Photo retrieved from google image, 08 Feb. 2010.
In the begining of the chapter, I found it interesting that three girls from the Creek reservation had asked for applications to attend the Chilocco Boarding School. After returning back to the Indian Agency office to complete the application, they were later accepted, and so they went. In other cases, there were children who did not want to attend the boarding school and who also had a difficult time adjusting to their new life as an attendant.
As they shared their stories of attending school, I learned that some students enjoyed and had a "wonderful" experience however, there were those who had such a personal impact that would haunt them throughout their adolescence. Reading about their experiences reminded me not only of what my late grandmother told me but how one of the presenters at the conference shared that when she was growing up, her family used the "boarding school" as a discipline strategy. If her behavior was unacceptable, her grandmother would tell her that she was going to enroll her into to a boarding school.
I've had other family members attend a boarding school and every one of them had mentioned how lonely it had gotten, especially being away from home and family. However, one relative of mine couldn't wait to get back and sometimes he wouldn't come home for the weekend. I wondered why he stayed. It turns out he had friends there that he could relate to and bond with. Apparently, when he got home he was put to work and lectured. Whether this was true or not, I would be interested in learning more about the experiences that others had to face growing up and attending a boarding school.
I had a friend who was always anxious to go back to boarding school as well. I always questioned why she wanted to be away all year long. I later found out that the life there was better than at home.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure some students chose to attend boarding school because they were ready for something new and different. Like Yvonne said, some chose to go to free themselves of the hardships they were facing at home. I knew a few people who attended Riverside Indian School in California. I'm not sure what it is like compared to other boarding schools, but they were always eager to return to Riverside the following school year.
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