A good national plus school

A good national plus school

This letter is in response to Foreign teachers not qualified
printed in The Jakarta Post on May 21.

As my daughter had the privilege of being a student at a well-
known national-plus school in Bintaro for nearly 10 years I want
to share my observations and experience in what to look for in a
good national-plus school.

As with many products sold in Indonesia, there is a huge range
of quality. It is up to the customer not to blindly listen to the
salesperson but to research the product thoroughly before making
a decision. This process should be the same when trying to choose
a school among the mushrooming choices.

A good school should be a non-profit organization. It invests
in its teachers because without good teachers, there is no
school. Look for a school that continually upgrades the teachers
by holding workshops and training sessions.

If you are concerned about whether the expat teachers are
fully qualified, approach the school principal about your
concern.

One way to see how the classes function is to arrive at the
school unannounced and ask to sit in a class of your choice so
that you can observe an actual class, not something that has been
choreographed. A good school will allow this.

Many parents think that teaching only in English is more
beneficial. Over the years there have been some parents
pressuring the school to teach only in English, but the school
has maintained its bilingual approach. Studies have shown that
for a non-native speaker of English to do well in English,
they must have a strong basis in their own language. Respect and
proper use of their own language also helps in establishing their
identity.

Does the school have a vision and mission statement which is
actively implemented?

The decision to send my daughter to a national-plus school was
not made lightly because it is a huge investment, but because of
the dire situation of the Indonesian education system it was a
choice that thankfully I could make. My hope is that this
standard of education will be available for all Indonesian
students in the not too distant future.

ALA SULISTYONO, Jakarta