Buxton School - Review #1

The all school trip to a city in the U.S. or foreign country for a week to ten days during which students put on a play for the public and complete a project relevant to the place visited is quite possibly a unique experience. On one of these trips we went to Quebec City and I and some other students studied the art scene, going to galleries and interviewing several local artists. On another trip to Washington D.C. We were able to interview several people high in the administration and engage in some very forthright conversations about our Countries involvement in the Vietnam WarA focus on the school as a community in which students had important roles and on learning as a joy and not a burden, a joint enterprise of students and teachers meant I left buxton as a life long learner and as an informed and active citizen.

The Buxton experience is hard to explain. It really is a unique and wonderful place. It is an incredibly creative environment to grow up in. The best thing that happened to me there was that I was incredibly happy there as a creative person.

Buxton is a school that requires student buy-in. If after giving it a fair trial you can't do that then you should probably go somewhere else.

I liked it as a caring and open community with a lot of diversity while at the same time, as a person who likes learning, who was an independent reader and explorer of novels and science and a dabbler in the visual arts I was really happy being among many others who felt the same way.

Buxton is no Deerfield Academy, St. Paul's or Phillips Exeter Academy. I can remember having some trepidations about going to such a unique place. Keep an open mind if you think you could get a better education at one of these larger schools. I'm so grateful I did go to Buxton.

The courses were innovative and engaging. We read, discussed and wrote analyses or critiques of what we were studying. The teaching was creative, and relevant. It was also a great preparation for college. I was completely prepared for freshman level college work, especially as a writer, something that many of my college classmates struggled with. And the diversity of classes was surprising for such a small school.

If you need top level athletics then Buxton is probably not the school for you. If all you need is a decent offering of team sports with enthusiastic participants then, you'll be okay.

Buxton has a strong arts program including the visual arts, music and theatre. Its programs probably can compete with many schools that focus on the arts. So, if you want a school in which the arts are seen as equal participants in a proper education but in which the academics are not put second then, this could be the school for you.

I don't really know what particular extracurricular activities there are at Buxton these days, except that I know there are sports and clubs. However, Buxton has a unique work program in which both faculty and students participate. This is a major area of student leadership. There are many crews with student leaders that carry out the various tasks. There is a large gardening program which supplies some of the food for the school. Students participate in some maintenance tasks. The school is heated by wood burning furnaces and students cut and transport wood. Students do some of the cooking, etc. This a truly fantastic community undertaking and most students truly enjoy participating.

A possibly unique part of Buxton Dorm life is changing roommates two or three times a year. This is an integral part of community life, getting to deeply know a lot of different people. Students get to request roommates and often get there choices, but not always. Sometimes the faculty put people together for reasons sometimes only know to them. These times when roommate changes happen are always exciting times.

The food is good, but not luxurious. If I remember correctly breakfast and lunch you get to sit where you want but at dinner you sit at an assigned table with a faculty member or family. These assignments got changed every week.

Williamstown is a college town. There are opportunities to go and hear visiting lecturers. I once went to hear Robert Frost read his poetry. There are fascinating college museums and the world class Clark art museum. There are often good movies downtown, some good restaurants and some fun shops.

The school is all about community, kindness, learning how to get along, respect for each other. It's coed so there are lots of opportunities to figure out good and respectful male/female interactions in a very safe environment. The students are teenagers so of course there is some drama, but in my experience (except sometimes in the moment) it all felt positive.