<p>psh, I’m the worst comeback person of all time lol! If only my inner monologue could be… portrayed(?) through into my…outer persona(?) THEN I’d have wicked good comebacks! ;)</p>
<p>I have to second that my inner monologue beats my comebacks any day.</p>
<p>Hello All!
Just remembering this forum, and as a current SPS student, I would just like to help prospective students in any way I can. If anyone has any questions or concerns about something, please feel free to PM me. I know you all must be getting very anxious about that dreaded day coming up…in 10 days…yipes! When I look back to last year, I remember I used to get so nervous, my hands would start trembling uncontrollably! Well anyways, I wish all of you the best of luck, and please don’t hesitate to contact me!</p>
<p>One more to add to the list, and yes another hockey player (male).</p>
<p>Thanks a lot chicky. I’m not normally so sarcastic, March 10 is getting to me. I do have one, I’m sure it’s been casked before but I can’t find it: In my interview the whole 'freedom with responsibility" thing was really stressed. How much have you seen this concept used and in what way?. Kind of a weird question but I was wondering.</p>
<p>While The Bermuda alum did not win at the Olympics…<br>
The St. Paul’s School boy’s cross country ski team finished an undefeated season on Saturday and then a group of them went up to Stowe in Vermont for fun. Along with 758 other skiers, they entered the annual Stowe Derby individually and as teams and had never even seen the course before. Their “Nordic Brothers” team won First Place (under 40 years) in this 12.3 mile, 65 year-old race from the Summit of Mt. Mansfield to downtown. [url=<a href=“http://www.racetiming.com/10%20Derby%20Teams.htm]Results[/url”>http://www.racetiming.com/10%20Derby%20Teams.htm]Results[/url</a>] Not bad for your day off!</p>
<p>Actually, it’s a GREAT question. How far does the freedom extend when someone is going off the tracks? It seems like there’s a lot more flexibility to do your work when and where you’d like, but that will disappear if you’re not getting the job done. So, it’s conditional freedom…?</p>
<p>It is always a good question, I just PMed you and did the same to BlueRaven earlier. </p>
<p>As parents we want the responsibility part of the equation. Our teens want the freedom part. It is a balance. The teachers/advisors/housemasters are very experienced with teens (I have had 2, they have had thousands), and yup if they ‘go off the tracks’ there are consequences (see the Student Handbook: study halls, tutoring, restrictions, peer tutors). They try to accept students with the capacity to handle it, but some need a little help.</p>
<p>If you PMed me, I didn’t get it.</p>
<p>Yes, the freedom with responsibility motto took a little getting used too…I came from a school with a strict schedule, whereas at SPS, there is a lot of room to make decisions for yourself. There are consequences if things start getting off track. If you skip too many classes, you get put on restrictions, If you aren’t doing too well in class(es) you may be assigned to study hall.
