What Does the School Stand For?

At various discussions on matters concerning the school, those present express themselves on what education at Lawrence School means. It is quickly evident that it is not "obvious" what one can expect from an education at Lawrence School. There are those who feel that the school promotes "allround development," whatever that means. There is the opposing camp that states that "allround development" means under-development in academics. There are even some who state sarcastically that "allround development" means development of horse-riding skills!

What is clear is that there is little unanimityon what precisely a parent can expect if the child is sentto the Lawrence School. This is because there are so many possible objectives to choose from. For instance, the school can aim at being a military school that will produce students for a career in the armed forces. Alternatively, the school can aim at academic excellence expressed in terms of outstanding performance in the CBSE exams with some extra-curricular activities thrown in as light relief. Thirdly, it is possible to envisage a school curriculum aimed at developing the creativity of children in various fields of human endeavour, such that the products of the school go on to achieve excellence in theirr chosen fields whether as poets, mathematicians, artists, architects, agriculturists, etc.

The important point is that the school, or rather those who run it, have a clear idea about what it is that they are setting out to accomplish. Unless there is such an explicitly stated Mission, the school will find itself pulled in various directions by articulate groups of parents and other stakeholders, like alumni, who all will have their own ideas on what the school stands for.

-- excerpted from an article by C. Balagopal (Nil '1968) which appeared in the OLA newsletter of Apr 96.

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Last Modified: Sunday, 19-Jul-1998 18:46:26 EDT