<p>A book I'm reading ("Behind the Walls") says that at 'the large majority' of boarding schools, a walk after midnight around campus will show that lights go back on well after 'lights out'...and the partying begins. This can be midnight. This can be 4 a.m.! As the author says, who himself was amazed to think that kids would actually set their alarms to party at 4 a.m, the drug ecstacy makes all concerns about time just slip away. Apparently dorm parents, already stretched thin as teachers & coaches, just cannot also patrol the school from midnight to 6 a.m. Is this the case, for some, at schools you are aware of?</p>
<p>Omg, the more we hear about BS life, the scarier it seems to get.</p>
<p>I`m so dog a-s tired when my lights go out that if someone dares to party near me they will soon find out what a mad-mean-tired dog sounds like. errrrr</p>
<p>I would like to know how the author of that book knows what goes on at “the large majority” of boarding schools" after 4 AM. He only attended one school. And even if this behavior was going on, only a small subset of students would partake. </p>
<p>I read a little bit of that book on Amazon and the author seems to have a very cynical view of boarding school. I could barely stand reading it. It seems as if he believes all students will give into peer pressure and become messed up as a result of boarding school. Its as if Pulsar wrote this book.</p>
<p>^That was uncalled for…</p>
<p>^ You haven’t been on here long enough to know.</p>
<p>2010, Now that you are here long enough, what do you know?</p>
<p>Go, maddog, go! I like your attitude. 2010hopeful, I truly want to believe this sort of thing doesn’t happen. Tim Hillman, himself a product of boarding schools, spent 10 years as a ‘triple threat’ (dorm parent, coach, teacher) and went on to co-author at least one book that was very positive in tone toward boarding schools in general (“Second Home”). He has apparently strolled many boarding schools well into the night, not just the one he taught at…he speaks from personal experience at multiple schools where he visited. His main thesis seems to be that there are good boarding schools, and bad ones, and woe to the family that doesn’t dig deep and ask lots of questions. He is not slamming boarding schools in general, and says he would gladly repeat his experience as a student at one. In the book itself, he did not seem cynical, just genuinely concerned that families find a truly good school, because a lot of money can get wasted on a bad school which will not allow the student to thrive. He does raise the question whether it is fair to expect teaches and coaches to also be dorm parents. I am sure many students can resist the drug scene (heck, drugs are present at just about any school, public or private, these days…and were there at my own high school eons ago, as well). But for those suggestive students, more inclined to peer pressure, it might make a real difference. I just looked at a couple of discussions right here on CC about Adderall, and was pretty surprised to see how casually the discussion went (“the study drug…really?..how can I get some?”).</p>
<p>2kids, Thanks for sharing the info. You seem to be doing excellent research as opposed to scratching only the surface and I’m sure the info you provide is valuable to many.</p>
<p>^^^ I don’t want to start a war… but although I haven’t been on here for that long, I CAN look through Pulsar’s old posts, and I’ve got to say, I don’t agree with everything he (she?) says, but there was no reason to make a personal attack…</p>
<p>2010–I am in your corner, we have seen it first hand.</p>
<p>Birds of the same feather flock together! :D</p>
<p>hopeful is a good egg. Pulsar has actually been nice lately. I wonder if cc called him on it.</p>
<p>But I didn’t forget your dog and cat fights with TomTheCat!</p>
<p>Oh Tomkitty, where art thou?</p>
<p>Really hard to ‘party’ at 4 a.m. without other people finding out. Dorms are very…close quarters. If they do get up at 4 a.m., they’d be wasted and would quickly be reflected in their grades. At the top schools, homework is still 2+ hours for those that just want to coast, more for the kids who are being challenged. Add to that the sports commitment which can be 3 to 4 hours daily.</p>
<p>To get back to the original post. Yes, at some schools the lights out policy is not enforced. But it’s because the students are studying.</p>
<p>Right, MaterS. It also varies by dorm. In my son’s dorm, I don’t think it is enforced but I don’t think there are too many parties going on! Jeez, there’s a faculty member living on each floor. They would have to be really quiet parties!</p>
<p>Y’know, judging from my own experience in BS, I’ve no doubt there are times when late night parties happen. But I’m thinking this is the exception, rather than the rule, and those times are most likely right after exams are over. There are certainly those rare occasions when the pressure is off, you’re getting ready to leave for vacation . . . you know what I mean. But a regular occurrence? I don’t think so.</p>
<p>The last 4 posts have been helpful - thanks. From what I know about the lack of privacy in dorms, it rings true. Would be nice to hear from some of the current students.</p>