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Choose The Best School For Your Child

Queen Elizabeth High School (Halifax, Nova Sco...

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It’s essential that your child goes to the right school – a school that will motivate them to succeed, and give them ambitions and experience. Choosing a school does require plenty of research, to ensure you have the full story, especially if you are not familiar with the area your child will be going to school.

Look at school guides. Many states do this, such as the Washington State Post, and have page for each school giving some information. Some review schools on different areas, such as extra curricular activities, and you might find comments from previous students here too.

Look at the schools website. This should list important information such as what courses and activities are on offer, term times and any special points. You should also be able to see the latest score that the school was given under the ‘No Child Left Behind’ law.

Visit the school. Make sure your child is ready to ask any questions they have, and take a notebook to make notes. Talk to the principle, and find out about the schools aims, strengths and weaknesses. Consider whether you would have the principal as a friend, or if you would hire him as a colleague. If you can’t see the principle, or don’t get along with him, this should be a warning sign. This man will have a lot of control over the school.

Talk to other parents if you can, and the Parent Teacher Association. Find out what they think – would they send their child there again? Where else did they consider? Why did they choose this school? Their answers might help you to make up your mind.

Talk to your child and find out what they thought. Make a shortlist of schools, and talk about your gut feeling for each one. Allow your child to have their say, too. Then make the choice together, and get ready to go to school!

Filed Under: Education, Students Tagged With: , ,

Staying Away from School Violence

School Day of Non-violence and Peace (DENIP) l...

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Bullying and school violence are on the rampage nowadays. It seems you can’t turn on the news or read a newspaper without hearing a story about a child, or even an adult, involved in violence at school. But it doesn’t have to be this way! There are ways to avoid violence at school. Take a look at these tips to keep yourself or your child out of trouble.

  1. It’s all about respect. Remember that the first step to avoiding violence is to respect other people. Try to understand the other’s perspective and that will go a long way in keeping you out of trouble.
  2. Try online school. Sometimes, a school really is too violent to attend. One way to stay away from the violence is to attend online school. Many college students choose this route. You can even get a master degree this way! Search for a master degree at earnmydegree.com to see the available options.
  3. Talk it out. If you are the victim of violence at school, talk to someone. Find a guidance counselor or someone else you trust to talk to about the problem. Avoiding the situation will not make it go away. You need to talk to someone and get some help.
  4. Report the situation. You absolutely need to report the bullying and the violence to an authority. Violence cannot be tolerated in any kind of circumstance. Report it to help stop the problem.

If you are a victim of school violence or if it is someone you love that is the victim, remember, there is help available.

 

Filed Under: Education, School Violence, Students Tagged With: , ,

How to Protect Children from School Violence

School violence is becoming very common in many schools. Recent years, there has been dramatic increase in school violence and it is a must for everyone to protect their children from such incidents. The cause for such violence can be anything and most common reasons are frustration, personal problems, depression, physiological problems, and family troubles. Here are few tips to protect children from school violence.

Group of children in a primary school in Paris

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Parents should create awareness among their children about the school violence and should encourage their children to watch television programs that discusses about such violence. Parents should let their children know that the violence in the schools are rare and do not happen all the time. Parents should check the security programs offered by the schools. Parents can obtain about the security information from the teachers, principal, or from the counsellors of the schools.

Most schools provide handbook of the school security programs and parents can read it carefully to check the measures implemented by the school to protect the children. Parents should attend board meetings and parent-teacher meetings in the schools so that they can interact with the teachers and know more about the security programs.

While attending meetings, parents can even suggest some new measures to improve the campus security. Parents should provide their children with some important phone numbers and this include fire department, police department, medical department, and other relevant department as this will be very helpful during emergencies. Parents can even train their children with some escape or survival methods. Finally, parents can provide their children with survival kits.

 

 

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Student Requirements

There are rules placed in schools that are intended to help students focus on schooling as well as developing healthy citizenship. This means that dress codes, codes of conduct, and rules of school property are all intended to help students become better adults in the community they live in, when they complete their schooling. For many schools, there are stiff consequences if students are not able to adhere to the prescribed rules, and they find that they are serving detention, being suspended, or worse, expelled from the school that they attend. It is the schools job to ensure absolute safety for all the student body, and if a student is not willing to acknowledge the rules set into place by the district, they are potential creating a situation that can cause harm to other students.

This might sound odd, but it is truly the students full-time job to be at school and participate in learning. The rules and requirements that are set in place are no different than what a student would see in a work place or with a higher education institution. Students are not just being educated while at school, they are being trained in what it takes to be a member of society once school is completed. A willingness to follow the guidelines and rules shows that a students understand the concept of respecting others, respecting themselves, and respecting the rule that were put in place regardless of the reasons. This will carry on in their lives, in their workplace, and with their own families later on in life. For those that struggle with their requirements, they may find that they have a tough transition into the real world, and that they are not treated like what they had expected.

