Figure 1.--Many believe that boarding school children live under a harsh disciplinary regime. Until fairly recently there was considerable basis for this assessment. For years corporal punishment was a primary discpinary tool. This is not what we observed at almost all of the schools we visited. |
A variety of myths are current in the popular mind even though they appear to contradict the actual situation at the schools. Here we will discuss some of these myths. We can give our take of these myths, but we welcome your insights to more fully discuss them. These are the myths that occur to us. Some have a historical basis. Others have some degree of truth, but for the most part most are based on a fundamental lack of knowledge and understanding of these schools. Readers may have additional such myths to add. We will be glad to discuss further such myths that readers may add.
Many believe that boarding school children live under a harsh disciplinary regime. Until fairly recently there was considerable basis for this assessment. For years corporal punishment was a primary discpinary tool. This is not what we observed at almost all of the schools we visited. Some of the schools did still use corporal punishment, although it was being phased out. For the most part what we saw were dispinary systems based on modern principles of reenforcing positive behavior and and discouring negative behavior through counseling and denying certain privliges. Now it is definitely true that there was a higher standard of discipline at these schools than at state schools, but this is not inconsistent with achieving a happy atmposhere and certainly not with achieving academic goals. The principle point here is that achieving an orderly, disciplined school was achieved without harsh descipline.
It is generally assumed that the chilkdren at boarding schools come from wealthy families. While it is true that the children come from families with higher than average income levels, this does not mean that the children all come from wealthy children. Wealthy British families do for the most part send their children to private schools, often boarding schools. But most of the children come from families that could not be described as wealthy. Most come from affluent middle-class families. This is a reflection of the fact that the schools fees, especially bord school fees, are substantial and many families simpy can not afford them. There are, however, a range of schools with varied fee structures as well as fee schmes to accomodate parents of lmited means. In many instances, mothers work primarily to earn the money needed for the school fees. The Givernment also had an assisted plaves program to pay the schools fees of military families and other government employees posted abroad, The schools interesting report that quite a number of parents never attended orivate schools as children, an indcator of a broadening social background of the families deciding on private education.
This is a more complex issue. From our observation, the schools we visited were less diverse than the British public as a whole. This is certainly a relection of the fact that minority families tend to have lower incomes and not any exclutionary policy on the part of the schools. That said, it was a rare school we viditec that did not have some diversity. This came from successful minority families as well as the children of diplomats and foreign businessmen. There were alo some foreign children, mostly French, involved in exchange programs. Another factor to consider is the fact that minority students are often concentrated in inner city schools and often suburban state schools are often not as diverse the British population as a whole. Quite a number of private schools as a result or as least as diverse as some tate schools or even more diverse. The boarding experience here is another important consideration. Even in diverse state schools, there is all too infrequently little iteraction of the children, outside the classroom. The children tend t make friends and associate along ethnic or socio-economic lines. At boarding schools these class and ethnic lines tend to break down. The children more commonly associate and interact outside the classroom, Here there are many levels of interaction, including dorms/boarding houses, and sports teams. Living together for months throws the children together in such a way that social and ethnic differences are often rendered unimportant.
Many children have the idea that at boarding school there will be no oppotunity for habing fun. Now here it is true that the children live a more supervised restricted life. There are curfews and rules ennforced not only in the classroom, but in the dorms/boarding houses aw well. There are bed times set earlier than is the case at home. Most schools severely restrict television viewing. On the other hand there are always friends availvle for games and play. This is an especially important consideration as increasingly children comes from one or two children families. In fact the boarding scjhool experience facilittes making friends beyond what is often possible for children at home. While children at boarding school will ommonly spend more time studying than children at home, they often will send more time at play and in interesting activities than children at home. This is possible because restrict television viewing which can absorb several hours of solitary activity for children at home. Here we did hear a range of opinions from the children we spoke with. Many did express a positive opinion about the range of activities and play opportunities. Other found boarding school life boring. In several cases this was the attitude of some of the older prep school children. We believe this represented a understandable maturing of the children. Prep schools are designed essentilly to accomodate primary-age children. By the time the children reach 13 years they are ready to move on and for the more mature circumstnces of their senior schools.
