Deciding on a primary school - Is it more a strategy to plan life?

I have a couple of close friends, who according to me are leading mirror lives..( They don't know each other too well)The common factor that is me, gets to be a sound board many a time,not that I am complaining!!
Both of them have returned from the US in the last year and a half. Both had their 4 and 5 year olds attending great schools out there. But when they got back to the city that gave them 'their' education, they are confused.What school do I put my child in? Should he/she go to a state board?Or a CBSE? Or an ICSE? How are the board results for the school in the last few years? How well are the extra curricular activities planned? Do they have space for sports? If they do have these, then are they really concentrating on the academics enough for them to compete with the 'traditional schools' ?

Did our parents really think this much before getting us into a school? I would think most did not. It was a very easy solution then.Look around the community you live in, amongst the schools available, consider the best and the most affordable option.

No longer though, it would seem. I guess the competition is much higher. The affordability is much higher too. Everyone wants better and better for their kids. This friend of mine went above and beyond the traditional methods of zeroing in on her daughter's school.She took a whole day off and spent it with, no not the teachers or the parents, but the kids!! She spoke to many of them, asked them a list of questions she had carefully prepared.She came out well informed, completely convinced that this was it,this was where her daughter should go!! I was very impressed with the drive and the energy she has shown in figuring out, maybe the most important phase in her daughter's life..

I think most of us want a lot more achievements out of our kids. Sometimes, this can be looked at, with a cynical eye .We can say we should not push our kids. But then again, haven't a lot of achievers out there , been through vigorous tests and competitions?Doesn't that in some way prepare you to be a leader? As long as we figure out where we draw our lines and how thick or thin we draw them, it is alright. At the end of it we are all doing it with the best of intentions. Cos isn't that all we have ? Good intentions and no guarantees ??