The School Search - The Final Installment

And so we went to the final assessment.  I think this is the school we prefer, but it wasn’t always that way.  At my first visit I wasn’t sure.  This is an American based system, but it also has IB – an International Baccalaureate.  As I am not an educator, I am still not sure that I could articulate what that means, but it can’t be a bad thing.  Maybe it means that if I lived in Dubai forever then my child would be eligible to go to university anywhere?

This school is owned by a company that has many schools in Dubai.  This made me kind of skeptical at first because I thought it might be all about the business.  However, feedback from parents and people I know who have worked there, all positive.  It is also an added bonus that the nurses at the school have experience with diabetic children.

I toured it twice and tried to be more objective the second time.  When it came down to it, I liked this place because the student mix is a representation of what Dubai is – children and families from many different countries.  I also had a better feeling about the parents there embracing Dubai and where they were compared to the other American school we visited.  There will always be people moving, but like they say, “no matter where you go, there you are”.

The day of the assessment, Erin does not want to go.  He still reminisces about the “naughty boy” at the previous school and wants nothing to do with looking at any more schools.  The poor child – I promise this is the last one.  We arrive and see another boy named Adam that went to Erin’s nursery last year.  Yeah.  Maybe this will make him feel at ease.

Well, it was all good until Adam started to get uneasy.  The more upset he got, the more reluctant Erin became.  And to make it even worse, the classroom they were in was allll the wayyyy down a very long hallway.  It was probably overwhelming.  I believe Adam’s dad and I were the only parents who escorted their children to the classroom.  I tried to convince Erin to play with him, but hiding behind my leg seemed like a better idea, and Adam wasn’t interested either.

What’s a mom to do? He doesn’t want to participate.  After his previous bad experience I don’t blame him.  So I did what any respectable mom would do.  I leaned down and whispered in his ear, “Tell ya what.  If you do this, after we’re done, we’ll go buy some new cars.  Does that sound like a good idea?”  Without blinking an eye he answers his conforming “OK” as he always does when he is about to do something fun, and went on his way to play with the cars they had there.

I don’t know if it made a difference, but he got in.  So now it's decision time.