Assessing international school

Assessing international school

I resent the insinuating tone of Rachel Davies' recent article
(Parents need to analyze int'l schools, The Jakarta Post, Dec.
18). Davies' use of quotation marks around the word
"international" gives the impression that she doubts that certain
schools meet her criteria, which she never fully states. If the
school in South Jakarta, which she doesn't name, is the school
where my son is currently enrolled, then the visiting parents
didn't do a very good assessment of the school's strengths.

Sufficient facilities are not an adequate criterion alone for
a school assessment. When I was considering that unnamed school,
I asked my parents (both of whom have been international
educators for more than 40 years) whether it was the facilities
or teachers that made a good school. They both replied that it
is the teaching that is important and that an empty tent in the
desert could be a good school if the teachers were good.

After two years in a school where there are not many
facilities but really good teachers, my son is thriving, happy
and being adequately prepared for any future academic challenges
he should embrace. If Davies is going to write snide
articles about international education in Jakarta, perhaps she
should visit the schools herself instead of just making
assumptions.

LUCY S. MIZE, Jakarta