Advice to those thinking of attending Phillips Academy.
My son is a senior , 4 year, and has been extremely disappointed .
He came to the school a very confident young man, and in four years he has been so overloaded with work, and disappointed with the campus life, that he wished he never accepted.
If you are not Yale bound, he found the teachers had little interest in you.
He is constantly fed a politically correct indoctrination to the point that there can be no civil dialogue.
The new head of school is interested in promoting race, gender, and white privilege (whatever that is), above all else.
My son wasted one year in history class being taught that Muslims are the religion of peace.
He wasted English classes being taught obscure Afro- centric stories instead of being taught American Literature.
Even math teachers teach about the elitist whites.
Enough is enough.
This school is an empty shell of what it once was. Completely irreverent .
You have been warned.
Oh my, a school that teaches the truth that is often overlooked in the media and an awareness of privilege? Who would want that?
It sounds like the OP is biter. Maybe the reason is legitimate and people should be warned against going there is they have a similar background to the OP’s son. Sounds like the OP’s son struggled with grades and achievement at Phillips. My question is whether there was anything about the OP’s son’s application to Phillips Academy that suggested that as a possibility. Did the OP’s son have a history of academic problems? What about any learning disability (even if he is eligible for and was given accommodations)?
Many teenagers find their U.S. History class source of new point of view that was not taught earlier, and find it interesting whether they agree with it or not. I believe you could go against the doctrine and argue how violent Islamic culture is, with good grade as long as the argument was strong. Still it would widen their horizon and teach what “other” people thinks.
But if you wanted to protect your son within your socioeconomic bubble and turn blind eyes to the rest of the world, congratulation for doing such a effective job that the years at Phillips with constant “politically correct indoctrination” wasn’t enough to even insight a small interest from your son.
As for being overloaded with work, I think it is expected. I am sorry that your son didn’t find pleasure in doing the work. I heard that they are quite rewarding and not the busy works that many competitive public school students suffer.
Boarding school is not for everyone. Neither is a Lamborghini. I’m sorry your son was disappointed @novalue.
I totally disagree. My daughter adored her teachers and keeps in touch with a couple. The school was not without problems but we felt they were very transparent about them.
A true feeder school, to colleges no longer conducive to civil dialogue. Andover indoctrination continues each Wednesday at ASM with more PC garbage about… What else… Gender, gays, white privilege (whatever that is), racism, micro aggression, bla, bla, bla.
Worse than the government schools.
Dear novalue: sorry to hear you feel that way. It sounds like you have strong conservative values. Its too bad that your son didn’t feel that he could present his own viewpoint into school dialogue without being dismissed.
Each year a “State of the Academy” survey is sent out to all students and published in the Philippian. I just took a look at the most recent survey and it appears that overall 75% of the students are happy with Andover. But 25% are not. More details here
Hi @novalue ,
I’ve read your posts, and I’m sorry your son has had a bad experience at Andover. It is true that at Andover there is an ongoing discourse about race, gender, sexuality, ability, white privilege and other parts of identity. (Mt. Holyoke defines white privilege as “a set of advantages and/or immunities that white people benefit from on a daily basis beyond those common to all others. White privilege can exist without white people’s conscious knowledge of its presence and it helps to maintain the racial hierarchy in this country.” This same article continues, “The biggest problem with white privilege is the invisibility it maintains to those who benefit from it most. The inability to recognize that many of the advantages whites hold are a direct result of the disadvantages of other people, contributes to the unwillingness of white people, even those who are not overtly racist, to recognize their part in maintaining and benefiting from white supremacy.” (click here to read more: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/org/wsar/intro.htm)
I will say that before coming to Andover I fell under this exact umbrella of being unaware of the privileges and benefits I was afforded solely on the fact that I am white. Andover has helped me to understand the consequences of this phenomenon and be more cognizant as a result of the ongoing campus discussion surrounding race. I do agree that in certain environments (particularly in student-only conversations), it is difficult to have scholarly discourse about political and social issues. Andover is quite liberal. I don’t doubt that it is very difficult for conservatives (republicans/libertarians) to voice their opinions without being shut down by more liberal students. As is somewhat natural in the evolution of a student’s ability to participate thoughtfully in DISCOURSE, student’s sometimes fail to listen thoughtfully or respect another point of view. And as a result they sometimes don’t listen. I do, however, think that Andover students are generally more respectful and have better listening skills than my former public school peers. But, at the end of the day, we are teenagers, and we all have a lot to learn when it comes to civil discourse.
However, in my opinion that’s exactly what education is about – gaining the knowledge and skills needed to participate in discussions about important topics (whether or not others agree), being able to articulate one’s own thoughts, but also being able to listen to others’. This is one of the things for which I am most grateful with regard to my Andover education. I didn’t think about the possibility for conversation and education outside of the classroom, when in fact that has been one of the most integral parts of the education. There is absolutely value to continued conversation about race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, ability, and the like. Talking frequently about these issues helps us understand the day-to-day challenges that others face and gives us the tools to change the culture surrounding racial, gender, sexual, economic oppression. I think Andover pays great attention to diversity and the school has only improved with initiatives to promote equity and inclusion
You write that “If you are not Yale bound, he found the teachers had little interest in you.” I’m sorry your son felt this way. This definitely has not been my experience at Andover. If I am excelling in a class, teachers are encouraging and excited for me. And if I’m facing particular challenges in a course, teachers have been equally supportive. Teachers at Andover genuinely care about their students and want to give them the benefit of the doubt. While I don’t think teachers at PA will baby students or hold their hand, if a student genuinely wants to improve their understanding, teachers are receptive and incredibly supportive. Some have even gone so far as to invite me to their dorm for additional help. Faculty here want us to succeed and, in my experience, have been encouraging of me, regardless of my grade in a class or my interest in a college. To me, the faculty’s support and kindness has been one of the best aspects of PA. I’ve had some great teachers prior to Andover, but the overall quality of teaching staff at PA is unparalleled.
