I don't necessarily agree that sending an exceptional child away to school will somehow stunt development. Hopefully they have a pretty good base which we can continue to reinforce every weekend. I would grant you that there are probably a high proportion of children from dysfunctional families in boarding schools. Hopefully, it will make the children appreciate better what they do have. They have certainly made the appropriate judgments as to the differences between their family and those of their friends who come from families where the parents are divorced, separated, drug addicted and/or one parent is in jail. Yes, it happens even in podunk NH. With phones, faxes, e-mail and coming home every weekend, it really won't be much different than the busy schedules we all have during the week, except that he will be sleeping somewhere else.
As for this issue about a room, even when I did live at home I shared a room. When I left for school my brother promptly erased any trace I was ever there. Does that mean my parents did not care about me? No. That's the way all kids are. This is a mountain out of a mole hill issue and it can in no way belittle Mr. Reagan's many accomplishments. You know, at times I resented my parents too for all the "horrible" things they did to me. Eventually however, I grew up and I realized that even people from really screwed up families can still succeed. That tell me that in the end we are all ultimately responsible for our own destiny. Our parents may or may not make the trip a little easier for us. The sooner we realize that, quit whining and get on to where we want to go the better we all are. |
