In the schoolyard, spontaneous fights igniting daily. Less regularly, down the road in dirt lots hidden from adult eyes, carefully orchestrated donnybrooks. On the playground blacktop, the sport of choice, “Kill the Man with the Ball”–but only when stuffing unsuspecting …
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A New Toad Blog With A New Purpose
Welcome to the new and improved Toad Blog! Here is where we pull back the curtain to show some of the ideas, experiences, and research that inform our work at The Thacher School. Below, for example, you will find the first …
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Advice on What Really Matters in the College Process
Each year the whole college process just gets more intimidating as ever more scholars throw their applications into America’s top colleges and universities. Acceptance rates now hover around 5 percent at the most elite colleges. Many applicants, as always, are …
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Random Encounters of the Best Kind
I have never taught Fernando Zamora ’16, nor have I coached or advised him. Yet I had three encounters with him in the space of 24 hours last week that made me consider how much I value random paths-crossings in this boarding …
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The Three Most Important Questions You Can Ask Your Teenager
According to the social scientists, the last of the millennials are now gracing our high school campuses. The Pew Research Center report on this cohort describes them as “confident, connected, and open to change.” I agree. Technology is their metier. …
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We Can Do Better. And We Must.
I have spent my life as a teacher, coach, and educational leader trying to help young men and women grow up free from the negative influences of drugs and alcohol. In this regard, I am not unlike so many teachers …
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What Our Kids Could Figure Out — If We Could Get Out of the Way
Haven’t we made a mess out of athletics for our children these days? Is it any wonder that most kids who are endlessly toted around as youngsters from one game or tournament to another by their moms and dads end …
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