to know the country language that they live in?
03:16What do I want?
03:17Those are the questions that you need to ask yourself before you do anything of the sort.
03:22But then, when you're talking about assessment, because the target in the end is for the child
03:29to get the learning.
03:31Get the learning.
03:32I'm not saying even to get the degree.
03:34Get the learning that they need so they can be a future citizen.
03:38That's the word we use, right?
03:40But then, for them to be able to get that learning and for you as a parent to find the
03:45right fit for your child, you need to do your homework.
03:49So you do your homework by not only googling the school, going and visiting the place
03:57and speaking to people.
03:59Open days are in schools for a reason.
04:02Yes, today, you have a chance to see the schools and to speak to the people.
04:07But this is not enough.
04:09This is not enough.
04:10You see something interesting, then you go to the school itself.
04:14And I guarantee you, the minute you walk into the doors to these schools, and please, get
04:21staff members to give you the tour because in most cases, schools, they choose a student
04:27and that's who they've learned what to say.
04:31I was one of those students.
04:32Right, exactly.
04:33So the student, they know what they're going to say because they're serving their community
04:38hours this way by getting you as a customer.
04:41No, but when you get a staff to take you around, the staff is going to be, as much as they
04:48might have practiced, you will get a feel when you're walking around in the school.
04:53Ask for the tour.
04:55Open days and presentation will not give you the full picture.
05:00Ask for a school tour.
05:02A school tour, it's not because you want to see the school facility.
05:06You want to get a feel of what the school is all about, right?
05:10And honestly, to be honest with you, I got so many comments from parents when they take
05:15the tour and then in the end, they decide, for example, to be in a school.
05:19They tell you some of the sentences they say.
05:22They say, we felt that this is a family.
05:25We had a good feel.
05:28How do you translate good feel?
05:30You cannot translate that.
05:32This means you're comfortable in this environment for your own child.
05:36And you know what?
05:38This is not a contract for life.
05:40This is, you try it, you don't like it, you go.
05:44But it's not recommended that you leave the school for your own child.
05:49Your child is, as I mentioned earlier, the school is giving them the learning, but also
05:56the school is helping them in their social skills.
06:00Helping them to be social savvy, right?
06:04So once you join the school and your child isn't there, your child is going to start
06:10learning some of the new habits that you are not aware of.
06:14Or you say, I did not raise you to say this or to know about this.
06:18Who taught you this?
06:20Of course, they're going out of your home.
06:23They're going to start learning new things, whether that is school or nursery or whatever.
06:29But then your role as a parent is not to show that you are appalled for what you heard.
06:37Your role as a parent is to really make it sound simple, easy, and that this is life.
06:46And you're going to face people that will make wrong choices or will make good choices.
06:52And it is okay.
06:54You should not be doing what they're doing you know better enough.
06:58For example, those are just a few examples of what you're going to face in any kind of schooling.
07:03Now we get to curriculum.
07:05Well, before we get to curriculum, I want to know in that situation, you do the campus
07:10tours, is it just for the parents?
07:12Do the students come on the campus tours?
07:14And at what point should the child be involved in the decision making of which school is right?
07:19If you're asking me, I don't know if this is right.
07:21If you're asking me personally, I would like to give my child the autonomy to make their
07:30own choices.
07:31That's the kind of parent I am.
07:34I mean, I raised four kids, but my kids were, they had the choice all the way of whatever
07:42they wanted to do and whatever schooling they wanted to go to.
07:47And right now they're all graduate or graduating, but they have also the choices of whatever
07:53they wanted to major in.
07:55So that is me.
07:57Why?
07:58Because I teach my kids to be responsible.
08:00And when you want them to be responsible, then they should be making some of their decisions
08:05and they should be accountable for their own decisions.
08:08Is it moving along for the kids when it comes down to the schools?
08:12You know, we've got a lot of factors.
08:13There's rankings of schools.
08:15We always look at associations.
08:17You know, parents sometimes want to research the credentials of the teachers, you know,
08:22and they're going to be paying top dollar for a school.
08:25Is this sort of information available to most parents or do you make it available but realize
08:30that it's not the most important factor?
08:32No, I don't feel honestly that this is the factor, but it's not the most important factor.
08:40School rating is known right now to everybody, but also school rating may not be a clear
08:46factor that this is the right fit for your child.
08:50Because the school rating, it was looked at by a few inspectors that came visiting the
08:55school for a week and left, right?
08:57But then your child is going to live day in, day out of the school life and it's going
09:03to be missing.
09:04And we all know when it is school inspection that something extraordinary happens in any
09:09school and then they get it.
09:11But that does not mean that this is the everyday life of the school, as much as they do.
09:17We haven't opened it up to questions in just a few moments, so questions will be available
09:22with Majid very soon.
09:24We're talking about obviously the culture of the school and the child, but what about
09:29parents and their approach to, I guess, their own communication or parents' own involvement?
09:34Is this something parents should be conscious of when they go to a school?
09:37They might think, hey, this is a great school.
09:39It's got a great fit.
09:40I think my child will survive.
09:41But how do I liaise and communicate with the school and the teachers accordingly?
09:45This is very important, what you're talking about, because I always say it is a partnership
09:51between us as the school people and the parent.
