Student fit and community values at Thacher School

Thatcher offers its students a broad experience with high expectations, demanding academic responsibilities, a rigorous daily and weekly schedule, and certain freedoms. As a school, we emphasize values that build a strong community: cooperation, trust, honesty, and respect for self and others. Why are you well suited for this kind of environment

My education in Taiwan has been rigorous and comprehensive in an academic fashion. However, it has only given me the intellectual tools to grapple with creative challenges without actually challenging my mind. Thatcher would give me the environment to use those tools in a productive fashion. My life in my homeland has whetted my appetite for a more open arena, one in which I am free to question as well as receive knowledge. I am used to a highly disciplined classroom but being given the freedom to structure my own day, and being given responsibilities that challenge every facet of my being, as well as my mind are what draw me to Thatcher.

To succeed thus far, I have had to discipline myself in self-directed study, and have constantly set academic benchmarks for myself. Thatcher also requires independence on the part of its students, but students are given the freedom to set their own goals. I could chose to pursue an independent research project, to learn a new computer language, or try a new sport. In my old environment, there was only one way to learn, while at Thatcher I would be able to engage in learning through every aspect of my senses. I offer my intense gratefulness and appreciation of this approach to the school, and the assurance that I will use the unique privilege of this approach to learning to its maximum advantage.

The rigor of my life and education has endowed me with a profound sense of responsibility, but because of the controlled nature of my current environment, I have not always had the ability to show why I am so worthy of trust. What attracts me about the Thatcher philosophy is that it inspires students to learn by treating them as valued participants in the community, and it assumes that students wish to contribute to that community through scholarship and hard work. Taiwanese schools are often praised by foreigners for their strong emphasis on communal obligations. While I appreciate the sense of being part of something larger than myself, the type of challenges offered by Thatcher seem a better balance of the spirit of communalism and individualism. A student can work hard on camping trip to serve the needs of his or her fellow students but the rigor of the tests of living in the outdoors will reveal inner sources of strength that can be personally enriching. The student can help feed his or her fellow campers, and take home the confidence that he or she knows how to build a fire.