Boarding Schools for Teens: Exploring the Benefits and Drawbacks

Teenage is a crucial time as your kid’s future highly depends on it. The subjects he chooses, school he visits, and degree he takes plays a huge role in shaping his future. This is why it is strongly recommended that you consider all available options before choosing a school for him. When it comes to the selection of school, there are two traditional choices. You can either go for a local school with a good reputation, or you can opt for a boarding school. This is certainly a difficult decision to take, as boarding schools have various benefits and drawbacks at the same time. Let’s find out more before reaching a conclusion.

First, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of a boarding school.

Best for Learning Life Skills: Boarding education institutions not just provides teens with formal education, it opens doors to wisdom by teaching them lifelong lessons. Boarding school teens are more confident, have decision making skills, and most importantly, they can face difficult situations without panicking. They also learn the art of surviving in even in the worst of conditions. Living with other kids who do not share a blood relation with teens teaches them to remain patient and show tolerance for each other. Last but not the least, kids who spend time in boarding schools readily accept change instead of resisting it. All these skills add up to form a strong, confident, intelligent, and successful person.

Offer More Opportunities: Boarding schools mostly offer more opportunities not just in academics, but also in extra-curricular activities. These schools offer courses in a vast range of subjects, and they also have highly qualified teaching staff. Studying in a boarding school also helps teens to create everlasting social connections.

Foster Responsibility and Independence: Living alone far away from the family at a young age make teens responsible for all their actions, a characteristic which is very rare in other teens. It also gives them a feeling of independence, as they do not have to look towards others to take decisions for them. There is no one to watch over them 24/7, or to guide them over little things. They can do anything they want, from choosing their favorite subjects to taking part in their favorite extra-curricular activities, etc.

Now that we’ve explored the benefits of boarding schools, let’s take a look at some of its drawbacks as well.

Home Sickness: Homesickness is something every teen goes through sooner or later as it is difficult for him to live alone away from the family. There may be times when your kid become so upset and stressed out that you consider sending him to boarding the worst decision of your life, but things eventually become better.

Lack of Personal Supervision: With the kid thousands of miles away, it becomes almost impossible for you to supervise him. You may not know what he does during leisure time, who he is friends with, etc. Even though boarding school staff keeps a close eye on all its students, it cannot supervise them individually, which can be a huge concern for parents, and rightly so.

Higher Cost: Another major drawback of sending a kid to boarding school is its higher cost. You have to pay several thousand dollars a year in fee to the boarding school. Aside from that, you also have to bear the boarding expenses, which are quite high in most of the states.

Boarding schools can open new doors to success for your kids or it can just be a battleground for them. It all depends on how well they cope with the change. You can make their experience the most memorable one by continuing to provide them with the love and support they need.

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