@sealofapproval, I’m not the person you asked, but since you quoted me, I thought I would chime in. When we gathered information about BS, primarily at open houses, I asked a lot of questions about different class options and pace of the classes to the teachers and the heads of the departments. Almost universally, small schools said that because they were smaller schools, they couldn’t offer as many different options for classes, including pace, as the larger schools.
On the other hand, an AO of a large BS said that their math classes come in fast, faster, and fastest, so if your child needs slow or slower, this BS might not be a good fit for your kid. I think that is something to keep in mind as well. A lot of options doesn’t necessarily mean that one of those many options will be just-right for your kid.
I read your other thread and I think it is harder to find that right fit when your kid has a complex profile. There is probably not necessarily a perfect fit BS for many kids, especially complex kids. I think once you have figured out what things are going to be most important to your child, you then need to prioritize. Which ones are “must-haves” and which ones are “nice-to-have-but-not-necessary”?
Here is our experience: It is pretty much “sink or swim” and “no hand holding” - keep up with the fast pace or move down…Also, homework seems to come in waves…more of it right before a marking period or vacations. For us, the Fall semester seemed to be homework intensive - more “chill” in the Spring - except for that last month of school…then homework on top of subject tests, AP tests, SAT-II, mad dash to the end of the year stuff.
Schools vary in terms of homework help and/or support. So if you are a prospective student reading this thread, do ask about this during your visits - take the opportunity to discuss homework and testing experiences with the students you meet. If you think you may need homework help or just feedback on a regular basis, then you need to determine if the schools on your list can actually deliver on this expectation.
If you are a performing arts student and think you will have time to do homework during rehearsals…SNAP OUT OF IT! Just kidding - sort of…you probably will not be able to catch up on homework while watching the best Company dancers or Orchestra soloists rehearse in front of you…not allowed (at least at our school) and your time may be limited. I do think tour guides and current students underestimate the amount of homework they do…Know yourself and know what you can tackle…going to a school that demands 6 courses (like someone on here described) may be a bit steep for some of you. Also, if you are student who wants to have more time to do EC’s, sports, performing arts, or explore new areas of interest - leave yourself time…time is very precious at BS.
My kids’ private school was known for the rigor and perceived amount of homework. My kids used to prioritize their work based on their standing within each class. If they had a solid A in a class and a borderline A in another class then they would spend more time on the borderline A class if they had to make a choice. Both of them had 15-20 hrs/week EC, so they had to do a lot of their work ahead of time.
The junior year was the killer year for them because of all the college standardized testing. I don’t remember my kids going to bed later than 10pm. They were up at 6:30 and at school by 8.
Also: It is worth finding out about a school’s policy re: tutoring. At our kid’s school, students are encouraged to seek help from their own teacher, from official peer tutors, or from another teacher in the department. It is extremely rare for a kid to have an outside tutor during the school year. (You have to seek approval.)
But we know of kids at boarding schools with more intensely competitive cultures whose parents spend hundreds of dollars (if not more) for outside tutoring via Skype/Zoom. In some cases, it is remedial. In others, it is to try to keep up in an advanced or honors class that the kid probably shouldn’t have been placed in. Sometimes, it is to get ahead of the material and ensure an A. Whatever the reason, I think it says a lot about the school and the culture…
When we looked at Taft a few years ago, they had teachers on duty during the study hall - one was an English teacher who was checking work. Another school we looked at had a main study hall with a teacher on duty. The schools we looked at all had some type of peer tutoring available for students. Office hours were available during certain “free periods” and on certain evenings. Students - it’s advised to take advantage of the office hours. As noted in other posts, some of the real “explaining” gets done during these times. Also, do not be shy about asking for assistance or extra help from your teacher - it can actually work toward your advantage.
Also, really look at the actual daily schedule. We heard a million times “if your kid can prioritize he can get his homework done during the day in his free periods.”
