School Life

Athletic programs in private schools are an integral part of school life. They are not 'optional'. All students participate in some athletic activity weekly while school is in session. Most private schools set aside a weekday afternoon - generally Wednesday - for athletics. There are no classes. Everybody is involved in some athletic activity somewhere on campus. In boarding schools, part of each Saturday is also given over to sports. Throughout this article, I have quoted from private school websites so that you can get an idea of how private schools view competitive and recreational sports.

"Competitive or recreational sports at Putney are valued for fostering individual skills and strengths. Sports do not conflict with art activities, so there is no need to choose between one or the other."...The Putney School, Vermont

This is also a fundamental difference between private and public schools. I am not saying that sports in public schools are not important. It's simply that when money has to be trimmed from a public school budget, it is often trimmed from the athletics budget. Why? Because the board would rather trim that expense than lay off more teachers. It is a tough choice that most private schools don't have to make and will not make in most cases.

"The Gunnery's sports program cultivates competition and cooperation in the context of organized athletics. This is a tradition that stretches back, unbroken, to Mr. Gunn's era. A staunch advocate of physical fitness, he created the school's

Remember computer labs? Remember those couple of Apple IIe's sitting on the side of the classroom? Remember dial-up modems? Those days seem like a hundred years ago, don't they? Handheld devices have totally transformed education at every level, not just in K-12 schools. However, while handheld devices offer immediate access to information students need for their schoolwork, they also create all sorts of issues for schools. Different platforms and operating systems need to be able to communicate with each other. In other words, teachers and students need to be on the same page. Add to that major challenge is the even bigger challenge of providing seamless wireless access to the internet from anywhere on campus safely and securely. Yes, hackers are everywhere, within and without the firewalls, the IT staff have so carefully erected to keep data and students safe. With these points in mind, let's look at what's going on with technology in private K-12 schools.

I just had to include this Apple IIe commercial from the 80s. It shows how far we have come.

The many flavors of technology

Schools handle the devices students use in a variety of ways. Some schools require you to purchase a laptop or tablet as part of their book and supplies fees. Others supply computers for their students. Others have computers in classrooms and libraries for their students to use. So, what's going on here? Can't I