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Perhaps you are thinking about teaching in a private school in the future or maybe you just started teaching in a private school during the current academic year. This article is written with you in mind. If you are coming from a public school, you will find several differences between teaching in public school and teaching in a private school. The differences are even more pronounced if you take a teaching position in a boarding school. If you have never taught at all, then the following article wil raise points and issues for you to consider.

Students who want to be there

Teachers want to teach. We love our subject. We want to share it with our students. Unfortunately it can be difficult to teach when you are more concerned about maintaining order in your classroom than you are with actually teaching. When you have a large class of, say, 30 or 40 students, maintaining order is an ever-present issue. On the other hand teaching a small class of, say 12-15 students, allows you to engage your students more or less constantly. It is very difficult for students not to be engaged when the size of the class is small.

This video illustrates teaching using Harkness tables.

Students attend private school because their parents want them to get a first rate education. The admissions process can be quite rigorous involving as it does testing and

It's a big step sending your darling off to private school. She will probably survive the transition just fine. But how about you? Will you be able to restrain yourself and avoid being an over-protective parent? Are you going to hover nearby like a helicopter? Let's look at how to make that huge adjustment to not having our little darling at home where we knew where she was and what she was up to. Here is how to cope with private school at four distinct grade levels. Here is your private school survival guide.

Preschool

When you send your baby off to preschool or nursery school, you will go through all kinds of angst. Being concerned is particularly true when your first or only child leaves the nest. However, you can offset much of your anxiety by selecting your preschool or nursery school carefully. The best schools will always be hard to get into. Places at popular schools will be limited. But once the school has accepted her, then determine how you can be helpful without getting in the way. Most schools will welcome your assistance with everything from class activities to fundraising. Don't wait to be asked. Don't be shy about telling the school that you have experience working in development or marketing or whatever field you offer. Stay involved as a team player rather than as the leader which you are probably accustomed to being. The school will appreciate that display of modesty.

This

QJoseph Gauld is a distinguished educator who founded Hyde Schools in 1966. He very kindly agreed to answer some questions about Hyde Schools and his educational philosophy. The Editor.

1. Tell us a bit about the crisis of conscience which you had back in 1966. This is how the concept of Hyde Schools was shaped, correct?

As a director of admissions who taught calculus and coached football in 1962, I had a crisis of conscience when I realized I was part of a competitive educational system valuing certain abilities that blocked the full development of the unique potential of students.

On the other side of the spectrum, there was another student in the same class who was the classic “plugger.” Although he had considerable difficulty with the material, he embodied all of the qualities and virtues I hoped that schools would espouse: curiosity, strong work ethic, concern for others, honesty, etc. I praised his effort, yet ultimately—and reluctantly—gave him the lowest grade in the class.

This example represented to me what was wrong with our educational system, one that values achievement, ability, and talent (so much so that it simply rewards and stops challenging students who have it) over attitude, effort, and character. I was unable to serve either of these students in the system I served with a traditional grading system, so I founded Hyde School in 1966, where I

If you are thinking of applying to an American private school and English is not your first language, you will be required to take a test known as The Test of English as a Foreign Language. Known more commonly as TOEFL which is pronounced TOE-full, this is an important part of the private school admissions process.

TOEFL used to be a paper-based test which is known as TOEFL PBT. This older method of taking the TOEFL test is being phased out. The newer form of TOEFL is TOEFL iBT. This is the test that is administered online in test centers worldwide.

This video gives you an overview of what TOEFL is.

TOEFL is administered in most countries. You take the computer-based test at an examination center under supervised testing conditions. Watch this short video to see how the test is administered.

So let us examine what is involved and how to prepare for the test.

What is TOEFL?

TOEFL is a standardized test administered by the world-famous Educational Testing Service. ETS is based in Princeton, New Jersey, and has been around since 1947. It is an old, very established, highly regarded testing service. ETS is a not-for-profit organization. ETS administers all kinds of tests which are given at over 9,000 locations in 180 countries. The tests with which we are probably most familiar are the SAT and AP tests which high school students