Finding a school that parents can partner with in rearing their children

It is a beautiful thing to take part in the process of raising a child to be a wonderful human being, who will one day contribute to this world. However, the job that many parents do not realize they are signing up to have for the rest of their lives does not include a manual, training facilities, nor master teachers.

Whether as hands-on parents or not, we experience day-to-day challenges in rearing our children to be the best that they can be, hopefully even better than what we could ever dream of becoming. Each day, we are faced with so many situations wherein we have to make choices that will immensely affect our child, and we know that some effects of those choices may be irreversible.

The only option available for us is to learn from how other people may have done it, or better yet, find a school that will help us in raising our children well. The latter is a more logical choice given its direct impact on children, but not many parents see the importance of choosing the right school for their own children.

As soon as our children enter an educational facility, they spend most of their waking hours with their classmates and teachers. It is no surprise therefore that many parents tell of stories wherein their children believe more what their teachers say, and when these young ones start growing up, would even choose to confide with their teachers about family or relationship concerns.

Given this, it is not stretch to say that choosing a school is pretty much like choosing whom to marry. The school is a parent’s biggest ally, a partner, in securing a bright future for their children. Choosing a school is essentially, choosing who we want to become second-parents to our children. And just like real parents, schools have different styles and approaches.

One of the newer and 21st century apt approaches to education and child-rearing is Systems Thinking, which has a diverse range of sources - one of which is Peter Senge, an American systems scientist who is also a senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States and the founder of Society for Organizational Learning.

Systems Thinking is loosely defined as a way of thinking that sees the bigger picture and how the parts of a system interact with each other, making an individual more critical and emphatic as he makes responsible choices. Given adequate training and exposure to this way of thinking, an individual increases his chance at personal success.

In Quezon City, there is a school that has pioneered in incorporating systems thinking in the Philippine education curriculum. Apart from being known to have a family atmosphere, Benedictine International School (BIS) has been practicing systems thinking for several years now and has been happily assisting parents in helping children become critical and creative individuals. More than just being “schooled,” students of BIS are able to grow as confident individuals under the guidance of caring teachers.

What is even more encouraging is that the school does not pretend to know everything. True to its systems thinking approach, it is a school that continues to learn and grow, involving all those who are part of a child’s development. The strong home-school relationship is built on an open communication that thrives on feedback and collaboration. Nurtured by a systems thinking structure, this strong collaboration between us, parents, and our children’s teachers who will then become their second parents, is key to ensuring that our children grow up to be the best versions of themselves, whether it be academically, socially, or emotionally. This is essentially what many parents look for in a school, the comfort in knowing that their children are in good hands when they’re not at home.

Finding the best home away from home and second-parents for our children may be a difficult task. But the choice will always be ours to look for a school we can really partner with for our children. Seriously get involved in your child’s education by knowing new approaches like Systems Thinking. Call Benedictine International School at +632.951.8960 / 951.7154 / 951.7454 and learn more about how you can help your child be successful in all avenues of life. You may also visit the school website at www.benedictine.edu.ph or its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BISphilippines.