<p>When I told my friends that I might be applying to boarding schools, they all said either "Your parents don't love you" or "You must be mentally retarded" or "You are a billionaire". When I asked different people about that, that's the stereotypes they also have, though in reality, it's mostly opposite. I'm wondering why most people have these false negative presumptions?</p>
<p>I know, that's how it is in my school too. everybody thought of that; granted, most people here aren't really educated about bs, so... </p>
<p>i guess it depends on where you live. in here, it's a shame too. in places like ny or cali or ma, it means that you are elite.</p>
<p>When my friends found out, they were supportive. I guess it really depends on the type of people you are friends with. If they think your parents "don't love you" for sending you to boarding school, they aren't truly your friends.</p>
<p>Also, about the "parents don't love you" thing...My best friend's sister goes to boarding school. Her mom told me when I got in, that a boarding school education is the greatest gift a parent can give a child.</p>
<p>So remember that when your friends say things about your parents just sending you away. In my mind, them sending you to such an amazing school, is just a way of showing you how much they love you. They are giving you the ability to make the most of your life, and that is FAR beyond them not loveng you.</p>
<p>I didn't tell my friends that I'm applying to boarding school, and I don't plan to until like.. one of the last days of school next year. lol.</p>
<p>Good idea JK ^^ :) That's what i would've done, if i had thought of it</p>
<p>I got a lot of "what did you do?" Also I was on the plane in Mass. and I called my mom to tell her I had landed and that I would call her when I reached my dorm. Some guy behind behind me asked "Are you one of those Andover snobs or something?" I just said "yes" and walked right off the plane.</p>
<p>Parents deal with a lot of stereotypical responses as well. My d's good friend , her mother thinks all bs girls are "loose". My nieghbor (family courts judge), really hit me between the eyes with his comment. "I would never let anyone else raise my children". The two most common responses......... "Why?" and something to the effect.........is she a problem child? lol that one gets me. What people don't understand, they will usually disagree with/or be negative toward "it"</p>
<p>prepparent- ditto. I get, "Wow. I could never let someone else parent my child." and "What did he/she do?" My daughter went to Interlochen and was frequently asked back in our home town, "What did you do?" It is not as common here in Texas to send kids to boarding school as it is on the east coast, and I DO get frustrated. Each of my kids went away for very different reasons, and it can be very hard to explain this to people.<br>
Handing over the day to day interaction with Wild Child to his prep school teachers, coaches and mentors was the best thing we could do for him, ourselves and our family relationship! In many ways it was a huge sacrifice, but it was worth it.
When we first visited Interlochen to check it out, I was very leery of the whole thing. The headmaster addressed the room full of visiting parents and kids. It was one of the most meaningful events in the life of our family. He seemed to be looking right at my daughter (who felt like she was born into the wrong family and that we "didn't understand her art") as he said, "The fact that your parents are sitting in this room means they are supporting your talent in the biggest possible way. They are willing to let us have their most precious thing- No, not their money, but YOU, their child!" After her acceptance to Interlochen and all the way through to the present, my daughter has thanked us over and over for sending her to Interlochen. It was truly life-changing.
I'm still waiting for the thanks from Wild Child, but I know he appreciates what we did for him and what his school did for him.</p>
<p>It depends on where you live. I used to live in Connecticut, and a lot of kids go to prep school, so it's not a big deal. When we moved to the south, we just gave the slightest mention of considering going to a boarding school when I reach 9th grade, and a lot of people just jumped on us and tried to persuade me not to go. There aren't very many boarding school in the south, so I guess most of the reaction is from lack of information. </p>
<p>In the end, my parents decided to have me stay, not because of the pressure but because they managed to get me assigned to a good public magnet school. They also wanted to save the money, and they would rather me stay at home an extra four years before college.</p>
<p>i live in mass...around here it just means you're really smart ( or granted sometimes it means you're rich).</p>
<p>MofWC, yes here in Texas bs is a bit strange. My d was the first at her school to go off to bs. This year we had 2, one to deerfield (pretty sure) maybe it was Cate, and one to Middlesex. Many of the kids at my kiddos school go to St, Mary's Hall and TMI.</p>
<p>I live in Texas, and most of my friends have siblings at boarding school, (one at Deerfield, and others at Andover) or they are going in the future. I guess most people got a different reaction, but my friend's reactions were all positive.</p>
<p>I live in North Dakota, so most people don't know about boarding school. But I wonder where the origin of the perception "He must be a problem child" came from.</p>
<p>Movies is where it came from.</p>
<p>Actually, I'll definitley age myself here. When I was a kid they used to say , "if you don't straighten up, I'm going to send you to boarding school".</p>
<p>the only kid i know who went to boarding school was sent because of academic/discipline problems. it was a military school, though, not a prep school.</p>
<p>prepparent- I got that same threat!</p>
<p>I have to admit the only two kids I know who went to boarding school went b/c they were "problem" kids. And for both of them the parents made all kinds of excuses. I hope they found what they were looking for in the boarding school.</p>
<p>mommusic,howwere they "problem kids"? I will say this, bs are not problem free.</p>
<p>Both with behavior problems. I didn't know either well enough to ask if they were eventually helped by medications or if just being away from bad parenting helped them. ;-)</p>