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The difference between a GOOD school and a not a good school

By on December 12, 2018

Psychologist and TF contributor Sara Dimerman interviews Janyce Lastman, an education consultant and case manager who founded The Tutor Group in 1979. The Tutor Group is a network of dedicated and creative professional tutors who support students taking a wide variety of subjects from a range of grade and age levels. She has also advised students, parents and professionals on appropriate school placements and related education matters since 1985, and was co-founder and show coordinator for SchoolsExpo, an annual education fair and symposium based in Toronto, featuring schools from around the corner and around the globe.

How do you differentiate a good school from not a good school?

That’s a great question. The first key is just thinking the difference between a good school and a good fit. While we want to get a school that’s the best fit for each individual child, we also want to look at what makes a good school as an organization. And they really are to me, key elements. I call them the 3Cs. Good schools communicate. It means that they let parents know, what:s happening, when it:s happening and what’s planned. It’s about Communication. The second C is consistency. It means that the school you choose should follow the messages that they present – if they have a mandate, a mission statement, if they follow through with how they define themselves, The third C is clear or Clarity. The school needs to be transparent. And that really ties in to our topic because bad things do happen to families and schools and this pretty much part of life. And what you want from your school is to be transparent, to explain how they handle things, what’s happened, happening and what’s going on and what they’re going to do to repair or reconcile when bad things happen. So clarity, consistency and communication.

But you’re talking about the integrity of the school, right? You haven’t talked anything about academics.

The character and culture together. (2 more c’s)

The school is an organization and it needs to function as an organization in terms of academics or social Those are more of a ‘fit’ issue – what one child needs academically, another child maybe needs something different. All good schools need to have those elements. The character or culture should be part of that.

Some parents assume that because they pay for their children to go to a private school means its going to be better.

We know that. That’s certainly a different case. Because you pay more for something doesn’t make it good or better. It does make a choice though. People buy in, they choose a private school. They are more a customer than they are a client and they are treated sometimes differently in private situations because they can get up and leave, take their business elsewhere. But again, it doesn’t make it good. Not necessarily. It’s just a matter of choice.

I wonder when parents are paying customers, whether that in fact assess the culture of the school?

I think in general, one of the main differences between private and public schools is that most private schools have a culture that is easier to define or to track. It doesn’t mean that it’s the culture that the family or the child needs or wants, but there tends to be more personality in private schools over time than there is in public schools. Because public schools tend to be more political – where leadership, board of directors or advisory committee changes more often. Schools have personalities.

 

Click the podcast link WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN AT GOOD SCHOOLS to listen to the complete interview

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