What Are You Doing

Are you one of those students who complain that your school day’s far too long? Then, what about those students who go to boarding schools and spend 24 hours a day there, seven days a week?Despite what many people believe, boarding schools are not just an easy way out for people who want to pay someone else to bring up their children. Parents who send their children to boarding schools do soeither because it’s a family tradition or because it’s the best choice in their case. In some families, the parents live abroad or do a lot of traveling as part of their jobs and need to make surethat their children are looked after properly. This doesn’t mean they are bad parents or that they believe the school will take their place. That is something a boarding school cannot do. That’s whychildren are free to communicate with their parents as often as they like.

Surprisingly, most people have the wrong idea about what life in boarding schools is like. Most of these schools are not theawful, strict places people imagine they are. They are modern, comfortable and make students feel at home. The children are free to make their rooms as personal as they want, putting up posters andthings they like. They can also call home in private and choose whether they want to share their rooms or not. In fact, for most children, living in a boarding school is a great opportunity toexperience new things.

Emma Jenkins has been at a boarding school for two years. Her dad’s in the army and her parents move around all the time, so they decided that a boarding school was the best choicefor their daughter. She admits that she found it scary and upsetting in the beginning. However, when she found out that she could talk to her mom every day, it made things much easier and she soon madea lot of friends. She still misses home but she believes that a boarding school is a great place to socialize and help you become more independent and mature. Now she wouldn’t give it up for the...