Are international schools boasting of top notch faculty?

Answer 1

Your child's outlook and progress will be largely determined by who is steering him or her, and what their background is

A recently published research has proven that a teacher has a bearing on how much students will grow up to earn, how involved they are likely to be in college, how diligently they will go about saving, down to even their choice of neighborhood and their relationship patterns. Conducted by Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman of Harvard and Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia University, it studied 2.5 million people from a large urban school district in the US over two decades right from when they were in mid-school until they reached adulthood.

You might have a vague memory of when you were in school and one of your parents suggested something and you disagreed, saying "…but my teacher said…" The study suggested that teachers are practically foremost in impacting a child's education and future success - second only to parents.

"Children spend a better part of their day in school. As a result, they tend to absorb what they observe and teachers - through each 40-minute interval with them - become role models. Even in this modern day, children often refer to what their teachers say as 'right'. A teacher also wields immense power on whether or not a student will like a subject. An encouraging teacher can take an average student to better scores whereas a teacher who the child might dislike will foster that dislike into the subject being taught too," says Reshma Hawa, CEO, Rims International School Mumbai, a Cambridge School which is one of the top IGCSE Schools in Mumbai. Hawa has recently come on board under a management change at the organization - she brings in a wide network of teachers and children's development agencies garnered through nearly two decades of business development experience for child welfare related NGOs. She adds that she chooses staff based on their methodology, preparation for a class and how encouraging they are to their students.

For example, mathematics often brings on extreme sentiments of love or hate among students. Rims International School Mumbai, being among the top international schools in Mumbai has brought on board Ramanan Iyer, a guest lecturer who has the London School of Economics among his list of credentials. "Iyer is a brilliant teacher. He provides online lessons and gives students easier ways of solving problems," Hawa says.

Of course, you could perhaps research faculty on any of the International Schools' websites Hawa suggests "Talking to other parents could also give you a good idea."

Interestingly, a better faculty needn't burn holes in your pockets. Despite bringing in top notch teachers, fees for Rims International School Mumbai start at Rs. 1,30,000 (all inclusive), where other schools in the Santacruz neighborhood charge around Rs 3,00,000 with all inclusions. "We stay competitive. Even ICSE schools today have Rs 1,20,000 as a standard fee despite being affiliated to a local board. We, on the other hand have to pay a percentage of every student's fees to Cambridge."

To enable teachers to do their job better, the school has signed up an external agency of experts to develop individual learning programmes for every student. Another new initiative is a host of outdoor-learning experiences that teachers are expected to link to twice-a-week trips to a nearby ground that the school has rented for sports and other activities.