Parent questions at school visits?

Periwinkle
Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:44:31 +0000

Parlabane, that’s a risk, of course. However, I am not only concerned about admission. I am concerned about how the school is run. There are schools which have wonderful codes of conduct in their handbooks, but do they enforce them? An admissions officer should be able to answer this question. If they can’t, or won’t, that tells me a great deal about the school, particularly if the school caters to the wealthy and connected.

It’s like focussing on the marriage, instead of the wedding. I want to find a school which believes in its code of conduct, and takes the trouble to discipline the children under its care. If it doesn’t, then I won’t place my child in the care of people whom I can’t trust. I want to know what to expect, if the school has to deal with incidents of hazing, of theft, or use of drugs and alcohol. All schools have to deal with such things from time to time. If they’ve never had any such incidents, they’re either lying, or turning a blind eye to misbehavior. It could also be that they have inadequate dorm coverage. No matter how careful an admissions department is, they are still dealing with young human beings.