There are a lot of commitments you need to make, and it is difficult at first. Eventually, you will get into a groove. You’ll find a schedule that works consisting of whether or not you want to go to breakfast, and what time you can go. You’ll figure out when the best time to do your homework, study, hang out with friends etc. If you have a little difficulty with this, your adviser is always there along with people to talk to at the Health Center.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, did I hear “skip too many classes”? That is not okay even if the student is responsible and bringing down staight As (HHs). These are supposed to be motivated, interested students in learning. I missed a few classes in college and still look back with regret at some of the learning I missed out on (at an Ivy league school). No HS should be giving 13, 14, 1 year olds such a choice–parents do you feel comfortable about getting your moneys worth with skipping classes as an option?</p>
<p>Erlanger, we would be full pay and it surely doesnt sit right with me–lol.</p>
<p>My d’s terrible experience now, would not allow her to thing about skipping classes. </p>
<p>She knows that this is a chance of a lifetime that very few kids get a chance do and I am giving up so much to give her these opportunities, that is she just didn’t go to class and I found out…wow.</p>
<p>When I got there,it just wouldnt be pretty…and i am not a parent that ever spanked !!!</p>
<p>Um . . . just as a few students at every high school take drugs and have sex, people at SPS skip class. People have the freedom to skip classes, and then are responsible for getting early check, restrictions, and bad grades. Of course this is a chance of a lifetime, but your frontal lobes don’t develop until you’re 25 (which is the part that helps you fully understand decisions and consequences), so sometimes an extra hour of sleep/studying/doing homework/playing video games, etc. > class.</p>
<p>The policy is straight forward
But do kids miss some. Yeah sometimes. Let’s say you sign up for a voluntary activity like choir. Once you have made that commitment it is a requirement. If you miss an evening rehearsal, you are charged with an absence, and there are consequences. This is not the free-for-all you may be imagining. Lots of students get through all four years without a single skip but most will make a few mistakes, sleep through something, lose track of time, forget something, miss an athletic practice or have a conflict and forget to get excused. There are consequences and those are their responsibility. Tell your teen your expectations, the school has theirs.</p>
<p>I am sure the system at SPS must work for the majority of students or it would have been altered, yet it does seem like a lot (too much?) of responsibility is put on the shoulders of adolescents, who have yet to fully develop that part of the brain that can make consistently rational decisions, as goldilon pointed out. In fact, manyt adults don’t do that! </p>
<p>Is it just misplaced “freedom”? How many don’t get through it? What about stress related health issues for those that do manage to make it?</p>
<p>Kids can hear “responsibility” but can they yet absorb its meaning?</p>
<p>I definitely think the Freedom with Responsibility system works well-I feel that I have come SO far since my Third Form Fall. At first its really challenging to find a balance between friends, sports, academics, etc. but it all really starts to fall into place. My friends at other schools tell me they’re up till 12 a lot of nights anyway doing work by flashlight or putting towels under their doors to make it look like lights are out.
As far as skipping class goes-the 3 bags are given to people to skip ANY commitment-i.e. chapel/choir/seated meal etc. Most kids use them 3 times a term when they have a first period free-they skip chapel and get to sleep in a little bit, or as winterset said sleeping through accidentally. You also have to be in your dorm, in your room alone from 8:30-10 on nights that you do decide to skip something, which balances it out some. Also, parents are notified of the student’s number of unexcused absences-it comes with report cards-and many advisors mention it when emailing parents.
To me though, it doesn’t feel as though I have more freedom at school than I would at home. I can’t imagine going to a school where I would have study hall for two hours every night and have to turn my lights out at a certain hour, the system at SPS just seems normal to me.</p>
<p>That’s true, I have no lights out now and havn’t for years. I can’t imagine having one again.</p>
<p>The record tends to prove it can work, Agreed, not for all teens (yes, I am familiar with developmental issues of the prefrontal cortex, though my wife is the expert on that). </p>
<p>This should never be confused with sink or swim. There is a net. Freedom does not mean there are no rules, structure, assistance or consequences. There is lots of all. This is not some '70’s version of Let Them Be or Freelove. The Student handbook is as filled with rules and limits on behavior as any of the top schools. Problems are identified. Kids that need help are helped more than you could appreciate. The Freedom with Responsibility is subtle not something revolutionary. But as parents, we want our teens to learn to be Responsible. </p>
<p>This year there have/will be “Res Life” sessions for students on topics like: self-esteem, friendship and living in community, stress and pressure and their sources, eating disorders and disordered eating, and transitioning to college. The advisors, faculty, housemasters and prefects are all around them 24/7. They are supported by the doctor, the school psychologist and a learning specialist. At any given time there are probably a dozen kids up for Scholastic Review. But they are helped not abandoned.</p>
<p>For anyone concerned that SPS doesn’t have rules or a safety net, feel free to look at the Student Handbook, which is always available on the school website:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.sps.edu/ftpimages/36/download/Student%20Handbook%200910_FINAL.pdf[/url]”>http://www.sps.edu/ftpimages/36/download/Student%20Handbook%200910_FINAL.pdf</a></p>