Phil Dow > Quotes

“But for every student who fought back there were several more who lived in loneliness or fear. Said one student from the era, “I can remember my first day at RVA, scared, intimidated…being put into the ‘hatchery’ with twenty-four other girls in bunk beds, never accepted but trying to get attention. It was all a bad scene and never got better. No one tried to help me”. Yet it was not the emotional stress or lack of sufficient adult mentors that inspired the greatest vitriol from parents. What triggered the most urgent letters was the appearance of worldy rebellion…ven in the darkest hour, when perhaps one-fourth of the senior class was experimenting with drugs, the vast majority of the school’s students were not using drugs or having sex, let alone dancing or indulging in any of the cosmetic misdemeanors that were so offensive to some within the missionary community. p159”
― Phil Dow, School in the Clouds: The Story of the Rift Valley Academy

“Beyond the wild animals that posed a regular safety concern anywhere in Kenya, it was believed that the high elevation of Kijabe would leave the missionaries susceptible to “Kenya nerves” –a mythical neurological disorder that led to acute anxiety and other psychologically linked ailments. p21”
― Phil Dow, School in the Clouds: The Story of the Rift Valley Academy

“I am basically much more interested in what is happening inside the child than what the outside appearance is. I believe that forced conformity on the outside often heightens tensions on the inside. Originality should be allowed and even encouraged.” p173 Roy Entwistle, 1973.”
― Phil Dow, School in the Clouds: The Story of the Rift Valley Academy

“…[RVA graduates] have been at the forefront of the “global village” phenomenon…But that role has not always come cheaply. Like their peers of one hundred years ago, today’s RVA students have seen poverty and human suffering virtually unimaginable in the West. Many have had to wrestle with the hosts of crises linked to the trauma of social and cultural transitions. Still others have witnessed disillusioning hypocrisy from the words and actions of their missionary parents or teachers. A few have felt the loneliness and anger that they would have felt in their “home cultures” exacerbated by the boarding experience. And thus, having been deeply damaged by their TCK experience, some have floundered for a lifetime, isolated by their unique experiences from the healing experience of faith and friendship. And yet for many, the difficult experiences of poverty, hypocrisy, separation and cross-cultural interaction have produced dynamic and emotionally healthy individuals…Like membership in a family, whether it is healthy or unhealthy, emotional ties to the RVA community last a lifetime; and the individuals who make it up have the potential to understand and support each other in a way that few others can…Those who have chosen to view the atmosphere of isolation negatively have easily found in RVA an ever-shrinking community, where the sense of cultural claustrophobia is only eclipsed by the feeling of forced conformity. When they have recoiled against the perceived legalistic constraints of the community, they have done so within the confines of a relational and intellectual fishbowl. As a result, they have often had to live with a feeling of self-imposed ostracism, merciless gossip and public judgment – without the hope of escape. The reality is that over its one hundred year history as an institution, RVA has permitted the growth of a culture of gossip and has had to endure more than its share of Phariseeism…Yet…over the years, many have viewed that same atmosphere of isolation in a far more positive light. Where some have felt instrusive judgmentalism, others have found accountability and spiritual encouragement. Where some have found a community of life-minded lemmings, others have thrived and grown because of the deep sense of intimacy and mutual understanding… for some the irony is that that healthy experience has made the transition from RVA to their home culture all the more difficult. p213-216”
― Phil Dow, School in the Clouds: The Story of the Rift Valley Academy

“The Downing home fire is noteworthy because it illustrates, in a darkly humorous way, the potential for spiritual legalism that has been one of the enduring failings of the school. The fire’s origin remains something of a mystery, but when several students did notice it, the flames were still small enough that it might be put out. In a panic, the girls called the home of a station family where a large number of the missionaries were meeting. The mother answered the telephone and, hearing the voice of a student emphatically stated, “We are in a prayer meeting and should not be interrupted!” and promptly hung up. The now hysterical girls nonetheless obeyed the missionary lady and, as the righteous group continued to pray for the school, watched as the dorm burnt to the ground. p111-112”
― Phil Dow, School in the Clouds: The Story of the Rift Valley Academy

“At other times the school has been less successful. As an institution, the school has not always been able to meet the unique needs of all of it students. For some of these students, RVA has exacerbated personal problems that might have been dealt with in a healthier way elsewhere. p219”
― Phil Dow, School in the Clouds: The Story of the Rift Valley Academy

“[Regarding David Pollack & Ruth Van Reken’s study of mental health in boarding schools]. Footnote states “The connection between the MK boarder’s experience and the quality of their family relationships prior to, and during, boarding is one that is paramount to the controversy surrounding boarding schools. What the research seems to consistently reveal is that the children from families with a significant level of dysfunctionality are far more likely to struggle in boarding schools because they tend to interpret boarding as a rejection or abandonment by their parents. What is unfortunate is that boarding schools often times get blamed by both the parents and the children for problems that were first and foremost their own. P183-184 and See Appendex D”
― Phil Dow, School in the Clouds: The Story of the Rift Valley Academy

“At this time, rumors of student drug use and sexual indiscretions at RVA…appeared to be confirmed as the number of students being suspended or expelled abruptly increased. At the peak of the crisis the school board expressed the belief that “twenty-five to thirty-five students (were) using drugs, possibly including some girls.” Based on student testimony and confiscations the board added that, “seven or eight different types of drugs, including opium, (are) apparently being used.” Added up, this number meant that anywhere from ten to twenty percent of the High School students were experimenting extensively with drugs – a shocking figure at any school, let alone this isolated and seemingly pristine missionary school. The fears of the school board and parents were confirmed when between December of 1973 and January of 1974 thirteen boys were expelled or suspended indefinitely or drug use or tobacco use… The response of the missionary parents to this rash of bad behavior was at once expected and ironic…when missionary children began to make bad decisions, parental affection often overwhelmed parental theology. Common to parents everywhere, this chosen blindness meant that because “my child is basically good” the cause of bad behavior must be found outside of the child…Thus, with the two most likely suspects exempted from blame (the children themselves and the American cultural revolution) many drew the next natural conclusion. The school was to blame.” p157, 158”
― Phil Dow, School in the Clouds: The Story of the Rift Valley Academy