Revisit Day Revised
This past week Tabor Academy hosted its tri-annual revisit days; three closely scheduled days in which accepted students tour Tabor in hopes they choose to attend Tabor over one of the others schools they were likely accepted at. During these days it is implemental to Tabors Success that the school as a whole puts on a good show, and represents the best the Academy can. To accomplish this to whom does Tabor turn to? Is it the faculty? The Administration? No, for during these three days the future or Tabor Academy as an educational institution relies greatly on the cumulative shoulders of the students. The same kids who less than four years ago who were looking for a school themselves, are given the responsibility to help complete strangers find there niche at Tabor.
This is an interesting concept at its soul. The kids who are choosing to willingly live at school are tasked with recruiting new minds to withstand to same. How these students go about this is less exciting and creative a series of structured tours, sample classes and a dreary, awkward student panel. Being a part of the panel myself I realized how much more efficiently Tabor’s revisit days could be operated. A revisit day which breaks the boarding school mold and gives even more power the these aforementioned students. The key to this new type of revisit experience is improvisation.
The best way to express my image is to give an example. Imagine a young incoming student, a current eighth grader guy named John. Some time during his revisit day John is treated to a tour of the campus by a senior, preferably a proctor. At the beginning of the tour the guide announces to the tourists (preferably a small group of guys) “You guys have seen enough, lets head back to my room.” Where upon entering his guide’s room John is handed a soda directed to a couch, and has a play station controller thrust into his hand. Over the next hour or so John learns nothing about the new math science wing; instead he bonds with the tour guide, he begins to see himself at Tabor and decides to attend the following year. One of many examples of scripted improve that could be expertly wielded to change “revisit days” into “become familiar with your future days”.
This practice would create a moral dilemma. Are you technically falsely advertising Tabor, by presenting a day filled with ideal experiences? I would said false, Tabor has the ability to provide these experiences and presenting them to prospective students is an excellent way to differentiate our school from others and provide the students at Tabor another chance to shape the future of Tabor. An important step in this entire process is that; the passing of responsibility from the faculty to the student body, allowing everyone to realize we all belong to the same community, and strive for the same common goals.
Filed under: Uncategorized
I agree with you a lot and enjoy reading your blog. I too believe that revisit day should consist of a day in the actual life at Tabor. The students should spend their day as any usual Tabor student would, not listening to speeches from teachers and the Headmaster in which they all probably sleep through. Tabor should be trying to make this first experience the best one for the revisit students because this is how they chose between Tabor and other schools. A boring revisit day does not help a student’s decision in coming to Tabor. I remember for my revisit day I already knew that I was coming to Tabor. However, if I didn’t already know this, I’m not sure if I would have chosen Tabor. I dreaded going through all of my classes and thought that it was the most boring thing in the world. Also, I had no clue what kids did in their free time or free periods and didn’t get the real Tabor life. I think that Tabor should work on this and put revisit day in the student’s hands. Great paragraphing. Your blog is on a cool topic and is very well written.
Honestly, what new student really cares about how much energy our math and science wing conserves? This blog really brings up good points. On revisit days, it is supposed to bring out what Tabor is really all about on a regular day, but in reality, Tabor brings out the best groups in chapel to sing or play and the smartest kids in the senior class to speak. While this can be good and I am not faulting them for being good at something, they only represent a minute population in the school. The majority of the revisit kids are normal, average, fun loving students. If we could mix what kids similar to them do on a normal day combined with what the cream of the crop kids at Tabor do, it would put into perspective for these students what Tabor really has to offer. I did not come to a revisit day, I slept over with another basketball player on a random day. I think this helped me in my decision to come to Tabor, because I saw the normal day at Tabor, rather than a planned out revisit day.
This is a very good point John. Why does Tabor make up a false day at school when the students are trying to see what it is like when they come. Teachers warn students to be on perfect behavior in class, you have to dress all a taut o, and you have to be appropriate in the halls. These are all things that do not happen at Tabor. For me, the biggest thing was chemistry class. Our AP chem. class is 50% joking and laughing with each other, but not on revisit day. We all had to pay attention not talk out of order, etc. This is not what a Tabor class is like. That is the beauty of them being such small classes. With there small classes we can joke and have fun. I agree completely with you John. If it was changed in a way that the students hung out with a particular leader for a day and that leader did his normal routine than the students would get a much better idea about the school.
You make an interesting point in your blog. The students already have a good idea of the academic and athletic aspects of the school. After all, they had to have researched the school, applied and gotten in in order to be invited to revisit day. I know that in my decision making for both high school and college, I would have loved to get a better understanding of what campus life is like, aside from what programs the school has to offer. I think that the impression that a school gives off during these revisit days should be the same impression that the graduating seniors have of it. If a revisiting student was able to experience dorm life or what kids do during their free time, they would get a better feel for what their experience would be like. Also, it would definitely draw the future student’s attention from other schools to Tabor. You set up your blog very well and kept the readers interesting in it. Great job.
I think that your idea is valid but at the same time i think that there is value to the revisit days that we have right now. For the past four years ive been involved in the revisit day process to varying degrees and this year i was one of the leaders. Although there are kids who already know they’re applying to Tabor there are a lot who are deciding between two different schools whether it’s Tabor and St. George’s or Tabor and their own public school. In order to show them Tabor in the amount of a few hours we have to pack in a lot of things into an extremely small amount of time. In order to do this we take all of the best parts of Tabor and paste them together. Although it would be cool for the kids to experience the boarding life i know of a lot fo kids who have left our revisit days with a better understanding of Tabor and who have decided that Tabor is the place that they are going to want to be involved with. So unfortunately i think that the revisit days that we have now are not going anywhere.