I wish the best for your son. It’s my hope that he finds a college that is both enriching and accepting. I’m graduating from PA this year as well (Class of '16) and given this is college-app season, I know it can be utterly overwhelming. All the best!
Do you and your son bear any responsibility for the experience? Such bile. Why didn’t you call it a day after freshman year and find something more conducive to your way of thinking?
@ThacherParent Good question. Asked and answered in this thread (post #12 and 14):
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1760791-phillips-academy-andover-2014-student-campus-life-survey-p1.html
I think you are in a minority viewpoint here. But I find it refreshing that you are willing to open this issue for general discourse. Some will value what Andover is doing, some will not; but being willing to put forward your thoughts and personal experience are invaluable to making that decision!
novalue, I too am sorry you feel this way about Andover. My daughter is a sophomore day student at Andover, and while we too have sometime questioned sending her there, it is only because of the workload, and the difficulty of the grading. If my girl were at the local public high school she would be very highly ranked and get a lot more sleep. At Andover she is in the middle of her class and sometimes really struggles to get by.
But she is still there because the positives far outweigh those negatives.
She is an athlete and her teammates are truly some of the best kids I could imagine her being friends with. To a girl, they are kind, funny, generous, and considerate in a mature way high school aged kids often are not. Together they are truly a family.
She has not felt that teachers are uninterested in her, and she is definitely not headed to Yale. Indeed, many of her teachers have gone out of their way to help and encourage her. This year, in particular, she seems to have hit the jackpot in this department. Her English, Math and Chem teachers are amazing. She did have a religion teacher she did not care for (Andover students have to take one term of religion or philosophy), but only because he wasn’t very good at the mechanics of teaching (returning tests promptly, being clear about expectations, etc.); he was a very good lecturer and passionate about his subject.
If PA does teach/talk a lot about white privilege I am glad. Because going to a school like Andover has historically been a white privilege and it is only through efforts like Andover’s that kids “from all quarters” have also had the opportunity. Furthermore, before Andover she attended a middle school with kids who frankly shocked me with their attitudes regarding their own wealth. Kids who would complain that they had to ride in coach on their flight back from the Bahamas. Kids who seemed wholly focused on what brand of clothing they were wearing. That school did nothing to try to educate those kids (nearly all white) about how truly fortunate they were. I think the effort Andover makes, makes the school a much more welcoming place. My daughter has encountered far far less of this sort of thing (and far less tolerance for it) at PA.
No school is perfect. Not one. As all schools are made up of people, who themselves are imperfect. There are certainly things about Andover we would like to see changed. But I think sometimes there are kids on this board who have a very pie-in-the sky idea of the perfection of their dream school. Maybe your son did too before going to Andover. No school can live up to that.
@squishsquash97, I can only hope that my D will be able to think and write like you when she finishes her high school.
My warning stands. Thinking of going to Andover? Better get comfortable with a continuous indoctrination of the most useless political correctness at the expense of true knowledge and learning.
Was not like that before Palfrey.
@novalue I think by now you get the idea that at least on this board few posters think that such an exercise (i.e. instill in students the awareness of inequality and social justice) is problematic and some may think it’s actually what students/families expect from a boarding school education. Personally, I do think that there is a line to cross where political correctness is so emphasized that freedom of speech especially opinions of the minority is in effect suppressed, which is a dangerous trap for academic institutions. I cannot comment on whether Andover has crossed that line and needs to “dial back” as I’m not so close to the school community any more.
I do have noticed that since Palfrey took the leadership in 2012, the school seems to have become more active in encouraging/facilitating co-curricular and extra-curricular academic and artistic activities (on top of athletic activities, which has been a traditional focus of almost all BS). One possible proof I have to make my point are two news pieces from the Newsroom archive.
http://www.andover.edu/About/Newsroom/Pages/Andover-students-make-their-marks.aspx
http://www.andover.edu/About/Newsroom/Pages/Spring2012StudentAchievementWrap.aspx
These schools are all extremely PC now
How big is the drug problem at Andover?
I think that it is bigger than what shows up in a dorm search because off campus drug use during breaks is not counted in dorm search. However, you cannot lump “violation of fire code” with illicit substances and claim “about one third of rooms” had problems. Most of the boys’ rooms are cluttered and easily qualified as “fire hazard”. And “filth” and “awful behaviors” cannot be used with “drugs” in the same sentence. Geez
Speaking from my kids’ experience, some years are worse than others, and there are always a group of kids (upper class men mostly) everyone knows are using that stuff, but if you don’t go lolok for it, you are not bothered. Drug use is far from being a “mainstream thing” as some of these reports may imply, and certainly does not have any noticeable effect to every day student life. Then, I think parents have good reasons to worry since there is always this risk and to make things worse you are not physically in your kids’ life every day making you feel more out of control.
I was also concerned about the student Hartemink’s comment about kids with “outright awful behavior.” I thought one of the tenets of the holistic admissions process at Andover is to admit “nice kids.”