Telling

I guess one can tell how the school environment is through observing how the teachers talk to the students, how the children were being controlled or let loose, cleanliness of the school and the children, decorations on the wall, etc.

First impression is very important to me, from people as well as places.
The volume, the smell, the sight, the speech and teacher-student interaction. It told me more than enough than I wanted to know. Perhaps I'm too deterministic based on that few minutes I was there, perhaps I've seen one of the best and have great expectations, still, I do not wish to settle for less than second best.