Back in the day, all boarding schools held what are now curiously termed "sit down meals". Students ate together formally, usually under the eye of faculty, often at the table with them. These were accompanied by "coffees" or "teas" at other times. The point, one assumes, is to instill proper table manners and decorum and to encourage the art of conversation.
Over time, most of this has been dispensed with, possibly because students' hyper jammed schedules demand fast efficient refueling, and probably because cafeteria style dining halls are more efficient to operate. Deerfield still maintains the dining tradition; so does the Hill, Hotchkiss, Taft, Exeter. Some schools are all "sit down" all the time, others have varying skeds.
Since table etiquette is a critical social and business skill, my take is that schools that offer "sit down" meals have an educational (and possibly a marketing) edge over those who don't. I would like to see all of them offer this practice as a learning experience, if only once a week, as some now do. True, this might be a turn off to many applicants but the ability to navigate a formal dining setting is a significant aspect of an educated person, IMO. Does anyone have any thoughts on this subject? What other schools can you add to the list?
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