Does anyone have any examples of a movie, television show, or news piece that shows the positive aspects of a boarding school education?
You mean other than Harry Potter?
It is strange, isn’t it?
It’s also been eye-opening to see how much the air has chilled between us and many of the local parents, even people we have seen socially for years.
Conversely, it’s been amazing to realize how many people I know and truly like went to boarding school and/or sent their children. Maybe I never asked, or noticed, or maybe it wasn’t until I “outed” DS that they felt comfortable sharing.
Weird.
Agree. Harry Potter stands as the only positive media reflection of boarding school.
Does it matter? I mean, either boarding school works for your family or it doesn’t. If it does, it is a positive thing. Why would you need “media” approval? I am not trying to be abrupt, but I really can’t see how any media portrayal - positive or negative - would ever affect any decision I make…
But there are many positive aspects to boarding schools portrayed in films. If you mean films that show everyone happy and jolly and well adjusted, them maybe your list might be short. But, if you want a list of films where kids grow and are exposed to new ideas, as well as sadness and the honest realities of life, then I can think of many (e.g. “Dead Poets Society”, “Goodbye Mr. Chips”, etc). Surely those images of boarding school life are more the reason you allow your kid to go away?
It is not summer camp. It is supposed to be hard, and challenging, transformative and fun. There will be good days, and bad people. But, overall, IF you decide that boarding school is for your family, the end result is positive.
Are there positive movies or shows about high school??
You mean, besides High School Musical? 
And Grease? 
How about Fast Times at Ridgemont High?
Or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?
(This is fun!)
Did they actually ever attend school in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?
In most of these movies, the kids might be having fun, but its typically outside the confines of a classroom and administrators and teachers are portrayed as buffoons.
Mean Girls?
School of Rock! Oh, wait, that’s elementary school, isn’t it?
That’s what makes them such great and memorable movies. Makes you long to go back to high school, doesn’t it? And let’s not forget the great high-school reunion stories like Grosse Pointe Blank and Romy and Michelle’s High School reunion, two of my all-time favs.
(This thread is going to get kicked to the café.)
Clueless.
10 Things I Hate About You.
This IS fun!
Gossip Girl
Doesn’t anyone remember Welcome Back, Kotter? ( without that sitcom, we might not have had John Travolta!)
“…your dreams are your ticket out…”
Zoey 101?! I only watched a couple episodes at my elementary school BFF’s house, but she went to boarding school.
The Facts of Life.