<p>Neato, well put!</p>
<p>I love you, Neato. I really REALLY do!..well said!..C</p>
<p>Neato’s great, no question about it, but it was never an argument about laundry or time management. It was about chores and the minimum expectations we parents should have for any child who has been given so much. Some people feel that BS children should not have to worry their heads about any chores at all because the academic/extracurricular work load is too great. Others feel differently, like me. By making a joke of the point, Neato got a hearty laugh and made those parents who believe that BS chores (laundry in this case) should be eliminated (or kept at a bare minimum) feel good about themselves.</p>
<p>No, she pointed out that this isn’t worth arguing about. This is a personal choice. You have no right to dictate or judge. Take care of your own kid and your own business.</p>
<p>This is a free exchange of ideas, even if they don’t suit you, even if you think them judgmental, even if you think it’s minding your business. Like I said, Neato is great and I enjoy her posts. I do, however, have the right to be a gadfly on this one point, which I feel strongly about.</p>
<p>Of course, it’s a personal choice. But it’s a personal choice that you voted for one presidential candidate and I voted for another. Everything is a personal choice for god’s sake. That hardly means one side gets to muzzle the other simply because it suits them.</p>
<p>No, I just have trouble with folks who put themselves on some moral high ground dictating “what minimum expectations we parents should have” to make them “feel good about themselves”. Don’t mind your opinion, just your moral judgements.</p>
<p>“Moral high ground” discussions happen all the time on this site: drugs, sex, inconsiderate roommates…the list is endless. But, I don’t see this as having anything to do with morals at all. It never even occurred to me that someone would think so and I apologize if I’m coming across as casting aspersions about someone’s morals.</p>
<p>I think a discussion, spirited if necessary, about the minimum expectations we should have for one of the luckiest, most privileged segments of society - elite boarding school children - is a really good one. If America has a soft underbelly, it’s letting many of our best kids lose the common touch. “For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required.” Starting with laundry, of course. ;)</p>
<p>What Parlabane is probably saying is that kids nowadays are growing up thinking that food comes from the local supermarket. :D</p>
<p>My son is very fortunate to go to a prep school. So far he hasn’t squandered that gift. He works his butt off six days a week in classes, JV/Varsity sports, and homework, going from 7:00am till 11:00pm+ like many many other prep school kids. I don’t know about your kid, but when mine comes home for vacations, all he wants to do is sleep. I don’t know too many adults that work that hard. I’m not inclined to put more work on his plate – think he works hard enough. </p>
<p>When I was in high school, I worked in a machine shop every day after school. Hard work. My hands are still scarred. My parents always said “study hard or you’ll grow up to be a ditch digger.” I suppose the lesson I should have learned is the value of hard work, and the contribution of the everyday working man to society. In practice, it taught me that I wanted to earn a living with my brain rather than my back. I suppose doing laundry could teach my son the former lesson, but I doubt it.</p>
<p>I am making my son iron in all the labels in his clothes. Doesn’t that count for anything? :)</p>
<p>You know, parlabane, that I can’t pass up a joke. And I really wasn’t trying to make light of something that you feel strongly about. I do respect what you are saying. I just don’t think that laundry is the only vehicle for teaching what you want. There will be lots of things that my son will have to do that is normally done for him. And if I know my son at all, there will be times when he will miss cutting the grass or shoveling the snow or looking after his little brother and he will find some opportunity to do those things. </p>
<p>Now I have to go iron some clothes…
(seriously, I do.)</p>
<p>Look, I don’t think there’s a problem with any of the perspectives aired here, as long as we keep in mind that we’re weighing pros and cons, not casting moral judgments (and Parlabane did back down on that a page ago).</p>
<p>To sum up so far, we’ve got:</p>
<p>Pros to laundry service:</p>
<p>One less thing for very busy kids to do; better guarantee of clean, well-pressed clothes on kids who like to be neat OR who don’t pay much attention to grime (!); affordable cost at some schools; free dry cleaning for kids who must dress more formally; potential reduction of mess/stink in dorm room (clothes cleaned regularly and returned folded/on hangers); some schools structured schedules can lead to glut of users on not many washers.</p>
<p>Cons: doing laundry teaches personal responsibility; good for privileged kids (and my scholarship kid is certainly privileged to be going to bs) to not hand off all “menial” work to others; laundry easy to do, at some schools; laundry service much more expensive in some places; laundry service is hard on nice clothing</p>
<p>What did I miss?</p>
<p>Con: the time it takes to get your laundry back from the service…you can have it done yourself in 2 hours while the laundry service will take a few days.</p>
<p>Good point hj–reminds me of another</p>
<p>pro: with laundry service comes a card to do a generous number of washes free on school machines–so an emergency load is possible. </p>
<p>FYI: turn around time for laundry, at Exeter at least, is Monday to Wednesday or Tuesday to Thursday.</p>
<p>I think this laundry question has opened up an interesting dialogue regarding BS. It is amazing all the different perspectives, judgments, and general lack of information out there. I think Boarding School is a wonderful opportunity for many children, for many different reasons, and yes, it is not right for other children and their families. There are plenty of rich and low income children who are spoiled and feel entitled, and walking around with a chip on their shoulder…etc. and they go to wealthy and low income public and private schools…</p>
<p>As far as the laundry service question, I hate laundry, always did. I would welcome it now, and I sure do know about budgets, wearing cheap old clothes, and buying school supplies from loose change in a jar…but we have to pick and choose what (ideally) will help our children, or make them feel overwhelmed. Some prefer doing their own laundry, some need to talk to loved ones back home more often, some need more down time, some have picky food choices, some need more sleep, etc. It is all about budgeting time…eventually, something has to go…you just have to choose that “something.” </p>
<p>If I was to go to boarding school, I would have had laundry service, but I wouldn’t need to call home often. Just adding my two cents, or maybe four in this case.</p>
<p>A specific laundry question for those who have used campus laundry and have boy athletes…how do things like compression shorts and those adidas athletic shorts they wear all the time and shirts made from wicking fabrics fare in the laundry? Are they washed differently if you use the Look Sharp program? At home we tend to wash that kind of stuff in the regular cycle, then line dry it. I’ve emailed Campus Laundry asking this, but their answer was too vague for me.</p>
<p>^I’m a girl, but I can answer that. They turn out fine, though they’re not dry-clean or anything so they won’t turn out any different with Look Sharp. Don’t worry E&R know what they’re doing.</p>
<p>Thanks Izzy. That’s what I wanted to know!</p>
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<p>That depends…that wasn’t an option at my school. The only way you could use the school machines was with your own quarters.</p>
<p>My children claim that Laundry is a social event.</p>
<p>Honestly, doing your own laundry is not that hard or time consuming, and it costs less than the services offered. At some point in your life, you will have to do your own laundry, so you might as well become a pro at it now than have to worry about it in college.</p>
<p>Really, just separate your clothes into light, dark, and white, throw one of the three groups in, pour in a measured amount of detergent, put your coins in, turn on the machine, leave for 20-30 minutes, come back and switch it to the dryer. Optional: repeat with another load.</p>
<p>It’s not rocket science, and builds real life skills.</p>