What is a good school anyway?

Many of us have wanted to go to good schools, others have gone to good schools while others wish for their children to go to good schools. Understandably, a “good” school will mean something different for each person, depending on their context, their history, and their world view.

Schools, the institutions where formal education is received have been viewed as places of hope and aspiration, places where one can walk in poverty-stricken but hopefully come out with valuable skills that can be traded for a decent living.

Schools are therefore places of reimagining and indeed places where dreams can materialise for a better life, not just for the individual person but often for their families and, at times, their communities. It is for this reason then that schools will always matter, for the symbolism of hope that they carry.  

We know that not all schools are good schools but parents send their children to school with the hope of a better life for them. Why then do so many parents not know exactly what makes a good school? We often define good schools by what we observe from the outside and this can be order and discipline (which is still important) but alone, it means very little.

We also often look at school buildings and general cleanliness as great indicators of a good school (also still important) but discipline and cleanliness alone are not sufficient.

We go on to use school fees, the actual amount payable to a school, as an indicator of a good school; we often assume (as with many things) that the more expensive, the better the education standards. We know this is not always true. If anything, fees can easily be used as an exclusionary mechanism.

We also often use the physical location as an indicator that the school is either good or bad. If a school is in an expensive suburb, we assume it is an exceptional school, but if it is in a rural town or township, we immediately assume it cannot be great. We know this is not true, Mbilwi Secondary School in Limpopo is a case in point.

Ultimately, what makes a good school is a combination of things, some far more critical than others. A school can be beautiful with well-manicured lawns, stellar buildings, expensive fees, the discipline of a military base and it can still actually be a bad school; where children are not allowed to be themselves (fully expressive of their unique identities and characters), where the aim is uniformity and not diversity.

Good schools nurture children’s individuality with an understanding that one child may be more accustomed to sitting quietly and be still, while another fidgets and moves around a lot. No one child is better than the other, they are simply different. Good schools have excellent teachers, who know how to teach, how to introduce difficult concepts, pre-empt learner misunderstanding and bridge the gap with great explanations. Great teachers are an invaluable resource to any school.

Good schools also prioritise engaging teaching and learning resources; their classrooms are vibrant with questions and healthy interaction between teacher and pupils.

Good schools are safe spaces for children to be themselves, they are bully-free zones and are deliberate about creating safe spaces for their pupils. Good schools have healthy disciplinary methods, that are mostly developmental rather than punitive. Good schools understand children fully and thoroughly.

Good schools never kill a child’s confidence because they understand that, without confidence, no real learning can take place. It is the soft, seemingly unimportant things that make good schools great, the often unseen and intangible and I suppose that is why it is often easy for parents to reduce good schools to what they can see and point to and while these are great to have, they are not quite the full picture.

It would be good for parents to start asking questions like:

• How do you handle discipline in this school?
• What is the school policy on bullying?
• What is the school’s general method of teaching (teaching methodology)?
• What extramural activities are available to children for free?
• Ask for a school tour during school hours to get a good sense of the environment and aura
• Speak to a few teachers on their teaching styles or teaching philosophy

There are not many great schools in SA, but the good schools are everywhere and if you know what you are looking for, it will be easy to spot them.

Xhakaza is Nal’ibali CEO