Choosing a Boarding School

chillibreeze writer — Lakshmi Anil

When it comes to selecting a boarding school for their kid, all parents ultimately search for ‘a home’ away from home. Homely comfort is, however, not all that a boarding school atmosphere is about. It is a place where children imbibe knowledge and live in cooperation with their fellow students and tutors.

Think twice before you leap

A lot of thought needs to be put in before exposing your child to the boarding school experience, as a wrong choice might cost you dearly. The impact made by the boarding school exposure on the child’s character is indeed an immense one. Nostalgic reminiscence about own boarding school days should not be the lone motivating factor.

If you find yourself torn between your child’s disinterest in becoming a boarder and your practical difficulty to give in, why not consult a knowledgeable educational consultant? You can anchor on the advice of such a professional expert, as he is sure to have successfully handled similar situations earlier.

Have your child been told about the importance of this decision?

Once the decision has been made, it is important that the entire family helps the child in coping up with the idea of staying away from home. He should fully comprehend that it is for his own sake that he is being sent to the boarding school. It should be ensured that the child’s preferences are given utmost prominence. Parents should never hesitate in letting him know how deeply they will miss him at home, once he becomes a boarder. But, make him understand that his education is a much more important matter.

How to make a wish list of schools?

You need to sit along with your kid for exploring all the different boarding school options before you. You should be certain regarding what you expect the school to do for your child. A wish list is the best method to weigh those possible options and you can slowly narrow the field. A virtual/online visit to all the schools in your wish list will help you in shortening the list. It is important that your child is also given a say as you navigate from one school to another.

However, it is important that you personally visit the selected school with your child before making the final decision. The "fit" made between the chosen school environment and your child’s interests will decide whether the boarding experience is going to be a rewarding one or not. The more perfect this ‘fit’ is, the happier the child will be.

Does the school excel in academic matters?

As parents, we all share the instinct to provide our kids with the very best of everything. As far as educational matters are concerned, rarely are we willing to settle even for the second best option. The boarding school to which your child is being sent to should have a consistent record of academic brilliance.

Is it a single-sex school or does it promote co-education?

Should your child be given co-education or should he or she be brought up in a single-sex school is yet another crucial decision to be made. As adults, men and women will have to work together and it is therefore vital that they imbibe the social skills of adult living right from the school years. However, many pedagogic experts disagree with the concept of schools serving as ‘social laboratories’. They feel that teenage kids do benefit a lot from the minimal distractions offered by a single-sex school atmosphere. Nobody knows your child’s requirements better than you. It is wise to base this decision on your child’s maturity as a social being.

How to set his mind in favor of the boarding school experience?

It is indeed a parental slip to speak about boarding school experience as a punishment to their child for not living up to the set academic expectations. That will only help in deepening the emotional strain in his mind. Parents often tend to consider boarding school as a place where their troublesome child can be "straightened out." Such a notion is sure to result in making the child prejudiced in his attitude towards boarding schools. The boarding school experience serves such kids poorly.

Have you given due importance to your child’s preferences?

Your child’s personal likes and dislikes also need to be considered. You should know for sure whether he is comfortable in the midst of a large, impersonal crowd or does he prefer a more intimate atmosphere provided by a small-preferred group. Based on such personal choices, you can either select a residential school that follows dormitory arrangement or one that allows family-like intimacy between students and tutors in general.

Is the schooling affordable?

Since education is becoming a highly expensive affair, you will have to take into account whether sending your child to the selected boarding school is affordable. Merit scholarships are found to ease the financial burden that education place on families. Hidden costs involved like those required for additional expenses related to extra curricular involvement and stationery purchase should also be taken into account.

Have you understood about the school’s rules and regulations?

Boarding schools often impose strict limitations on their students. In their effort to minimize possible distractions, friendly visits from non-students or even parents will not be encouraged. It is advisable to talk with the authorities concerned and understand about their disciplinary policies. Together with your child, you can then work on adjusting to the set restrictions.

Is your kid ready to take in the set rules?

Before exposing him to the rigid schooling experience, it is extremely important to make your child understand that rules are meant to be strictly observed. No boarder will be allowed to break any rule of conduct and discipline mentioned in the contract that has been formally signed by his parent. Private boarding schools have their own rule enforcement methods and without even a slight compunction, the ‘young rebel’ will be dismissed. Rarely will other leading educational institutions welcome a ‘drop out’.

Will your child be provided both with academic and extracurricular assistance?

Present day boarding schools often gratify its students’ reasonable requirements. Once you let your child be part of a prestigious boarding school environment, no longer do you have to take strain in supervising their talents in sports, academics or in cultural enrichments. It must be ensured that the school regimen provides enough space for extra curricular activities. Tuition and transportation are two other factors that a boarder’s parent does not have to worry about. Your child should be convinced that by attending the boarding school, he could effectively save the quality time that would otherwise be lost in travel.

If your child is planning to go for any competitive entrance examination, it is important to discuss about his chance of being trained additionally for the purpose.

Will the school take care of his overall mental development?

You must have a clear picture regarding the kind of syllabus followed and the moral values that are imparted on the students. Education, after all, aims at the overall development of the child. Communicative skills of your child also should be nurtured. A child equipped with right schooling automatically learns to choose what is right for them and discard what is not. A good boarding school is one in which each student gets the regular service of an in-house health expert.

What is the school’s mode of correspondence with parents?

The boarding school that you choose for your child should have a systematic method of correspondence with parents. True, your child will let you know about his life at school. But, a fast and more precise mode of communication, such as emails, sent between the concerned tutor and parent will prove to be beneficial in the long run. As parents, you have every right to be informed about your child’s performance officially.

It should not be left unsaid that the decision on boarding schools is a very personal one, in which all members of the family can have a say. At the end of a school day, you want your child to be truly happy on how the day went by. Not even a single stone should be left unturned as you hunt for the right boarding school. You can even let your child chat with a few students who are presently being trained at the school of your choice. It is also a good idea to try the ‘trial stay system’, if the school permits it.

Time alone will prove whether your decision was, after all, a right one. That glossy tear of gratitude and pride through which your teenager finds it hard to look at you on the very last day of his schooling years does speak volumes. Though rarely uttered, it sounds thus, “Thank you, mom and dad, for making me part of this rich heritage.”

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Lakshmi writes for chillibreeze.

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