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Legal Rights Of Schools

Schools have many legal rights, and because they are with students all day long, it is important that parents recognize the role that schools play, and the right that they have. This is especially true of providing safety for your student. Most people think of schools as just a place to learn, and a place where educators promote education. However, because there are so many other things that students are exposed to, teachers and administrators must be aware of certain topics, and must be provided training on how to handle precarious situations. This was made very clear with a case that went court in the early 1990′s. A female student went into the bathroom, and shortly after entering smoke was seen coming out of the door. The bathroom was not on fire, and the smoke had a precarious odor similar to cigarettes. The male Principal witnessed this, and when the female student exited the bathroom, the Principal asked for her purse to inspect its contents. The student refused, and security was called. During that time the student handed her purse over, and marijuana was found inside. The parents sued, and lost with the reasoning that schools are the legal guardians over students while they are on the campus and during school hours.

This was quite a shocking ruling, but in all truth was accurate. While a student is at school the administrators and teachers are in the place of guardianship according to federal law. This is why they must report abuse, drug use, suicidal threats, and other such issues, because they are considered the guardian during school hours. This is not a benefit for schools, rather it is a mechanism used to protect students, and those that are around them that may be caught up in something that can cause harm. The main cause of awareness came after the Columbine shooting, and there is not a school in America that is willing to allow that to happen again.

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Private Schooling

St. Patrick's Catholic School, Bellefontaine

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Private schools have been on the map for some time. They started out originally as boarding schools, and then quickly spread to include specific religious affiliations. The most popular of these affiliations with the Catholic Church. These schools hold reputations for being very thorough in their studies and in the way they teach the three r’s, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. In fact, most Catholic school students are given preferential treatment for college entrance placement because there is the assumption that remedial classes were never taken. This is proven by the Notre Dame entrance exam including advanced Calculus.

Private education has been long sought after because it is believed that student receive more one on one attention from teachers, that the discipline is more strict, and that students are taught to respect, listen, and obey in a way that public schools simply cannot do. The other aspect so private schooling is that for many students, this is their only option. For some students that have found that their public school experience was not optimal, or they found that they were in getting themselves into trouble on a regular basis, private schools accept these students, and prepare a plan of attack on how to create a student that is going to be a life long learner, and become a responsible citizen. Public schools are not always able to do that because of their class sizes and lack of support by other overwhelmed administrators.

Many public school teachers are not in favor of private schooling as they believe that it creates a sheltered environment. This is the case as many feel that having a religious affiliation is more of an indoctrination process than an educational process. Private school teachers feel that public school is over saturated and students lack individual attention. Regardless of the opinion, most agree that making a student the center of the equation is the best policy.

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An Apple A Day And Other Rules

Colleges and schools need rules and regulations in order to function properly. In the United States there is no federal standard for these rules and regulations. Instead, schools are regulated at the state and local level, except when a federal law supersedes it. A comprehensive list of school regulations is not possible; however, most schools and colleges have rules covering the same areas. Students and parents are encouraged to check with their local school district for a complete listing of applicable rules and regulations.

A large portion of the rules focus on student conduct and responsibility. These laws are designed to provide students, teacher and administrators with a healthy and effective learning environment.  These regulations, in particular, are often superseded by federal laws. Examples include discrimination laws, regulations governing the treatment of special needs students and truancy regulations.

Other laws govern curriculum and course content. These regulations are somewhat sticky, owing primarily to No Child Left Behind. The 2002 federal law does not regulate curriculum, but it does offer states additional funding based on performance. Prior to 2002 curriculum and content was handled primarily on a local basis. After the passage of NCLB many states took control of curriculum in order to assure they were eligible for more funds.

Additional regulations apply, again depending on the institution. Typically absenteeism, tardiness, probation, academic standards and other areas are cover. All educational institutions provide students, teachers, parents and administrators with carefully worded student code handbooks which explain in detail all of the applicable words and regulations.

Until such time as the federal government mandates across the board governance of schools and colleges it is likely that this system of varying rules will remain in place and maybe that isn’t a bad thing. Maybe it is the differences that make our education system work.

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Seeking Signs: Bullying

Your child has changed — the days have marked him anxious, hiding in his room. He begs to be excused from school; he pleads to remain at home. All expressions are strained. All gestures are worried. He is nervous with every breath and you suspect bullying.

He won’t confess this, however. He instead denies it, claims there is nothing to be concerned with. But his distress is palpable and you know the truth — even if he won’t admit it. He’s being harmed at school. And you wonder how you didn’t notice until now.

The signs of bullying are often ignored. Without the obvious bruises and tears, children can shield their worries: deceiving their families and refusing to voice their fears. It is essential therefore that parents understand the early warnings and address the issue as soon as possible.

Look for these symptoms:

One: Constant claims of illness. There are excuses each morning, feigns of disease (all exotic and impossible to diagnose). Your child swears to being ill, refuses to leave the bed; but you can’t even feel a fever on his brow. Students will often make excuses to miss school when being bullied. Truancy is a common problem.

Two: Frequent needs for money or possessions. Dollars are misplaced; books are lost; supplies is left at school. These are the words you hear each day, offered when you confront your child about his missing items. Individuals who are in perpetual need for basic supplies or lunch money are often being bullied — with their aggressors stealing from them. Take note of exaggerated bouts of forgetfulness.

Three: Emotional withdrawal. You remember laughter, easy smiles. Now, however, you receive only the briefest of nods. Your child has become silent, will not speak of school or friends. This is the most obvious indication of bullying and should be noted immediately.

These signs must be understood by all parents. Monitor your child’s behavior and recognize the effects of mockery.

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