My High School

You may have heard me rant about how my alma mater (Breck School, in MN, not Swarthmore) has gotten worse over the years. I think this article puts a finger on why:

http://www.citypages.com/databank/26/1265/article13014.asp

I loved my time at Breck, and I had great friends and teachers. But I saw a trend bubbling up through the lower classes, one of snobby children of rich and distant parents. I heard about reduced academic standards for admission. During my junior year, I saw the best choir teacher the school ever had be forced out due to politics, and an administration willing to kowtow to parents with money.

At one point, had I been in Minneapolis and had the means, I would have sent my (theoretical) children to Breck. Now, I’m not even sure if I could help support the school financially. I think the administration is in need of some serious upheaval. I can’t imagine many of more former teachers staying on as their classes get progressively worse.


Comments

One response to “My High School”

  1. If you still want to donate, can you request your donations be used only for scholarship students?

    The snooty private school I went to had an interesting feature: scholarships started to be available at grade 5. I started there in 4th grade, so we didn’t see much of the lower school. My sister went there for a few years when younger, and my mom was *shocked* at the difference a handful of scholarship students really made to the atmosphere of the school. (I will note that I was a partial-scholarship kid, myself.)

    Which reminds me that I need to send Laurel (my snooty private alma mater) a check again. And Swat. And maybe MIT.

Nurd Up!