Toad Blogs: Student stories from The Thacher School

• Acting Out
• Drama Bonanza
• A Whole Lotta Tennis
• On the Horizon
• Ski and Rock Climbing Trips
• Back in the RIGHT Saddle!
• Gymkhana has begun: GO GREEN!
• The Complete Winter Trimester....ABRIDGED!
• Off to Spain Next Year!
• Mockumentary: Creativity and English

Hi! My name’s Maddie, and I arrived at Thacher as a 10th grader. I’d attended a private school in Los Angeles before coming here. My family’s got a long affiliation with Thacher: My grandfather taught art here in the fifties, and my two uncles and my brother also attended. Needless to say, I grew up visiting campus often enough so that it seemed a natural next step for high school. I’m now a freshman at Connecticut College.

Like best about Thacher:
What attracted me in the beginning was the natural sense of community that thrives here because of the intimately drawn connection between deeply caring faculty and mature, interesting students. I would have to say that the relationships I have made here are what I value most about the School. Thacher’s given me an environment in which to become my true self, growing because of the kind of people who surround me on a day-to-day basis.

Favorite class:
English, as it most often is. First, I took Coming of Age, then African American Literature—both senior AP courses, both engaging and inspiring. My teacher, Mr. Perry, continues to awe me with his understanding of what I see as the world, or maybe just the worl teenagers live in. In class, we discuss matters in a close circle of sometimes opposing opinions, where we throw out our thoughts without any fear of judgment. It’s group discussion all the time, which makes for such an easy, comfortable setting in which to explore books and ideas.

People at Thacher who’ve influenced me:
Getting to know faculty members in a personal way, inside and outside the classroom makes me feel at home here. Take Mr. Robinson, for example: he is the kind of teacher who makes me want to be the best writer, the best thinker, the best reader that I can be. I have been part of the Literary Society, which he heads, since the beginning of last year. He is now my Senior Exhibition advisor, and I couldn’t think of a better person for the role. Even just sitting in his office and having a conversation with him banishes any doubts I might have about the world.

Advice for kids considering boarding school or Thacher:
Boarding school wouldn’t have been a consideration for me if I hadn’t known about Thacher. And it’s not something that most people, especially my friends in L.A. thought about as an option for high school. But it saved me from growing up in the superficial, artificial atmosphere that many high schools have. I can’t begin to explain how good it was for me to come here, as hard as it was to leave home. I had to be brave—but I’m so glad I took the chance, because the gain has amounted to far more than all the homesick moments combined.

My experience at Thacher has been…
scary, fun, inspiring, different from anything I could have imagined. It will be with me forever.

Maddie's blog entries