Reply to Boarding School - Why or Why Not?

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[quote=Anonymous]I'm the person who has taught at both types of schools -- boarding schools and day schools.  There are advantages to both, and I think people are under-estimating the advantages to boarding schools a bit (this is a day school oriented board, of course).  Having read the many posts from people who are worried about the homework load, I will point out that the "no commute" and "block schedule six days a week" model actually works pretty well for having a rigorous academic schedule that does not result in a crushing homework load.

And as for the "how could you send your child away" line of posts, we are all okay (I think) with our children leaving at age 18 for college.  In some families, the tradition is that that age is 14.  With the lengthy, lengthy vacations of the boarding school schedules, the parents do spend a lot of time with their children.  Finally, a very active child in DC, who plays sports and is active in the arts, does not actually spend a lot of time each day with his/her parents, even IF the parent is not a busy professional frequently away on travel.

Finally -- drugs and alcohol:  I'm honestly on the fence on this one.  There's a lot in boarding schools, but there may be just as much used by kids who attend private day schools.  Let me put it this way -- someone who wants to get stoned will be able to do that in either atmosphere . . . and more then a few kids want to get stoned in both environments.

I recall the boarding school as a really lovely community where we had pretty rich relationships with our students -- I am still in touch with some former students whom I taught/coached/advised and now have families of their own.  However, I do agree as well that for the kids who really felt lost or different, being in such a peer-dominated environment could be very difficult.  Although high school is not easy for any kid who feels out of step with his/her peers, at least, in the words of one poster, if you are not away at school you can "step away" from it when you go home every day.  On the flip side, even without dramatic home dysfunction, there were kids who had a happier, more nurturing environment in the school community than in a home where, for example, the parents were fighting/divorced etc.

I was a public school kid who taught at a boarding school for a while because it combined teaching and coaching, which I wanted to do that that point, and I was very favorably impressed by my school and our peer schools, despite coming in with a full rolling bag full of stereotypes about such places.[/quote]

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