Considering boarding school - son currently in 7th grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP. Just wanted to give you some solidarity. We're sending our 6th grader to boarding school in January. It is absolutely the only decision for the mental health of our entire family. Yes, we will be harshly judged as parents but if 2020 has taught us anything it's that you need to do what is best for YOUR family. Definitely go North for schools though unless your are looking at Episcopal. Good luck with the decision! Boarding school can be an amazing experience for many kids. Hope it is the case with yours!

On

So we'll said. People are so judgey.Europeans have been sending kids to boarding school for years. Americans are so parochial

Hmm, no, actually, unless you’re talking about emotionally constipated upper class Brits. I attended university in the UK with a lot of them; the outcome isn’t pretty. In continental Europe, boarding school was for cases of out of control teens and/ or disinterested parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Excellent swim program at the Bolles School in FL. You might want to check it out.

Close relative is an administrator at Bolles. It's a fantastic school for academics, activities, and sports. Alumni are very well connected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are a parent. If you don’t want to parent, just say so. Your son can get a good education while he is living with you unless you live in the middle of nowhere. Sounds like you just want to be done with parenting from your post and those are some reasons to justify it.

People like you are such assholes. Seriously, how do you sleep at night knowing you are incredibly rude to people you don't know.

And by the way, your post says way more about you than you think it does. You think you're superior but you're actually just a small-minded, petty, insecure person.

I have no dog in this fight because I didn't go to boarding school and my kids are so young we haven't considered it, but I can't stand assholes like you.

+1

DS is in private (7th) and we've never considered boarding school so I too have no dog in this fight but wanted to agree that the PP is an asshole. Stop shaming people for wanting to find the best option for their kid as possible (education wise, socially etc.) - even if this mom were staying put, it sounds like her DS would benefit from boarding school during Covid times considering those kids are living in a pre-covid bubble and are having a mostly normal school experience. If I lived near a boarding school, because that's not something we are looking to do for our family during normal times, then I'd consider it for at least a couple of school years considering we're still going to be dealing with this through next school year. DS is getting distance learning four days for full pay and no social/sports life - again, I'd consider it right now if it worked for us.

[Anonymous]

OP, please ignore all the people who speculate from the outside. I have a son who was in an identical spot, except that he went down in flames with FCPS distance learning. I never considered boarding school until this spring when I saw the trajectory he was headed in (lonely, disaffected, lethargic.) My son is an introvert too so I was shocked that he was open to the idea of boarding school. Fast forward to toda,y two months into the school year at a boarding school, and you've never seen such a change. He's happy, really loving the independence, on a sports team and has a ton of In-Real-Life friends. He's learning responsibility, that there are other adults who care besides just his parents, and how to manage himself in a way that would probably be hard to do under my roof (he knows mom will always help.) This 14 year old boy has actually noted how appreciative he is for his engaged, constructive (and not overwhelmed with hundreds of students) teachers. Just this last weekend he was telling me that he feels more connected with his boarding school community in two months than he did in the entire two years of his large FCPS middle school. Your reasoning is solid and boarding schools can be great for kids. Let small-minded people think what they will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boarding schools are closed due to COVID, Genius!

Um not all of them. They live in a bubble.

If you have frozen your eggs and banked your sperms, you can certainly take the risk of something happening to your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boarding schools are closed due to COVID, Genius!

Um not all of them. They live in a bubble.

If you have frozen your eggs and banked your sperms, you can certainly take the risk of something happening to your child.

You are ridiculous. The risk of serious complications happening to a child due to COVID is extremely small. And that’s IF they get it.
Does your kid never ride in a car, or play a sport, or go sledding, or go hiking...?
Because that’s the level of risk we are talking about. Extremely marginal.
I feel very sorry for your child if they are bubble-wrapped, at home, forever, with you.

[Anonymous]

I went to boarding school, despite overprotective helicopter parents (for the time; these days they'd be considered pretty middle of the road). My choice, and while it was a mixed experience for me (more the result of choice of school and less about boarding per se), there were lots of benefits and I'm grateful for having done so.

OP, if it's the right choice for your son, and for your family, go for it. Tons of haters on this board, though, so please try to ignore the vitriol.

[Anonymous]

McDonogh, just outside Baltimore, has a 5 day boarding option and strong academics and swimming. Could be best of both worlds.

[Anonymous]

Boarding at St. Andrews-Delaware has been so great for my ds! Call them and they will give you my name to talk about our experience. Don’t pay attention to boarding school haters who mostly do not know what they are talking about

[Anonymous]

This is really a decision that, for the mental and socio-emotional health of the child, needs to be 99% child-driven.

Your reasons are really mostly about YOUR needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is really a decision that, for the mental and socio-emotional health of the child, needs to be 99% child-driven.

Your reasons are really mostly about YOUR needs.

Read reasons 1-3 again?

[Anonymous]

My DS went to Taft in CT and absolutely loved it. We stayed very connected and drove up for big sports games or other events at least once a month. He said his only regret was starting in 10th grade and only having 3 years there, not 4. Many of his friends, especially the athletes, had gone to junior boarding schools in New England.
I also went to boarding school and didn't love it, as it was the wrong school for me at the time-too preppy and sports-oriented. Each school has its own culture, so be sure to have your child visit the campus and get a feel for the school.

[Anonymous]

My husband went to Fork Union starting in 7th grade. It’s works for some kids. It changed the course of his life fir the better. I’m not sure we would send our son but who knows in 10 years I might feel different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is really a decision that, for the mental and socio-emotional health of the child, needs to be 99% child-driven.

Your reasons are really mostly about YOUR needs.

Read reasons 1-3 again?

Read the rest of the reasons. With divorce and Dad moving away, child needs one parent and stability more than ever. Have the kid go live with Dad.

[Anonymous]

I'd also look at Woodberry Forest in Orange, VA.