Unfortunately, we didn’t pay close enough attention to the actual free periods. They are slim to none and very short. Really not enough time to get work done by the time you get out of class and take out your books. This was a shock to my son who was very used to getting his homework done during the day so he had time for sports and could go to sleep at a reasonable hour.
Some schools have a reliable one hour period every day or sometimes even more. All my sons free periods are at the end of the day and seem to often get used by the sports team for traveling to games.
Yes @OneOfEach, that does happen. So, when your kiddo is plotting courses next year try to keep those free periods in mind (if possible) for the schedule. Unfortunately, our kid has 5 classes right in a row with no break - until last period which is free. That last free is used often for snack or getting dressed @sports. That has been very tough because a student gets really tired during the day without a break or a chance to cram for a test during a “free”.
@Golfgr8 It doesn’t seem like we can control those free periods with class selection, have you found that to be possible?
It is a lot, especially because my son also plays on club teams outside of school.
We also got the “oh it’s possible to play on club teams, there are kids on campus doing it now.” Frankly, I don’t know how those kids were doing it. Later I learned from talking to parents while watching games that those kids aren’t going to practices for their club teams at all and also aren’t playing in games unless it’s a showcase. They are kids who already have serious D1 or Ivy interest in them so they don’t feel the pressure to perform for their club. My son is younger and since he hasn’t picked a sport yet he has a harder balancing act and feels the pressure from the club to commit more time.
@one1ofeach, my don’s Experience has been the same with respect to free periods. I am always pushing him to get more work done during the day, when he’s fresher and more efficient, but it’s very unrealistic. Like your child, he doesn’t control the actual class scheduling (and his school is smaller so there are fewer sections of different classes). Plus, the “free” periods get taken up by other things — one day it’s a music lesson, one day he meets with a tutor, his band class meets during what appears on his schedule as a “free” period, until this year he gave tours — also during feee periods — which he had to give up this year. His frees are in addition to sports, but varsity practices are long and go right into dinner. Most blocks on the schedule I can see are taken up by some other activity, and occasionally he needs a short mental break between classes when he’s not doing homework.
As to club sports, it’s all over the place. He plays a fall club sport that only practices and competes on Sundays in the fall, and his coach is very clear that academics and your fall school sport come first, but he still expects the kids to manage their time and homework such that they can make it practices. DS has Sunday practices, tournaments, and recruiting events up until finals. For his winter/spring club sport he has more events but just has to miss a lot. A lot of kids play club hockey and play games, tournaments, and showcases, but don’t get to practices. It really varies by sport, season, and location.
@sealofapproval, re: locked in 9th grade curriculum, my understanding is that with most schools there isn’t much choice of courses in freshman year because everyone has to cover the basics. No doubt school size affects the number of options. But I do think Cate’s curriculum design is very intentional. They want to make sure the student have the same solid base, especially with writing.
I think what Cate can’t offer that bigger schools can is a fast-paced “catch up” math class for kids who are halfway in between levels for whatever reason - that would let kids move up to a higher level of math by the following year. Without that, it is hard for a kid to accelerate into higher levels without work outside of school. If you start in geometry, you are going to end with calculus.
For my kid, it worked just fine, after a little jostling. He was able to start at an appropriate higher level for math and language, and the honors science track. So when I say “locked in” - I don’t mean every kid has the exact same classes. But where you start is likely going to determine where you end. They have standard grade-level course options (including honors freshman year for physics and later years for everything else), and if you are a full year advanced, there is a class for you. But half-step courses don’t exist. Most kids that is fine for, but if you need a more tailored path, a larger school with more options may fit better.
@CaliMex makes a great point about tutoring. One of the reasons we picked the school was that outside tutoring is discouraged. there is plenty of out-of-class help available from the faculty throughout the day and evening. The private day school that was the runner up pick had lots of kids being tutored outside of school. I think that comes down to personal preference.
Also, when you ask kids about homework, ask random kids that you encounter during the day because the answers may vary based on grade level and student course load. The kids with no frees taking a million classes may not be tour guides because they don’t have any free periods to give as availability for tours!
