tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post3052950069782180292..comments2023-09-22T13:57:20.922-04:00Comments on From The Valley To The Palais: Boarding callnappy valley girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10788949037047084412noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-30232666681299110432010-05-26T20:25:20.804-04:002010-05-26T20:25:20.804-04:00I never went to boarding school - but I've bee...I never went to boarding school - but I've been on the other side of it as a teacher at 2 different boarding schools in the USA. I suddenly realized the other day that a large number of my Facebook friends are former students of mine from those schools! I know it was very hard for some of the kids, but for others it was absolutely the right place to be. <br /><br />I have to say, it wasn't easy being a teacher there either. No privacy and insanely long hours. My husband refuses to let me even consider returning to a boarding school teaching job now!Almost Americanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17865905831387595915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-19615529888972455732010-02-11T16:16:24.635-05:002010-02-11T16:16:24.635-05:00I know a few people who went through the boarding ...I know a few people who went through the boarding school experience and although they loved being at boarding school, they never really got over being separated from their parents at such a young age and were completely screwed up. I also have friends who have sent their children to boarding school and swear it's good for their children. Not convinced.Liz (LivingwithKids)http://www.kidstart.co.uk/livingwithkidsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-40390997250535629762009-01-28T08:55:00.000-05:002009-01-28T08:55:00.000-05:00Hi, I've just come here after reading the Times On...Hi, I've just come here after reading the Times Online article on blogging.<BR/><BR/>I've also sworn not to send my kids to boarding school having had a similar experience to you of boarding school - Enid Blyton has a lot to answer for! It was an incredibly lonely experience for me even though I never had any direct bullying. 11 year old girls can be so bitchy.<BR/><BR/>Anyway great to read this post and interesting to see all the different comments.Kithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11594062064082350697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-57353748692633912042008-12-02T16:07:00.000-05:002008-12-02T16:07:00.000-05:00dig is absolutely with you here ... he endured yea...dig is absolutely with you here ... he endured years of boarding school and hated it. the lack of privacy is the single most affecting factor. and not surprisingly, i didn't have much resistence to my suggestion that we home educate our kids. i just force them to share bedrooms.Grithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14022216340604423686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-33207768378152494072008-12-02T05:27:00.000-05:002008-12-02T05:27:00.000-05:00Hello. I found this by doing a Google search on 'm...Hello. I found this by doing a Google search on 'misery memoir' + 'boarding school' because I've just been on weekend workshops for female 'Boarding School Survivors'. It's very interesting to hear about people who enjoyed boarding school. I hated it and it has left me with deep scars (and I'm now 60)!! If anyone is interested, read 'The making of them' by Nick Duffell and/ or attend one of the 'Boarding School Survivor' workshops. Good to think about at least, before you pack your children off to them.<BR/>Best wishes, MartineDinahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15465674088778436979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-50205325340645291172008-11-25T14:44:00.000-05:002008-11-25T14:44:00.000-05:00Hi Nappy picked you up at Potty's carnival. Very ...Hi Nappy picked you up at Potty's carnival. Very emotive subject. I went at the age of 11 having asked to go. My brother went at the age of 7 and didn't want to. It destroyed his already fragile personality but was the making of mine. Our parents had divorced and my mother had re-married into a family with four other children. It was the best place for me I think.<BR/><BR/>My husband is a grammar school educated Cambridge graduate who has excelled academically his whole life. Whilst he respects my experience of boarding which to this day I absolutely loved, he would struggle to let our girls go. It is a great dilemma but I have to play devil's advocate and say it was the best thing for me and I loved it. My best friends to this day are the ones I made at school.<BR/><BR/>Great post. I'll be back.<BR/><BR/>BM xBush Mummyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03527939624765411649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-32499131218365165812008-11-25T08:51:00.000-05:002008-11-25T08:51:00.000-05:00I had a very similar experience at boarding school...I had a very similar experience at boarding school and would never consider it for my own children. You have captured the misery of boarding school perfectly...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-12873180363106130512008-10-31T19:10:00.000-04:002008-10-31T19:10:00.000-04:00There is a book called Third Culture Kids which di...There is a book called Third Culture Kids which discusses how children are impacted by their parents working overseas. I recommend it highly, especially if you are thinking of emigrating soon with your family.