School life, between the linesBy Admissions Diary
School stories, admissions adventures, and the things parents talk about on the way home.
School life · Delmar, New York; Philadelphia; and Toronto
In 2008 a Delmar, New York, mother wrote about watching her sixth grader work on running crew and lights. Her proudest moment was a figure in black, carrying a bench across a dark stage.
The admissions files · Medieval Novgorod
Around 1250, a boy in Novgorod practiced the alphabet on birch bark and then filled the rest with a horseman. My seven-year-old's homework sheet came home this week with the same layout.
The admissions files · American schoolrooms
A century ago, American schools ran savings banks. A 1914 federal bulletin explained the roll call, the bank book and what the penny was being saved from.
The admissions files · Chicago
Polio kept Chicago's schools closed that September, so 315,000 elementary pupils attended by radio. The station magazine noted they could finally throw paper wads at the teacher.
School life · Boston and California
Model United Nations hands teenagers a country, a placard and a rulebook. The rulebook covers everything, including leaving the room.
School life · Iowa and California
In 2015 a middle school team flew from Shenzhen to compete in Iowa City. The robot did not arrive. The teams they had come to beat did.
Parent life · United States and England
At big scholastic chess tournaments, the children play and the parents are shown the door. The governing body's reasons are a masterpiece of politeness.
Parent life · Across the United States
Forty-seven years after Mead tested its binder in Wichita, schools still cannot agree whether it belongs in class. I have had a position since 1986.
The admissions files · Pennsylvania and New York
A Pennsylvania seminary pupil in 1838 and the future founder of the Girl Scouts in 1874 both wrote home from school. Their parents wanted news and got requests.
School lore · Chester County, Pennsylvania
In 1804 a Quaker boarding school in Pennsylvania cracked down on girls embroidering pictures of the building. A decade later they were embroidering the Earth.
School traditions · Ohio & Utah
Schools have discovered the most effective fundraising incentive in America: put an administrator somewhere uncomfortable. The price list is surprisingly consistent.
Parent life · New York and Pennsylvania
A Pennsylvania PTA has a fundraiser in March, a $1,500 forecast and a volunteer vacancy nobody has trained for.
