Private School Admission Myth #2
- By Carolyn Means
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- 30 Jan, 2018
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HOUSTON PRIVATE SCHOOL ADMISSION MYTHS
Real Information Parents Can Use
Carolyn Means, M.Ed., CEP
Houston’s Day School Consultant
Myth #2: Parents should not be truthful on applications.
Questions on School Applications:
Has your child had educational testing in the past?
Is there anything you would like to tell us that would help us know your child better?
Has your child been diagnosed with a learning disability?
Is your child currently taking medication?
Has your child been asked to leave a previous school?
What other schools did you apply to in the past?
Parent
“Oh, no!! This is an application to the school of our dreams and I have to answer these questions? If they find out the truth, my child will never be accepted.”
I get this reaction often, but my experience with schools has always proven that being truthful is the right choice. Of course, sometimes my client and I discuss a situation and determine that the answer is, “No”. Other times when it is clear that the answer is, “Yes”, I explain why schools need this information and why being truthful will benefit the child.
Myth #2: The Truth The truth is that schools want to partner with parents. Partnerships begin with a truthful application.
When parents are not truthful on applications, they begin a network of fibs that can come back to haunt them. Admission directors are not expecting to find perfect applicants. When they learn that a child has a learning differences or an unfortunate past experience, they want to know what support the student is getting and if it is sufficient for the student’s success.
If you have concerns about how to answer these types of questions, come see me for a SCHOOL SOLUTIONS Consultation to talk about how being truthful can benefit your chances of admission to a school. Often I can help parents with application responses by talking through the issue and helping them understand how the school might view it in a positive light.
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After all of the hard work of getting our students back into school and establishing a new normal under the cloud of the virus, we find our schools once again in the throes of indecision regarding in-school or virtual school learning. The argument against masks on preschoolers seems doomed to fail, so millions of little children will never know what their first teacher's face looked like, and teachers will not know what emotions were hiding under those smiley-face masks. The largest body of research among psychologists today is said to be on the subject of anxiety . I do not doubt it. I see fewer carefree and happy children these days than in years past. Four and five-year olds seem to have lost the spontaneity of childhood, the ready laughter and childlike wonder. They do not engage readily in play, and they seem to have acquired much less knowledge than their same age peers in prior years. Of course, my observations are not at all scientific, but they do correlate with current literature. So I urge parents to do all they can to stimulate their children by playing games, reading books that promote laughter and finding time to just be silly. There certainly is no time for that in school with social distancing. Three books I read some years ago come to mind: Einstein Never Used Flashcards, The Importance of Being Little and Becoming Brilliant offer parents the latest research on early childhood learning and ways to engage the mind and heart of the young child. Old truths are back in vogue: "The brain learns through play," and, "Learning is a social activity". If children can't play and be social at school, then they need to have this environment as much as possible at home. Look for ways to introduce fun and stay away from flashcards and worksheets. Family games teach strategies and vocabulary and number sense while having fun and building relationships. And these don't require face masks.