A Survival Guide For Boarding School Teachers

Updated September 09, 2019 | by Robert Kennedy

Teaching in a residential school brings its own challenges as well as some very powerful advantages. Here's how to survive your stint as a teacher in a boarding school.

Perhaps you are thinking about teaching in a boarding school in the future or maybe you just started teaching in a boarding school during the current academic year. If you are coming from a public school, you will find several differences between teaching in public school and teaching in a boarding school. If you are a new teacher, then we will raise several points and issues for you to consider.

Students who want to be there

Teachers want to teach. We love our subject. We want to share it with our students. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to teach when you are more concerned about maintaining order in your classroom than you are with actually teaching. When you have a large class of, say, 30 or 40 students, maintaining order is an ever-present issue. On the other hand, teaching a small class of, say, 12-15 students, allows you to engage your students more or less constantly. It is very difficult for students not to be engaged when the size of the class is small. There really is no place for them to hide.

This video illustrates teaching at Lawrenceville School using Harkness tables.

Students attend boarding school for many reasons. Most of all, their parents want them to get a first-rate education in a well-supervised environment. Often the parents have demanding careers which do not permit them to be available when their high school-age children are not in school. It's a parent's biggest worry, after all. Who is

Updated September 08, 2019 | by Robert Kennedy

Admissions Checklist For Boarding School Applicants

Applying to boarding school is a long process with many parts to it. This checklist will help you organize the process and manage your time efficiently.

Selecting boarding schools which fit your needs and requirements takes a lot of time and effort. Once you have made your shortlist of schools, then you need to focus on the admissions process. The admissions process consists of testing, recommendations, the interview, financial aid, and making sure your child's admssions file is complete. Use this admissions checklist to keep you and your child on track. There are plenty of forms to fill out and a standardized admissions test to prepare for.

Testing

I have put admissions testing at the top of my checklist simply because it needs as much advance preparation as your child can give it. While standardized admissions tests are just one of several tools which the admissions professionals at each school will use to assess your child, they remain an important part of the assessment process. Most schools use the SSAT and ISEE. But there are other tests out there as well.

. . .read more

International Boarding Schools: Canada

Updated July 26, 2019 | by Robert Kennedy

Spotlight on boarding schools in Canada.

The objective of this article is to give you a brief overview of boarding schools in Canada. Explore them. Contact them and ask questions. You will find all of the admissions staff at these schools most eager to assist you as you search for the right boarding school for your child. While Canada is a foreign country, most of these boarding schools are a short flight from most major American cities. Obviously, flight times from Asia or Europe are much longer. Canada enjoys a reputation as a progressive, welcoming nation. The educational standards are high in all of the schools listed below. The curricula vary from school to school as is the case with all private schools. Research in depth what each school teaches as that can have a major impact on the college application process in the future.

Immigration matters

Lakefield College School spells out clearly what international students need to do in order to study in Cana. "When international students are planning to attend a school in Canada, there are Canadian governmental documents that must be completed during the application process. The student must apply for a Study Permit before enrolling in a Canadian school. International high school students studying in Canada are also required to have an adult legal guardian living in Canada. In addition, students will also need to arrange for health and dental coverage while attending a Canadian school." The immigration process takes a great deal of time. Do not leave this important step to the

. . .read more

Famous Boarding School Graduates

Updated July 10, 2019 | by Robert Kennedy

Graduates of boarding schools end up doing all sorts of things. Many of them become distinguished leaders in their chosen fields.

St. Paul

Graduates of boarding schools end up doing all sorts of things. Many of them become distinguished leaders in their chosen fields. Almost all of the alumnae and alumni selected below have also chosen to return time, talent and treasure to the schools which gave such a solid start to their careers. They serve on boards of trustees, raise money for their schools and act as stalwart supporters of these institutions.

That's really the point of this little piece: dream of being something when you are a young person. Attend a school which will help you realize those dreams by giving you the skills, the confidence and the belief that you can accomplish whatever you set out to do. That is the essence of a boarding school education.

Now I can hear you thinking that all the people on this list are or were fabulously rich. Indeed some are. But many were not quite so well off when they were just starting out. All of these graduates share one thing in common. They had families which valued the sound, balanced approach to education which the schools they attended afforded them.

Audrey McNiff, Goldman Sachs (retired), Lawrence Academy, Groton, MA

Arthur Bunn, Bunn-O-Matic Corp., The Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, NJ

Betsy Licht Turner, Northern Trust Investments, The Madeira School, McLean, VA

Bette Davis, Actress, Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, MA

This is the full-length 1994 biography of Bette Davis which aired on A&E.

Betty White, Actress, Horace Mann School, New York,

. . .read more

International Boarding Schools: Africa

Updated September 01, 2019 | by Robert Kennedy

We receive inquiries daily from parents looking for boarding schools in Africa. This article will help you start the process of finding the right school for your child.

Hardly a day goes by without an inquiry on our Boarding School Review Facebook page asking about schools in a particular city or region of Africa. These inquiries can be as general as "I'm looking for a school to attend." Some people want to send their child to a boarding school but are concerned about the cost. " need a boarding school...cheap and affordable boarding school." Some ask for schools in a specific location. "Any boarding schools around Mafikeng?" (Mafikeng is the capital of the North-West Province of South Africa.) "I'm looking for a place in Form 3 in any boarding school in Zimbabwe." With those inquiries in mind, here are some resources to help you find private schools in Africa.

The Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa

The Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA) bills itself as "the largest association of independent schools in South Africa and the Southern African region." Its website has an easy-to-use school finder.

Association of

. . .read more

View Pages:<<Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>