I agree with my esteemed friend @Golfgr8 (of course I do - she is so very wise).
I can only go by what I kiddo tells me (no doubt not the whole picture) and some minimal teacher feedback.
Kids don’t use peer tutoring as much as they should.
Teachers dig it, nay expect it, when students come to office hours.
They like it even more when you say after class “I would like to set up a time with you to go over my ideas for my history paper before I get too far along”.
I don’t doubt kids are supplementing their outside of class learning in a multitude of ways. Kiddo does a lot of searching on the internet for even things like math. But writing - let’s face it, that is the big bs time suck - I think you need to work with your teacher, not a tutor.
I basically agree - especially the failure to use peer tutors. I don’t know why they aren’t more heavily utilized.
I also think that most kids are going to have that one or two teachers in BS that just cannot explain things so that kids can understand. The typical genius teacher who just can’t break something down into steps a beginner can get. Most of the time the kids can be collaborative and figure it out amongst themselves. My older daughter had one teacher where she just needed outside help. Fortunately I was good at the thing she was struggling with so I was the outside help and she became better and didn’t need me again. She was my fist BS kid and if I had known about peer tutors at the time I probably would have told her to go try that first but I didn’t!
When you are paying this much in tuition, the expectation should be that you are not expected to pay for outside tutoring as well.
And if you are getting FA, you should not be worried that every FP kid is going to better because they are getting tutoring you can’t afford.
There will be times, hopefully the exception and not the rule, when you need extra help. The school will often have the resources available for this.
But I see this as a positive, not a negative. I want the school held accountable for good placements and good teaching. I wanted my kid to avail himself of the resources at the school rather than assume we’d just write another check. And this attitude served him well in college and beyond.
I don’t think that kids need tutors at BS. They should be learning to use the teachers for getting questions answered.
Some peer tutors works for kids, some don’t. It can come down to personality. Some kids need more help, others just need to understand a single point.
The use of outside tutors can be extreme at some private schools. We’ve heard stories of kids doing hours and hours of tutoring just to stay in an advanced class? Why?
Questions @ homework at Boarding School if your student is coming in with a 504 or IEP from their middle school. Does anyone have a link to answers about accommodations and/or supports for homework - not just testing?
I thought you were referring to boarding schools? That is the typical commitment at the usual BS. But it is also true of any athlete at the schools we are familiar with (more like 5pm for day schools)
This is not some secret BS policy, and does not require digging in to some obscure CC thread to find out about it. BS is not a day school. Isn’t that the point? Why would one expect it to be the same?
Also, even the suggestion that a FP student deserves more or different rules is entirely offensive and incredibly entitled.
You’d be surprised how many FA families donate to their schools, even if a modest amount, on a regular basis. Fundraising is as much about participation as it is about dollar amount.
Sorry…FP does not deserve more or different rules. I’m only saying that the decision to acquire outside help should be parental decision not dictated by school. Sorry if you are offended. Not my intent.
FA comes out of the school’s endowment, not tuition and, as mentioned above, tuition does not cover the full cost of attendance so, essentially, ALL students are being subsidized.
It is very important to understand that boarding schools are NOT your local public or private day school. They are 24x7 immersion experiences that are absolutely controlled by each school. This is no secret.
If any of what has been posted on these sub forums is a surprise to anyone, it shouldn’t be. Each boarding school’s philosophy, rules, and policies are clearly stated in its handbook and should be read cover to cover as student and families will be held to every printed word. I know our son had to sign in his copy of Choate’s handbook that he had read, understood, and agreed to comply with its content.
Choate allows outside tutoring and has an entire section of its handbook dedicated to tutoring guidelines (see page 47):
Bottom line:
Understand what you are signing up for, none of it is secret.
Although I don’t plan to use it, I’m surprised BS won’t allow outside tutoring. Will BS allow doing projects with college professors outside of school’s programs?
