The Kid is home from Military School for Thxgiving.
And he is awesome! He is two inches taller (because he now stands up strait, tall and proud) and has lost ~35lbs. He has been in ZERO trouble so far and his leaders and instructors all speak very highly of him and his performance. His grades are a little better than they were last year but that is a significant accomplishment since he is now in a very rigorous college prep program .
He left a pudgy slouchy mopey brat and has come home an impressive young man who has made strong advances in finding his character. This is without a doubt the best small fortune I have ever spent. 
The self confidence I see in his face and the pride in his mother's face is the magic in my holiday season.
Now if we can just get the grades up to his potential I will without exception be the proudest pop on the planet.
Best regards to all and have a great Thanksgiving holiday week. I will be giving much thanks for the amazing young man who came home today.
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awesome
That is wonderful for you.
Wonderful!
But don't choke on your turkey when biodad and the Single Digit IQ Gang take all the credit
That's great!
You have instilled confidence for me in boarding schools. Before we started having kids BF said that he might want to send them to boarding school but I didn't agree. I can see now that if there is a disceplinary problem it would be a good idea. I still wouldn't want to do it if it wasn't needed by circumscance or warranted by behavior though.
Happy holidays!
*~So sayeth Nymh~*
They can be a good thing.
Nymh,
For the right family boarding schools can be a great opportunity for the kids. My brother and I both went to boarding school when we were in our mid to late teens. If your family is very close it can be an adjustment to keep the family bonds as closely intact when the kid(s) are away at school. The school I graduated from started in 7th grade. Except in very limited and unusual circumstances I think that 7th grade (~13) is a little young for boarding school. High School is good but Middle School/Jr High is a bit young IMHO.
My parents, my brother and I were able to make it work and have remained extremely close over the years even when we were spread across the globe. Telephones and fax machines are a big help and with the advent of the Internet it is much easier to stay close than it used to be. My brother and his family recently took an assignment in Asia and we all SKYPE regularly. My youngest nephew will log on for some Uncle Rags time quite frequently. We talk with them via web cam several times a week.
There is nothing wrong with traditional schools but boarding schools can be done successfully while maintaining family relationships.
I think the decision needs to be made on a kid by kid basis depending on their needs. It is not the right thing for every kid and for some it is an very good thing.
Good luck and best regards,
Think they'd take the lot I inheritied
"To Thine Own Self Be True" William Shakesphere
H and both his daughters?
Happy for ya, Rags.
how wonderful
that this is working for your son, and for your family, it looks like his future will be very bright!"~waiting on the world to change~"
Thanks to all for the support.
As for boarding schools being a good thing. They are a wonderful opportunity but are not all created equal. My own experience proves that. Due to my parents career in the Middle East, all Expat children had to leave the country to attend high school after graduating from then Jr High upon completion of 9th grade. My grades were solid in Jr High so I had my choice of schools and chose to go to a wonderful liberal arts school in Colorado Springs (Fountain Valley School of Colorado). I spent a year skiing, partying, climbing, caving and pretty much did not go to class. I now contribute to the school's fund raising efforts and am in contact with several friends I made while there. I did not have the personal motivation or maturity to take full advantage of what the school had to offer academically.
Following the sterling academic failure that was my first sophomore year of high school my Dad informed me that I had my shot now I would go where he knew I would focus on school. I spent the next three years (including my second sophomore year) at Kemper Military School and Jr College. It was an awesome experience and I thrived and excelled. The structure, discipline and focus on accentuating the positive worked well for me. I was familiar with the school before I attended. My Dad had attended Kemper under similar circumstances so I had been there several times as a child when we would drop by campus so my Dad could visit with his former instructors. My younger brother attended also.
Kemper closed it doors in 2002 (a sad day for the Rags family) so we had to find another option for my son. There are fewer Military boarding schools available these days and those that are left are very spendy. To preserve my son's privacy (whatever privacy that remains with his Dad blithering away about him on the Web nearly every day
) I will not name the school he attends in public forum. Anyone interested in our school search and selection process can drop a PM to my inbox on this forum. I will be happy to respond with our selection and my opinion on the several other options that we researched and considered. There are some very good schools available.
So far the experience appears to be as much of a miracle for my Son as it was for his Dad, his GrandDad and his Uncle. We all three excelled at Kemper and went on to arguably very successful lives and careers.
Anyway, enough blithering from me. I am going to hang out with my kid if and when he ever wakes up. The three of us hung out yacking away last night until nearly 2AM. He gets up every day at school at 4AM so he was wiped out after a full day of travel. His old man cannot hang with the 4AM wake up I can assure you. I can barely function before noon.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Best regards,
My dad and his brother went
My dad and his brother went to the same military boarding school my grandfather went to. I'm pretty sure if it had been open, my dad would have sent my brother there, too. I think they have a lot to offer young men looking to develop their own sense of self in a structured environment. Glad to hear your son is doing so well, Rags.
To every thing there is a season.