I’m not a fan out outside tutoring. I think some kids are really pushed academically, in sports or in music far beyond their natural abilities. These kids end up “swimming upstream” but they are mostly really anxious and the parents keep piling on. It’s very sad. Not to mention, this is frustrating for the kid who BELONG in those tough classes where things come naturally and they want to explore more materials. Please don’t do that to your kids. Let me find their spot in the various subjects they take. For any student, I’d also mention that several teachers mention stopping in. Even for the kid who is getting an A, they might benefit from double checking info, context etc.
Some schools allow the students to take advantage of a free period, others are really large and the kid might not have time after taking into consideration getting to the next class. My sophomore uses free periods all the time. And needs to have an ease into the day so goes to the library at 7-7:30 often before it opens.
My kid dropped club sport and music lessons. There is just not enough time esp. if your kid plays a couple of varsity sports.
FWIW most of the schools we toured in the NE offer some type of peer tutoring and/or peer support if you need help - this is organized and approved by the school. Some schools had this beefed up during exam time. If you’re reading this thread as a prospective parent/student, this is yet one more thing to consider.
My perspective is that peer tutoring is fairly limited in its helpfulness. At exam time, peers are busy and stressing about their own workload. Absent a quick question of limited scope, my kids found peer tutoring pretty unhelpful. They did take advantage of getting help from the teachers - both their own and those on duty in the dorm.
Not true. There’s a new sophomore in my freshman bio class who took phys/chem last year at their old school, and I know a repeat freshman who is in sophomore phys/chem.
@Golfgr8 we have a similar situation. 5 core classes in a row with the one free period at the end of the day when DD is simply exhausted. Homework / studying doesn’t really start until after sports and dinner, and cannot realistically be completed before lights out. In our case, it’s not a matter of needing help or tutoring, just more time. The avg. 2 hours of homework per night (freshmen) that we were told during our initial tour of school is categorically incorrect. During parents weekend each teacher stated that they aimed for an average of 45 mins. per night. Multiply that by 5, and we are way past 2 hours, especially if you factor in tests and essays which typically take a bit longer. Our DD is managing, but downtime is nearly non-existent - something our family prioritizes as part of the “balance” we seek. That said, DD is happy and loving her school, sport, and friends. I simply hope that the lack of unstructured decompression time doesn’t take its toll in the long run.
At Parents Weekend, the headmaster presented the results of their every-five-year study about student/parent satisfaction. The parents were pretty much the same as past years. But the students reported being significantly more stressed around academic performance, among other downward-sliding scores. In effect, they perceived their value on campus as tied to getting A’s, far more than their predecessors from 5+ years ago.
The school is alarmed and not sure what has changed. It feels to me, based on the conversation here, that it is a cultural shift that impacts high school and college students everywhere, not just Cate.
I think it is great that the school didn’t hide the results, but instead highlighted it during Parents Weekend, of all places. We are all watching our kids stressing out about all of this craziness and agree it is a problem. So how do we identify and make the necessary changes? Homework is clearly a focal point. What else?
I feel like DS’s school is making progress in stress-management. (Though it is ds’ fall of Senior year. Tons of stress!) They try to make Saturday activities as “get what you need,” recognizing that some kids need to de-stress w a movie, video game or small group chill time while others will de-stress with paint ball or trampolines etc. They have also upped the counseling profile and availability for kids that need to talk to someone. In my son’s experience, most teachers will move things around if you need extra time (and give them advance notice.) And the advising has been great. However, a lot of these resources depend on the kid to initiate/reach out. I think the schools have to do their part but we parents also have a part to play. And we can remind our kids to ask for help. And remind our kids to advise their friends to ask (the appropriate adults) for help. Somehow people ask for help least when they need it the most! And we can remind our kids that they can blossom in a variety of places - perfect grades, perfect arts/sports, perfect colleges do not dictate their futures.
(Did I mention that it’s fall of Senior year? I am trying to practice what I preach! Thank you to those I have pm’s with in the past and throughout this journey who have reminded me to chill/let ds chill!)