Should parents send their children to boarding schools in Gurgaon?

SHOULD PARENTS SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO BOARDING SCHOOLS?

 Frankly, parents shregret   the decision of sending their children to boarding schools. Apart from the usual homesickness that the child experiences, the children learn a lot throughout the boarding period. No regret since the boarding was a dream that the family had pursued for a long time and it was time to grab the opportunity.
There are plenty of boarding school options these days. The boarding schools moms involvement today in raising the child is far more than what used be back then. The role of father especially seems to have increased and the father is expected to participate in the general growing up of the child. This goes a long way in ensuring a happy childhood and further ensuring that the character is built accordingly.

Boarding schools help children with the following:

• To teach them to think and become independent - Learn the ability to

• take the right decision at the right time.
• To get exposure in all aspects of education and not merely academics. In addition to studies, they go on treks, play sports and generally develop physically too. In day schools, students tend to lack in this direction.
• To be exposed to several other skill-sets such as fine arts, genuine social service, dance and debate, music etc which formulates their personality.
• In boarding students make “real friends” and understand the concept of “network”. The 24 hour boarding experience does foster this more than day schools.
• Students get the opportunity to meet students from other countries and experience diversity and differences.
• In day schools, students are generally of the same type and of the same economic groups and often from the same city. While in boarding schools, students are from various states and countries.
• NRIs especially send their children to India for the education. Hence there is a cross-national student group in boarding schools in Gurgaon.
• Along with academics, they do not compromise with the “all round development” ethos of the school.
• Boarding school take hard measures even with small instances of bullying as bullying has far reaching emotional harm that lasts over a life time.
• Boarding schools have very good teachers too. However more than academic prowess, they are “all rounders” themselves.
• The use of e-mails and phone calls certainly is a boon today as parents can easily speak to their children.

Boarding is important but it should be for right reasons.

• Parents should not expect their children to be super boys or super girls. In long term, the academics don’t count as much as the “all round education” does.
• Parents have to continue to remain aware of needs of their children. The responsibilities increase once the children are in a boarding environment.
• Parents should not send children who are too young to boarding.
• If you want your child to take the various competitive exams for admission to professional colleges in India, put them in day school after 10th grade.
• Boarding schools are an excellent option for parents who are not able to devote adequate time to raise their children. Instead of the kids growing up un-observed and without exposure to all kinds of sporting and other activities, boarding schools should be preferred.
• Parents need to look for any signals that the children are unhappy. Homesickness apart, there are instances of bullying and the schools mayn’t be fully truthful on this account. Always believe your child. He/She needs you. Any instances that are unacceptable should be taken up with the school.

So is boarding an outdated concept?

They do need to change. If they do not change, they will definitely become outdated and will not attract the best from around the country and will become a schooling option for those from smaller cities with limited quality schooling. Change with the time. Some are changing but there are some drastic changes required with the traditional schools that can imbibe the
best of both worlds into the boarding experience. How to increase the involvement of parents? How to retain more and more quality teachers in boarding schools? Should “same sex” schools become “coed”? How to focus on a clear “mission” for the school rather than become confused by attempting to differentiate themselves from “international” schools? How to attract students from across the nation and those who live overseas? The reality is that “boarding schools” who have not changed internationally have actually gone out of vogue.

Boarding Schools in Gurgaon[/caption]
         Some schools (certainly a few richie-rich boarding or semi-boarding experiments) have tried to differentiate. Boarding schools are now home away from home. Students can download   movies on their laptops or get on Skype and have regular chats with parents. The rules are not as stiff and students can chat on their mobile phones on the weekends and even book their plane tickets to fly home anytime they feel homesickness. Boarding schools are fully air conditioned these days. The students can visit their home every one or two months. Boarding schools surely make children independent and are highly recommended.
Not all boarding schools follow the above though even the traditional residential schools have had to change. Students interact more with parents using emails (if not Skype) and certainly the advent of social media, lets them remain more connected. The romance of school parties where boys/girls from far off cities would take overnight trains to reach school at the beginning and closure of terms have now been replaced by flights and mobile phones have managed to sneak into the schools albeit illegally.
These had to happen. Traditionally oriented boarding school teachers however frown at these changes but that is topic of another blog. Bollywood often has shown the boarding schools in poor light. In Tare Zameen Par, the little boy was sent to a boarding as a punishment. In the film Udaan, the protagonist Rohan comes back home after eight years to find a total disconnect with his father. Come On, which boarding school keeps boys over the long breaks each year… Both are extremes but it is not uncommon that some parents often chastise their children saying that if they are naughty, they will be sent off to a hostel. Have those parents experienced a boarding themselves to know that it is bad?
There are many reasons parents use for sending children away for studies – family tradition, a status symbol, disciplining a pampered or errant child. The parents of a young girl wanted to send her away for disciplining and self-introspection as she was constantly on the phone with her numerous boyfriends.

The Boarding School concept has strong advantages but the advantage today are different to what they were set up for. They no longer prepare the boys for leadership within Indian bureaucracy and certainly are more of an “international school”. There are several schools that brags at being Indian Schools which were established to prepare Indians to lead India. With an increasing focus on overseas education and settlement, there is little to differentiate it from an International School.  If you are a parent who has reasons similar to these, go ahead and expose your children to a boarding experience. Rest assured, you will not regret. However, only go for the right reasons.