THE AGE  Newspaper Article of Monday July 10th 2006

Question:  Our child starts prep next year. I am receiving lots of conflicting advice. Is there a particular school or philosophy that is best?

Answer: 
MANY people seek information about where the best school in the community can be found, but there isn't one best school for all children. Knowing how to find a school that will meet the needs of individual children and families is where our energies need to go.

The choice is not just about which is the closest to home; it may also involve what programs are offered and what are the opportunities, philosophies and strategies that schools use.

It is wonderful for a community to have a choice, but it can often lead to confusion for parents.
Comments are often made as parents collect or drop their children off at programs or as they meet socially. The talk is "which is the best school" and "which school has the best reputation", with many opinions offered. There may also be discussions about differences between schools.

Other often debated topics are public or private and single-sex or co-education. What often adds to the confusion is that many reports, pieces of research and many educators have opinions about what is best and they don't all agree.

Life is not quite as simple as making a decision based on one aspect of a school community. It may be that the gender of your child, and whether you have a preference for a single-sex or co-education school, is one factor. But it should only be one factor and this will reflect the family dynamic, the personality of the child, the preferences that the parents might have. But a school is not just about gender. It is about a philosophy, an interpretation of curriculum. A school reflects values, beliefs about issues - including how they discipline and guide children's behaviour - about homework, whether to have it or not, and what it might look like.

Schools also reflect beliefs about teaching and learning. They will use strategies based upon their philosophy.
Some schools will be big and offer a wide range of specialist classes. Others will be small and have a local community atmosphere.

Selecting a school is much more involved than simply thinking about independent or public. For parents, there are strategies that may help.
Brainstorm values for the child's education. It might include things such as: we want our child to learn a
specific language; we want a school that does lots of extra music or physical education or drama; we value
small class sizes or a small school or a large school; we do or don't want homework; and, we do or don't want
a particular approach to discipline.
Visit schools and ask for a tour. Interview the principal and ask them to explain their philosophy and some
practical examples of how that works in the classroom.
Try to avoid listening too much to family and friends, as what is best for their child may not be best for yours.

You may hold beliefs yourself about wanting a public or private education for your child. Never assume that one type of education will automatically be better. Getting stuck on whether single-sex or co-ed, private or public is better, is much too simplistic. Consider your child, their strengths, interests and needs and then search for a school that seems to suit them.

Other types of philosophies such as Steiner, Montessori, multi-age, single-grade are all great and evidence suggests strongly that all children in those programs learn equally to other types of schools.
At the end of the decision making process, it is not so much which is the best school, but which is the school that you found responsive, welcoming, open to your questions and needs and reflected some of the values that you hold.

Kathy Walker is an education consultant and author of What's the Hurry? Reclaiming Childhood in an Overscheduled World.

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Kathy Walker 2006

Kathy Walker is an education consultant specialising in early childhood and primary years and a former lecturer at RMIT University.