Private School to Boarding School

ChoatieMom
Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:01:12 +0000

…getting different view points from students from Korea, Saudi Arabia, Manhattan, small town Mississippi are all valuable



…if what you value is those students’ opinions on American pop culture then, yes, you will get your money’s worth (although there may be some horizon-expanding South Korean influence these days with Gangnam Style). I do say that a bit tongue-in-cheek but, really, US BS is not a United Nations experience–these are teenagers, all texting furiously on their iPhones (when allowed) regardless of skin-color, accent, or clothing. ChoatieKid would look at me like I had three heads if I tried to ask him how enriched he feels by the diversity at his BS. His comments lean more to the “kids are alike the world over, nobody notices or cares where you came from, we’re all friends”, etc. Also, I believe rampant political correctness corrals much of what might otherwise be educational interaction. There is more (unlit) lighter-waving, shoulder-to-shoulder swaying than what I would call gritty challenges to anyone’s world view.

I am not trying to get you to knock Choate off your list as you will see that its student body comprises 35 states and 43 countries, but do not be fooled – the student body is actually made up of TEENAGERS. ;)