“Mark and Bev Tindall” wrote:

have used the following checklist with parents thinking of being involved in Christian schooling and / or homeschooling. How does your

schooling fare?

***************************************************************** Brian V Hill “Choosing The Right School” ( ATCF Books: Sydney:1987)

APPENDIX: THE GOOD SCHOOL pp 147 – 153 [Page references and other parts snipped for easier reading]

A CHECK-LIST

A. Needs-Assessment

A 1 Which particular child’s needs are you considering at this point? .

A 2 Which of this child’s needs are the primary responsibility of the parent?

A 3 In regard to schooling, has the child any special needs – physical, intellectual, emotional, social, or special learning difficulties which will need to be taken into account?

A 4 Has the child revealed any special talents or abilities which ought to be kept in mind?

A 5 Is it important in this child’s case to choose a school attended by its close friends?

B. The School – Objectives

B 1 How well does the school’s policy statement (or public speeches) reflect the general objective [of education]?

B 2 Does the school see itself as a social community needing rules and

areas of freedom like the wider society or does it just talk about subjects and results?

B 3 Does the school spell out the general rules on which it operates (i) as a social organisation? and (ii) as an educational community?

B 4 Does the school appear to have achieved a satisfactory balance between sustaining a supportive community within itself. and effectively representing to the child the pluralistic world we live in?

B 5 Do the values the school says it stands for encourage both the study and the critique of those values themselves? In particular does it anywhere affirm its respect for children as persons. and for their right to have their own opinions?

B 6 Does the school have a policy on multiculturalism, and on the admission of students having regard to race or religion? Do you support it?

B 7 Is the school co-ed or single-sex? Does this, in combination with other nurturing influences, meet this particular child’s needs?

B 8 What does the school affirm with respect to its view of the home as an educational agency?

B 9 How does the school define its relation to voluntary groups in the

wider community?

B 10 How does the school see its role in relation to local and wider government instrumentalities?

C. The School – Administrative Structures

C 1 Does the school use a widely representative consultative body (such as a school council) to make major, long-term policy decisions?

C 2 Does the school policy statement provide clear indications of the roles and powers of the principal, the staff, consultative committees,

and other personnel involved in decision-making and administration?

C 3 What provision is made to involve students in the decision-making structures of the school?

C 4 What opportunities does the school provide for involvement in the life of the school by parents and members of the wider community?

C 5 Do these opportunities include forums in which members of the wider community sponsoring the particular school can participate in a genuine way in the formulation of school policy?

C 6 Is the sheer size of the school big enough to provide an adequately wide educational experience, but small enough to maintain a

sense of community?

D. The Curriculum

D 1 Is this school locked in to the traditional literary / -academic subjects for status reasons, or is it prepared to try out promising alternative themes for study as well?

D 2 Does the school achieve a good balance between the compulsory core

and the voluntary options within the curriculum?

D 3 What relative status does the school attach to the humanities as compared with science-type subjects?

D 4 Does the range of subjects offered in this school appear likely to

encourage students to reflect on beliefs and values as well as ways and means?

D 5 In particular, what happens in regard to the teaching of religion?

D 6 Does the school welcome the on-site operation of a voluntary Christian group? Is there one?

D 7 Does the school, in its references to its curriculum, include an acknowledgment of the importance of informal learning and “extra-curricular” activities, on the premises but outside the framework of formal classroom instruction?

E. The School In Operation

E 1 Does the school have an explicit discipline policy, clearly spelling out the steps to be taken in the case of students who continue to disrupt classroom activity or flout the agreed rules of the school community?

E 2 Does it also have clauses identifying the personal liberties and rights accorded to staff and students? Or is it all “do its”?

E 3 How favourable are the school timetable and school-bus schedules to extra-curricular priorities?

E 4 How frequent is staff turnover in this school?

E 5 What steps are taken to regard students as whole persons, rather than merely as students of separate subjects. and what regular (as opposed to crisis) pastoral care and counselling structures operate in the school?

E 6 What support services does the school provide or is it able to call on for emotionally disturbed or disruptive children?

E 7 What support services does the school provide for children with special learning difficulties. in regard to both the number and type of educational specialists on call, and specific procedures adopted to

draw such children aside for special assistance?

E 8 What steps are taken to make students aware of career opportunities and of the working world as it impacts on their own local community?

E 9 How adequate are the physical facilities for your child’s health and wide learning?

F. The Classroom In operation

F 1 What does the school profess to be able to achieve in the context of formal classroom curriculum? Is it realistic and ethical?

F 2 Where does the school place its emphasis in teaching methods, in regard to such concepts as team teaching, teaching machines. social learning, individualised instruction, direct teaching, and ability streaming vs. mixed ability groups?

F 3 What can you infer from this about the attitude taken to the nature of children as learners?

F 4 What is the school’s policy on class sizes? Does it live up to them?

F 5 What does the school say about its policies of assessment in regard to frequency of testing, whether testing is norm-referenced or criterion-referenced, how often it reports to parents, and what it does about students with low marks?

G. The School – Its Reputation

Official statements made by school administrators are one thing. What actually goes on is another. Do you know any parents, other adults, students or ex–students, who have had actual experience of die school

in operation? Ask them the following:

G 1 Is the school an enjoyable or anxiety-producing place to attend? Why?

G 2 Is the working climate efficient or time-wasting?

G 3 Are the relations of adults to students affirmative or negative?

G 4 To what degree are the staff members of the school, in their extra-curricular time. committed to joining in with students in the extra-curricular expressions of school community?

G 5 Is there parental involvement in the school day and is it generally appreciated?

H. If It Is a Christian school

In addition to the above, some questions which probe potential strengths and weaknesses of this particular class of school are as follows:

H 1 Is the school’s admissions policy compatible with the kinds of contacts you believe your child needs most?

H2 Does the curriculum fairly reflect the kind of world the child is living in, or does it exclude or potentially distort information felt to be contrary to the defence of the Christian position?

H 3 In the light of other budget priorities within the family, does the extra financial burden seem reason-able?

H4 What minimum demands will there be on your time as a participating parent? Can these demands, together with the extra demands on your tithe, be justified as good stewardship?

I. Final Thoughts

I 1 Will your child be able to cope socially with the kind of community this school runs?

I 2 Given the choice you now prefer, will the impact it has on your home life be within acceptable limits (i.e. leave enough quality time for regular family inter -action, strengthen rather than erode family discussion on values, etc.)?

I 3 Will the choice that you have made communicate in itself the right

scale of values and priorities to your children?

I 4 Do the educational gains associated with the choice of this school

justify the likely investment of.

(a) personal time in peripheral activities connected with travel time,

working bees. fund-raising. etc.?

(b) available family finances?

I 5 Are you prepared to exercise the degree of parental surveillance and participation in the school which this choice involves?

I 6 Are you prepared to shoulder your responsibilities, as a parent of

nurture in the family circle, irrespective of what school you have been led to choose?