Questioning boarding school...mother's dilemma

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would a upper class DC area family ever even consider boarding school, when there are endless excellent options right here?

To get the kid away from a "difficult" home life.
Then it may be worth the obvious risk.

B/c it's family tradition AND the kid wants to go.

So you let your parents or parents in decide where your child will live?
Who cares about the tradition. We need to do what WE as parents find best for OUR kid. Why the fear In breaking tradition?

The kid wants to go.

And he needs an advanced, very accelerated math curriculum and languages not offered at local privates.

He needs parents who want him around, the rest could be met with supplementing with tutors. You really suck.

So get him tutors in Math, Arabic, Mandarin, Latin and Ancient Greek? Easier to send him to a school that has them.

Sidwell, St. Albans, ncs, can offer these. Or did he not get in to those schools so now must move to another state?

There is no school who offers all. I know, I've looked. If they offer Arabic, they don't offer Mandarin. And he needs advanced Arabic and Mandarin not beginner. And then there's the math curriculum.

What he needs are parents who want him around. He needs parents who eat dinner with him and there are there for him after a long day. Parents to guide him and keep an eye on him.

Well forget that, Must. Learn. Mandarin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would a upper class DC area family ever even consider boarding school, when there are endless excellent options right here?

To get the kid away from a "difficult" home life.
Then it may be worth the obvious risk.

B/c it's family tradition AND the kid wants to go.

So you let your parents or parents in decide where your child will live?
Who cares about the tradition. We need to do what WE as parents find best for OUR kid. Why the fear In breaking tradition?

Yeah, and then they claim the kid is raging because of a chemical imbalance. Nice.

No kid well to do kid from a healthy family in this area gets sent away to boarding school.

The troubled kids do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are planning to send our son to boarding school in fall 2015 for 10th grade. Yes, it is family tradition, and yes, he wants to go. More importantly, it is an opportunity for him to become incredibly independent, to not have me or dad hovering over him, nagging about HW and tests, letting him become the captain of his academic destiny, to allow him to stretch and reach and grow. Yes, it will be incredibly hard for me, but he spent 6 weeks in Europe this year as an exchange student, so I know I will survive. I love my son, and I am not afraid to let him go. I know he will be better prepared for college because of it.

Why the rush? College is the normal time to make this adjustment, you dont win for sending him early.

Fewer and fewer kids are even prepared for the demands and responsibilities of 24/7 college life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are planning to send our son to boarding school in fall 2015 for 10th grade. Yes, it is family tradition, and yes, he wants to go. More importantly, it is an opportunity for him to become incredibly independent, to not have me or dad hovering over him, nagging about HW and tests, letting him become the captain of his academic destiny, to allow him to stretch and reach and grow. Yes, it will be incredibly hard for me, but he spent 6 weeks in Europe this year as an exchange student, so I know I will survive. I love my son, and I am not afraid to let him go. I know he will be better prepared for college because of it.

IME my college friends from boarding schools were less mature than those of is that had never been away from home.

Something tells me this one has her mind made up. Or her MIL made her mind up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are planning to send our son to boarding school in fall 2015 for 10th grade. Yes, it is family tradition, and yes, he wants to go. More importantly, it is an opportunity for him to become incredibly independent, to not have me or dad hovering over him, nagging about HW and tests, letting him become the captain of his academic destiny, to allow him to stretch and reach and grow. Yes, it will be incredibly hard for me, but he spent 6 weeks in Europe this year as an exchange student, so I know I will survive. I love my son, and I am not afraid to let him go. I know he will be better prepared for college because of it.

IME my college friends from boarding schools were less mature than those of is that had never been away from home.

Something tells me this one has her mind made up. Or her MIL made her mind up.

Yep. $$$$

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are planning to send our son to boarding school in fall 2015 for 10th grade. Yes, it is family tradition, and yes, he wants to go. More importantly, it is an opportunity for him to become incredibly independent, to not have me or dad hovering over him, nagging about HW and tests, letting him become the captain of his academic destiny, to allow him to stretch and reach and grow. Yes, it will be incredibly hard for me, but he spent 6 weeks in Europe this year as an exchange student, so I know I will survive. I love my son, and I am not afraid to let him go. I know he will be better prepared for college because of it.