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-8144173678313410502008-10-27T19:33:00.000-04:002008-10-27T19:33:00.000-04:00I have to confess to having rather enjoyed life at...I have to confess to having rather enjoyed life at boarding school...mind you I was 14 when I went, and it provided escape from the emotional confusion of divorcing parents. It was helped by relative freedom to get out and about...often to the pub at weekends! I think boarding suits some, and not others...but it takes a very wise parent to know which child will enjoy life away from home.Nota Benehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00969705852180234416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-27612319584579716562008-10-25T20:56:00.000-04:002008-10-25T20:56:00.000-04:00I couldn't imagine sending my boys off to boarding...I couldn't imagine sending my boys off to boarding school either.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-29755177067766398362008-10-25T09:12:00.000-04:002008-10-25T09:12:00.000-04:00dig's lonely experience at boarding school helped ...dig's lonely experience at boarding school helped lead us to home education...<BR/><BR/>strange that he's pushed off to china now while i do the home ed. hmmm.Grithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14022216340604423686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-67323138088778356992008-10-25T04:56:00.000-04:002008-10-25T04:56:00.000-04:00PM - quite (and particularly the sort of of teache...PM - quite (and particularly the sort of of teachers that boarding schools, in my experience, have a tendency to attract!)<BR/><BR/>Hi Scatterbrain - I also enjoy meeting old school friends (far more than The Doctor who went to a day school). I think boarding does bring you closer - after all, you survived it together!<BR/><BR/>Hi Tara - I quite agree. I think it is as painful for the parents as it is for the children, which is why I was first inspired to write this post by Reluctant Memsahib.nappy valley girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788949037047084412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-85792874125586046322008-10-24T16:55:00.000-04:002008-10-24T16:55:00.000-04:00There is no way on God's green earth I could send ...There is no way on God's green earth I could send my children away to be educated.<BR/>It would eat me up not being their to hold their hand when they needed it or speak words of comfort or just peek around the door and watch them sleeping for a moment every night before I go to bed.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01124513427678555863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-44265633098138864762008-10-24T08:12:00.000-04:002008-10-24T08:12:00.000-04:00Hello, found you great blog via The Potty Diaries...Hello, found you great blog via The Potty Diaries.<BR/><BR/>Excellent post. I was a boarder from the age of 10 and have been composing a post about it for ages but finding it difficult to write about.<BR/> <BR/>How awful that you were bullied. Although I wasn’t, I was chronically homesick. I would NEVER send my son away - no matter what (although Mud in the City’s comment is valid.)<BR/><BR/>Kids need to be able to come home and discuss events with their parents to get things into perspective. They cannot form proper relationships with their siblings if they’re hardly ever with them.<BR/><BR/>Having said all that (gasp!) I have, however, recently enjoyed being back in touch with many from my school year and we enjoy annual fun get-togethers in London.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-79151496635811528322008-10-22T17:13:00.000-04:002008-10-22T17:13:00.000-04:00Good for you, am totally in agreement. Why have c...Good for you, am totally in agreement. Why have children only to let a group of teachers bring them up? Plus, who would we then blame for snaffling all the biscuits and chocolates?Potty Mummyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04751869800592294891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-89281506136542280782008-10-22T15:48:00.000-04:002008-10-22T15:48:00.000-04:00TG - it might well explain things...Audrey - thank...TG - it might well explain things...<BR/><BR/>Audrey - thanks, and I'll be reading more of your blog in future.<BR/><BR/>Hi Chris - bizarrely, I can't seem to email you either. There isn't a good way of doing it without it being public, so I have just set up a Google mail account: nappyvalleygirl@googlemail.com<BR/>Hopefully this will work!nappy valley girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788949037047084412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-39773744954066404082008-10-22T15:27:00.000-04:002008-10-22T15:27:00.000-04:00Hi Nappyvalley girlI can't for the life of me find...Hi Nappyvalley girl<BR/>I can't for the life of me find an email address for you on the site but I would like to drop you a line. Is there one someone and I'm missing it? I think you can ping me via my googleblogger sign in?