As a marathon runner, a question that is constantly asked before running or even training for a long marathon is, “What is your why?”

If you don’t know why you are pounding the pavement for a long period of time, it generally means that you won’t push through when the going gets tough. You will give up. So let me ask you,

“What is your why for choosing the school that you chose for your child?”

Is it just close and convenient? Does it line up with the values and vision that you have for your child’s life? Does it meet the requirements that you had initially envisioned for your child? If you answered, “No”, to the any of the above, what are you doing about it?

How do you choose the right school for your child?

Children in South Africa, spend on average, 8hrs a day at school, probably more time than they do actively involved with their parents. Surely, it is therefore vital that the school you choose is an extension of your home values, a place where children can still be children, have fun and be true to the person that God created them to be. A place where wonderment and awe exists, where young minds can be moulded and stimulated to be the best that they can possibly be. Where passion abounds in every subject, where humour is part of everyday education.

A place of safety and growth, where mistakes are embraced as thinking opportunities and children are implored to use new strategies. Above all, it is a place where your child should feel loved and be truly happy as Aristotle said,

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

So, if you are choosing a school for the first time or perhaps changing schools, ensure that you do your homework thoroughly and research the teaching practices and value system of the school carefully. Visit the school and not necessarily only on their Open day, some say it’s like buying a house the right one just feels different. Chat to the Principal and staff and above all know your why! After all this is YOUR child, your most prized possession.

I mean, why not?