IME my college friends from boarding schools were less mature than those of is that had never been away from home.

Something tells me this one has her mind made up. Or her MIL made her mind up.

Yep. $$$$

What do you mean.

[Anonymous]

Good lord, can we stop feeding this troll?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are planning to send our son to boarding school in fall 2015 for 10th grade. Yes, it is family tradition, and yes, he wants to go. More importantly, it is an opportunity for him to become incredibly independent, to not have me or dad hovering over him, nagging about HW and tests, letting him become the captain of his academic destiny, to allow him to stretch and reach and grow. Yes, it will be incredibly hard for me, but he spent 6 weeks in Europe this year as an exchange student, so I know I will survive. I love my son, and I am not afraid to let him go. I know he will be better prepared for college because of it.

IME my college friends from boarding schools were less mature than those of is that had never been away from home.

Well, that was not my reality. The ability to manage one's time while living independently, taking responsibility for one's work, speaking to teachers with questions/concerns un-provoked by mom and dad, establishing yourself as a person away from those who have known you since childhood, forging a sense of self, taking control of basic needs like laundry, bedtimes, wake up calls and choosing healthy foods at meals are just some of the things one can do for himself at boarding school and be better prepared for college. Does that mean that kids who stay home are not prepared for college? Of course not. In MY experience, it forced ME to step up and do these things. Me. MY reality.

And "what's the rush?"? Really? Don't you want your child prepared as best as he can be for college? Isn't that what all of this insanity about APs and IBs and travel sports and Big 3 schools is all about? All of us want what is best for out kids. And in my personal experience, going to boarding school will be a GOOD thing for my kid. And if it turns out that he doesn't like it, or for some reason it isn't working out, well then he can come home. Why judge me? What our family has absolutely no impact on the rest of you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why are you carrying on like this?

To bring some context to this breast beating contest.

You must feel ashamed that in America only 10% of children go to private schools (both boarding and non-boarding)?

Does this stark reality disturb you? In the meantime, you a blubbering about parents among this elite 10% who choose the boarding school option.

Why don't you send your children to public school like 90% of the rest of Americans?

First world problems...

Hilarious thread. People who send their kids to private day schools on the warpath and sitting in judgment of other parents who are sending their kids to private boarding schools.

[Anonymous]

Pea pod brains of private school parents having a pissing contest over pupils prepping at a day or boarding school.

Ho hum. It's about time to hit the ski slopes for overnights in the Alps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pea pod brains of private school parents having a pissing contest over pupils prepping at a day or boarding school.

Ho hum. It's about time to hit the ski slopes for overnights in the Alps.

So day preppers spend $$$ while boarding preppers spend $$$$$. It's a pissing contest alright but about money and class more than anything.

[Anonymous]

"IME my college friends from boarding schools were less mature than those of is that had never been away from home."

I had the same experience. They had trouble fitting in, and didn't get into the frats they rushed. They were too over the top and wild, setting off foam fire extinguishers in the dorm's common area for example. Or very odd and squirrelly. They said they had sooo much experience living with a roommate, etc., but they seemed to have this lack of confidence and lack of inner peace.

[Anonymous]

OP,
Your child will be fine. It's you whowill struggle. I'm not sure I could have done it. I let my child study abroad junior year of HS, said child was with lots of boarding school students, it's an amazing experience.

So ... is your child on board and enthusiastic?

[Anonymous]

But, these folk think its all about sucking and quality parenting.

Time to visit my psychoanalyst for a cup of tea and a little neighborhood gossiping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But, these folk think its all about sucking and quality parenting.

Time to visit my psychoanalyst for a cup of tea and a little neighborhood gossiping.

Nah, they say that but it's actually about money and who has more.

If they really cared about their kids' education, they would homeschool like parents who REALLY love their kids.