<BR/><BR/>Thanks<BR/><BR/>CAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09018737865677945084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-81222507996249277122008-10-22T11:32:00.000-04:002008-10-22T11:32:00.000-04:00Hi and thanks for the visit. I wholeheartedly agr...Hi and thanks for the visit. I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments and it breaks my heart hearing about your experience. It's good that you have learned from it, and it's shocking how many people I have met who haven't.Audreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13284270452155749700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-68773793543221487102008-10-22T09:26:00.000-04:002008-10-22T09:26:00.000-04:00god that sounds hideous! You are so right not to s...god that sounds hideous! You are so right not to send your boys too. I'm not tarring everyone with the same brush but the ex Toad went to boarding school which explains an awful lot really!TheOnlineStylisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13993875451086499475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-52634213911293411092008-10-22T08:55:00.000-04:002008-10-22T08:55:00.000-04:00EM – yes, it is. In fact, I’ve always thought I wo...EM – yes, it is. In fact, I’ve always thought I would write a book about it one day….<BR/><BR/>WIHK – I am sure my parents faced all the same dilemmas (although not the sports one – I was rubbish at games!). And, yes, I do accept that some people enjoy boarding. However…most of my friends from HK also boarded, and I recall that most of them, though they put on a brave face and ‘survived it’, were also pretty unhappy. There used to be terrible scenes at the airport when kids’ were going back for the start of a new term – such misery. I hope things are different now.<BR/><BR/>Hi Mud – see above. I agree that for some children, boarding can be a way out of a bad home situation. But unless the school is supportive and looks out for those who are having a tough time at home (which hopefully your colleagues kids’ is) it won’t necessarily be a better environment. Boarding school can be really, really lonely.<BR/><BR/>MH – thank you. (And I don’t believe Enid even went to boarding school herself – although her children did.)<BR/><BR/>HT – interesting about Arabella Weir. I’m not necessarily against private schooling (although I used to be – but that was for political reasons) but I do agree with her that being confined to a boarding house for one’s teenage years is not ‘real life’. <BR/><BR/>CTTF – I would miss them too much too. I want to be there for all their teenage strops just as much as I am for their toddler tantrums!nappy valley girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788949037047084412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-36600036243750012662008-10-21T17:13:00.000-04:002008-10-21T17:13:00.000-04:00Sounds like you went to the same school as one of ...Sounds like you went to the same school as one of my friends...<BR/>I went out with a boy who went to boarding school, I say boy, because it kind of institutionalised him. He loved boarding school and I think found it very hard to adjust not being there, even in his twenties. I have had friends who have loved the experience and those that have hated it. I could NEVER send my children to boarding school, purely because I am selfish and would miss them far too much. Not that we have the money to do it anyway. So not a tough decision to make. Great blog post nappy v.<BR/>xA Confused Take That Fanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459622010972987709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-22273696441975928582008-10-21T16:34:00.000-04:002008-10-21T16:34:00.000-04:00Fascinating story. Funnily enough Arabella Weir, c...Fascinating story. Funnily enough Arabella Weir, comedienne and dipolomat's daughter, who was educated privately, will not educate her children privately. Wants them to experience real life. I don't know whether she boarded or not. Just that the newspaper piece has stuck in my head. It's certainly interesting hearing the flipside!Hadriana's Treasureshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03740533954842010870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-78027466608592197492008-10-21T16:14:00.000-04:002008-10-21T16:14:00.000-04:00There with you, never never never, no matter what ...There with you, never never never, no matter what Enid Blyton says.Millennium Housewifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11828746856608057335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-24533371968530340832008-10-21T12:25:00.000-04:002008-10-21T12:25:00.000-04:00I think different things are right for different c...I think different things are right for different children. My colleague is going through a divorce with a nightmare ex-wife who is very unbalanced and makes life a misery for his 2 children. <BR/><BR/>For them boarding school is a place of solace; where there are boundaries that don't change on a whim, where they don't get yelled at or pulled into emotional fights, where meals and play time are regular and they aren't a part of an adult's guilt trips. <BR/><BR/>It is giving them an opportunity for a childhood.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7290395635850697105.post-34153844815924949462008-10-21T10:40:00.000-04:002008-10-21T10:40:00.000-04:00When your sport-hungry boys go to school on the si...When your sport-hungry boys go to school on the side of an escarpment so steep that they spend their days running up and down stairs with never a blade of grass in sight; when long distance running means 20 times round the inside of a sports hall; when fresh air means being outside in a polluted smog; when boys of your son's age are leaving his class by the dozen to start school in England; you start thinking that huge playing fields, space and fresh air might not be so bad after all....... My husband was at boarding school in England while his parents were here in Hong Kong in the 70s and he loved it; both the boarding and the travelling out for the holidays. That may be why we are here now.Mutterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06720936545179612420noreply@blogger.com