Figure 1.--Prep schools stringly incourage the children to read. Time is set aside at most schools for reading. Normally the children read during an after lunch rest period. School promote reading in a variety of other ways.
|
Figure 1.--Prep schools stringly incourage the children to read. Time is set aside at most schools for reading. Normally the children read during an after lunch rest period. School promote reading in a variety of other ways. |
Many prep schools are convinced that their goals can best be achieved in a boarding setting. Here the schools see benefits in both the academic program and in the character building aspect of the prep school program. Boarders have far fewer distractions than at home. The most obvious difference is television, but the boys spend less time on video games and other activities that many spend time with. And it should not be thought that prep school children are constantly working. Many are involved in more outdoor play and the older children more games (sports) than stay at home children. The girls spend less time on fashion and other matters. This frees up considerable time for other activities like reading, study, and a range of activities like learning musical instruments. Schools strongly incourage the children to read. It is safe to say that the average prep school boarder reads more than their counterparts at home. There are other benefits as well flowing from boarding. Sone of these are the interpersonal relations coming from living together with other children. The boarding schools insist that these character traits can best be inculcated in a boarding environment, partially explaing why so many schools incourage the children, especially the senior children, to board. This once almost went unsaid and parents saw boarding as an inseperable part of the educational process. This has changed in modern Britain. Many parents are increasingly reluctant to board their children, especially at the traditional entry age of about 8 years of age. Increasingly they believe that younger children are better off with their parents.
Boarding is such an important aspect of British preparatory school life that we are discussing this and other aspects in a separate volume.
