Schools Archives - IDEGRAAF

Six reasons expat parents should consider distance learning or boarding school

September 10, 2018 Loknath Das

Photo: Le Sallay A new academy is shaking up traditional distance learning with a combined approach that strikes the perfect balance for expat families. Think distance learning and, chances are, you imagine a course designed for adults with lots of heavy books, solitary time and precious little social interaction. But education is changing and children can now avail of a distance learning program with one crucial twist: it combines home study with a learning camp. Le Sallay International Academy is a pioneering school that offers a unique learning experience for children…

What other countries can learn from Singapore’s schools

August 31, 2018 Loknath Das

WHEN the island of Singapore became an independent country in 1965, it had few friends and even fewer natural resources. How did it become one of the world’s great trading and financial centres? The strategy, explained Lee Kuan Yew, its first prime minister, was “to develop Singapore’s only available natural resource: its people”. Today Singapore’s education system is considered the best in the world. The country consistently ranks at the top of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a triennial test of 15-year-olds in dozens of countries, in…

Five things Irish schools could learn from the Netherlands

August 31, 2018 Loknath Das

Margaret Kearns with her husband and four children in Amsterdam, where the family have lived for six years. Several recent reports have found that Dutch teens are among the happiest in the world, and having lived here for almost six years with my family, I have to concur. When we arrived here, we had no idea how it would unfold: moving abroad with a family and no social support, to a new culture, new language and new country. We thought we would stay for three to five years, travel and…

How schools are failing working parents — and how some are helping

August 31, 2018 Loknath Das

how schools fail working parents (Lidan Chen/for The Washington Post) I had gritted my teeth through most of the school-related demands at odds with my working mom life. The midmorning concerts and late-afternoon parent-teacher conferences. The mandatory “volunteer” slots at after-school drama club rehearsals. The half days that, for some reason, preceded every school vacation. The final straw came when a new after-school program didn’t have space for my son. I vented on Facebook and quickly learned I wasn’t alone. I heard from fellow working parents who had plenty of…

Report recommends Fairfax Co. schools security improvements

June 22, 2018 Loknath Das

WASHINGTON — After the February school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Fairfax County Public School launched an internal security review and looked for ways to improve. Now, the results are in. A report from the school district’s Office of Safety and Security recommends replacing outdated locks on classroom doors and requiring that those doors always be locked. It also calls for hiring eight new staffers so that security training and drills can be more thorough and frequent. Related Stories Ohio schools can get aerial photos to augment safety plansEDUCATION NEWS School…

Schools ‘sweat’ over heat holiday

June 22, 2018 Loknath Das

An overcast sky over the Hooghly on Tuesday afternoon. The Met office expects the maximum temperature to be back at 40 degrees Celsius or higher on Wednesday. Picture by Ankit Datta Calcutta: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations on Tuesday issued a circular to all its affiliated schools in Bengal, requesting them to comply with the state government’s appeal to suspend classes till the heatwave-like conditions prevailing since last week abate. This came within hours of the school education department issuing two circulars, one addressed to the ICSE council…

The Guardian view on mobile phones: schools are better without them

June 22, 2018 Loknath Das

‘Some games are so overwhelmingly attractive when they first appear that unhappy children can be entirely swept away in them.’ Photograph: Alamy When a minister in this government stumbles on a policy that is both popular and good, it’s newsworthy. Matt Hancock, the digital minister, has suggested that schools ban the use of mobile phones by their pupils. Amanda Spielman, the head of Ofsted, agrees. In France, the Macron government has put forward legislation that will ban the use of phones in all primary and middle schools. This removes the matter from the…

Will my child be forced to switch schools? What parents need to know about N.J. desegregation suit

May 29, 2018 Loknath Das

The statistics are undeniable. Across New Jersey, hundreds of thousands of black and Hispanic students attend schools that are almost entirely non-white. The question is whether the state should step in to do something about it. A lawsuit filed earlier this month accuses the state of being complicit in allowing one of the most segregated school systems in America and calls for a comprehensive desegregation plan. The legal challenge, filed by a coalition of civil rights groups, has spurred questions about what segregation really means and what changes could be in store for students if the…

Wilson County Schools weighs drug-testing athletes, which would join Sumner, Trousdale

May 29, 2018 Loknath Das

Wilson County Schools will explore joining a limited number of districts that administer random drug tests to high school athletes and other extra-curricular participants, which supporters believe can be a preventive measure. The Wilson County School Board recently approved the go-ahead to setup a test program for illegal drugs that begins with formation of a committee to seek input and work on details of the potential program. Specifics would need to be brought back to the board for approval. “From conversations among administrators, sponsors, and coaches, we want to make…

Free schools boost for England’s worst-performing areas

May 29, 2018 Loknath Das

The government’s free school programme is being redirected towards the worst-performing areas of England, particularly the North East. Ministers are targeting the next wave of about 35 new schools in the bottom third of lowest-performing areas. It comes after criticism that the free school programme has focused on the wealthier South East. The government will also give councils £50m to create about 740 new school places for children with special needs. The money could help to build facilities including sensory rooms and playgrounds with specialist equipment. It is part of…