Reaction Paper For Reading 17

This article reveals some interesting aspects of one of our most important social institutions: schools, elite-boarding schools in particular. These institutions take on the role of educating, as well as acculturating, the fortunate members who are able to attend these prestigious academies. Students learn the values of the upper-class and are expected to conform to these expectations.

Students at elite boarding schools are exposed to a much more classical, conservative, and disciplined curriculum than public school students are. Just as all students, they are expected to take courses in the mathematics, sciences, literature, history, arts, and foreign languages. However, their schooling differs from that received by many middle and working class students. Upper-class students have the ability to take a wider variety of courses that are designed to whet their appetite for knowledge. They also take a greater number of these courses in comparison to the number of courses that students of lower socio-economic status take.

Upper-class students at boarding schools are much more involved in extracurricular activities than their public school counterparts are. They also take sports very seriously and look upon pep rallies and school gatherings with great enthusiasm. There is an emphasis on early student leadership at these schools, which will prepare these scholars for being leaders in college and in life. This article revels much about the culture and values of elite boarding schools.

This reading is certainly enlightening and I liked it very much. It presents the information in a way that one can compare his or her own schooling with the type of schooling mentioned in the reading. There was not much that I did not like about the article. I felt that it was fairly objective and accurately portrayed these upper-class schools. One notable thing about this article is that it depicted more than just a single aspect of these schools. It provided information on the academics, social atmosphere, and culture.

I learned some interesting things from this article. However, since