With so many references to "Chair", you got to have good "seat-of-the-pants" judgement. I go to the Arnold frequently. To study worthy trees and shrubs that ought to be in commerce but which are not in commerce. The future for these ommited trees is retail ready at the box store! The Arnold Arboretum just published a new 'Inventory of Living Collections' book in 2003 without checking to see if the plants are still there. Plenty of them are gone and a few are there that are not listed. The present Director Cook ruffled a lot of feathers when he restored the grand old administration building, putting plenty of offices out into the cold temporarily, and sold off most of the underutilized Case Estate in Weston.

Hi Pattycakes, It wasn't really the gist of my post to argue for or against a BS education, especially since I did not attend one and we are only learning about them. But since I am the OP, I will give this one a go. I said it before, but the post has gotten unwieldy to go back and read, for sure, so I will say it again...Giving up some of the every-day-ness, from grades 9-12, would be a true sacrifice. Part of the reason DH and I retired so young was to allow us to be uber-involved in our kids's schools, activities and lives generally , and we are. We get a lot of enjoyment out of it and (most of the time) they do, too. But if you have a kid who is willing to work very, very hard at a worthwhile goal that they value, it is hard to say "no". You seem to assume that schools don't spend any time on morals, character, community service (or maybe that they don't mean it). Many if not most private schools (boarding and day) have ecclesiastical roots, and issues of honor and morals and service are very important to the culture. Character education is not mere lip service, and community service requirements are meaningful, from what I have observed. Personally, i find it quite different from my generation and quite heartening. Moreover, since neither DH nor I practice a formal religion, we appreciate that our children, via private school, have had to attend chapel services and Quaker meetings. Their academic environments enhance what we try to teach them. You are also assuming that all boarding school aspirants are interested solely or primarily in monetary success. Many are, of course. Such is true of any random group of Americans as well. But, I do not think that BS aspirants are unusually mercenary at all. First of all, a good chunk of them come from generational wealth that kind of leaves them free to pursue something more... interesting, if you will. I notice there is a heavy emphasis on the arts at these schools; drama, music. Film making, fine arts, writing. And a fair amount of people interested in public service, the environment, humanitarian work. I am certainly not saying it's all "kumbaya", but these schools are in real demand, and they can find more than enough smart hard working kids, so they look for interesting, smart, hard working kids. People who can make a difference, not just a living. (not matter how good a living) Frankly, without getting too political about it, these schools tend to be very liberal and rather socialist-leaning, and if anything I would say they would somewhat teach their kids to eschew the pursuit of filthy lucre! (all the while asking their parents for some more of it, please)

I was only making a point (meant with a touch of sarcasm) that in another thread you stated that I have never been divorced so I know nothing about divorced people. I think I know enough to have an opinion on how (divorced) people act by my experiences/education in dealing with divorced people, even though I'm not divorced. We can all have opinions on any subject, and we do. But when I express my opinion about marriage and get told that I have no business discussing marriage because I haven't been married for 20+ years, or I am told that because I was never married to my children's fathers, I must have low expectations regarding their responsibility, or when I talk of divorced people, I must not know what I'm talking about because I am not divorced. Nobody here should have to defend their "credentials" to have an opinion. And that was my point. You are not a step parent but you have a right to your opinions regarding it. If you become a step parent, those opinions may change, just as kkny or tos may change their mind set if they ever get married and see what it's like to wear the hat of a step mother. I appreciate and see value to everyone's opinions (I don't always agree and may say so) but my right to have an opinion seems to be attacked by having my past thrown into my face and it feels like I'm expected to hang my head in shame and not have an opinion.

I don't know, I think people can be into math and numbers and also into words and reading and also into design and art. One can be an athlete as well as any of the above. I guess the questions try to put people in one camp or the other, but most people don't fit fully on either side, unless they have extreme personalities. I'd hate to be so predictable as to stick with one label. I pay attention to a lot of different areas, but also know I have a lot of blind spots. I can't fix a car, never got the complexities of chess and and not good at any games with ball throwing or worse, being thrown at. Ask me about world events and I do pretty well. Ask me about pro basketball/hockey/soccer/tennis and I am lost. Challenge me to a game of cards (canasta, pinochle or spades) and I will kick booty. No once can be great at everything, but one can be interested in a bunch of things. As much as I like numbers and have a talent for doing math in my head, I don't think of myself as a numbers person, per se. I can be analytical and I can also be emotional. Some decisions are driven by one and some the other. Hopefully, most include both areas. In any case, I like quirky and unexpected with design, so you won't see my kitchen in anyone else's house. I may have copied bits and pieces, but the total will be our own design (for better or worse, lol). Most of the design is from my imagination, but dh has had some input too and so it is a collaboration overall. I think our kitchen reflects our sensibilities a bit, so it can be a clue to our personalities in a way. I bet a profiler could deduce a lot from how people design their kitchens. Math has nothing to do with it....