09:58And if this partnership does not work both ways, then there is a big gap.
10:04And we, the parent and the school, we should aim for the same thing.
10:09We both want the best interest of the child.
10:13So we should be communicating.
10:15So when you are choosing your child's schooling, first thing you want to know, how do you want
10:22to communicate with the school?
10:24How do I communicate with the school?
10:26And how hard is that for the school?
10:28Because obviously you can't worry about caring for each child.
10:31And then you may have a situation that each parent or each family wants a different way
10:35of communicating.
10:36Do you have a uniform approach when communicating to families?
10:39See, when I'm saying that, it's not open to the parent how they want to communicate.
10:44But every school should have their ways of communication known to their parents and to
10:50their prospective parents.
10:53Once you have that known to your parents or to your prospective parents, then things are
10:57clear.
10:58I know of certain schools, they don't allow parents to even comment on things.
11:03I honestly have to say, I had a phone call from a parent two days ago, and the parent
11:08was not very happy.
11:09And then one of the sentences that made me really reflect, she was like, you don't listen
11:17to us anymore.
11:19You guys used to listen to us.
11:21And then I went back and I went to my senior leaders and I said, guys, if a parent said
11:25that, there must be something that we are not doing that's not getting to them.
11:30Because that's the feeling that they're getting.
11:32They're still talking only on behalf of our own self.
11:35She's saying that's what we're saying, and they're just discussing something that they
11:39want.
11:40And then I went back and I said, last year we sent a survey and we asked the parents
11:46about this specific thing.
11:48And this year we just made the decision based on last year's survey.
11:52We did not send the survey to the parents.
11:55So we did not, we thought they're used to give their opinion and we tell them your voice
12:01mattered and we ignored their voice in one of the decisions that we took last year.
12:06So we went back and we said, honestly, you should now get back on whatever we have done
12:12and let's just send them the survey again, same as last year.
12:15And whatever the majority are saying, we will do it.
12:18That does not mean, do not get me wrong, the schools, they have to have certain systems
12:24too.
12:25So you cannot keep it to your parents to run the system.
12:29But from time to time, it is good to make them part of the decision making.
12:35And when we are saying right now, you as the parent, when you are choosing the school for
12:41your own child, ask the school about their ways of communication with you and how can
12:49they reach you.
12:51So you don't only want to listen to, read the letters or get the message or whatever
12:57in the ways they communicate to you.
12:59You want to find out how do you communicate to them.
13:03Because this communication is needed for your own child.
13:07We've got a great opportunity here to speak to our leading principals at the UAE.
13:11Any questions from anyone?
13:12At this stage, anyone got any questions?
13:14A question I've got for you, class sizes, teacher-student ratio, is it a big factor
13:20or should it be a big factor for parents when they are looking at the right school?
13:24It should to a certain degree.
13:27Because again, in the end, whenever your child is really getting to know other students or
13:34other kids from different environments, it is another chance for your child to grow socially
13:41more and to learn more and to get more life experiences.
13:46So we're not saying, because you know what, if you want to look, if it was a school, I
13:51always say whenever, even when they are doing their own group work in the school, I always
13:57recommend to my teachers, do not keep the kids in the same group.
14:02Because if they were in the same group and it is according to level, then that means
14:07there is no challenge, they are on the same level.
14:10I always tell them, have different kinds of grouping.
14:13So plan as a teacher to have group of work from the same level for a certain thing, but
14:20then also plan mixed abilities grouping at other times because kids learn from each other.
14:29So this way you are giving them a chance to be...
14:33They are learning to work with other students who might be quicker than them in some ways
14:37or maybe more challenged in other ways and learning how to incorporate those methods.
14:41We are pushed for time and we do appreciate you, but I will stay to start the dinner.
14:45So any final thoughts you think on what is the best way for parents, because it is a
14:51huge decision on how to make the best decision for their child for the right school.
14:56So if you are lucky enough as a parent to know the learning style of your child and
15:02how your child learns, are they the kind of kids that would like to have other visual
15:08learners, are they kinesthetic learners?
15:11What sort of a learning style your child, then you follow that.
15:16I would say if your child likes to be visual, then you need to go and find the school that
15:24is suitable for them.
15:25If your child likes to be doing the thing to learn, then you should follow...
15:31Because we have type of schools that...
15:33I don't want to name...
15:35I am trying not to name certain curriculums or certain type of schooling, but you do understand
15:45what we are saying, what type of schooling.
15:48So some kids, they only want to read and memo some parents, not kids.
15:55Some parents, they want to see their kids studying the whole time at home.
16:00Then you know what type of schooling you should send them to, where they will spend their
16:04time only studying the whole time for the test.
16:07But then if other parents would like their kids only to be learning and talking about
16:13their learning, then that is a different type of schooling that you should send them to.
16:18And we live in UAE again, where we have all types of schooling available for you to choose.
16:25So that is the way your child learns and the way your child will get better knowledge.
16:32Well, I think they are fantastic points that are a reflection of your experience.
16:35Thank you very much.
16:36I would like to also mention Isayda Principal of the American School of Creative Science.
16:40Thank you very much.
16:41We have been very informative.
16:42Our next session is back on stage in a couple of moments.
16:45We are back at 3.30 with Innovations in Early Childhood Education here at Eduped.