High School Boys Struggling at our Big 3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The traditionally liberal elite private schools have all become exceedingly woke, everywhere in the US. I'm a graduate of such a school and have watched the school evolve from liberal but open minded to progressive and somewhat open minded to woke and ideological. You must understand that once an institution becomes ideological, there's no changing it. Because it's run and populated by people who believe in the ideology. There is no compromise because how can you compromise on what you think is righteous and just? It's the same mindset behind the editor of the WaPo rambling about moving beyond objectivity to a better.. whatever.

You can complain about the seminar but this thinking will be taught and encouraged by the faculty everywhere in the other classes. Even in once objective subjects like math and science. Ideology, like all ideology, becomes a disease. Eventually, hopefully, it will burn itself out but it won't happen in the next few years. It usually takes decades. New board, new head, new faculty, different parents.

It's for this reason that people like me and many of my old classmates are no longer impressed by fancy name elite schools or colleges that we'd attended and hoped our children would attend. There are other schools, however. You have to decide whether to put up with this thinking and be in an environment where you will be constantly opposed to what the school, the faculty and many if not most students deeply believe in, or simply pull your child out and go elsewhere. There are other options in the DC area that are more balanced and more like what schools were in the past and don't treat objectivity or different viewpoints as a bad word.

"woke" is right wing speak the rest of us refer to as "respect." Replace the word and see how toxic the right is with these critiques.

Talk about deflection . . . .

True. Let’s call this what it is. These threads are all just a huge circle jerk for conservatives.

[Anonymous]

Are they teaching how to think, what to think, or how to go along with the group think because the group really doesn’t care what you actually think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The traditionally liberal elite private schools have all become exceedingly woke, everywhere in the US. I'm a graduate of such a school and have watched the school evolve from liberal but open minded to progressive and somewhat open minded to woke and ideological. You must understand that once an institution becomes ideological, there's no changing it. Because it's run and populated by people who believe in the ideology. There is no compromise because how can you compromise on what you think is righteous and just? It's the same mindset behind the editor of the WaPo rambling about moving beyond objectivity to a better.. whatever.

You can complain about the seminar but this thinking will be taught and encouraged by the faculty everywhere in the other classes. Even in once objective subjects like math and science. Ideology, like all ideology, becomes a disease. Eventually, hopefully, it will burn itself out but it won't happen in the next few years. It usually takes decades. New board, new head, new faculty, different parents.

It's for this reason that people like me and many of my old classmates are no longer impressed by fancy name elite schools or colleges that we'd attended and hoped our children would attend. There are other schools, however. You have to decide whether to put up with this thinking and be in an environment where you will be constantly opposed to what the school, the faculty and many if not most students deeply believe in, or simply pull your child out and go elsewhere. There are other options in the DC area that are more balanced and more like what schools were in the past and don't treat objectivity or different viewpoints as a bad word.

"woke" is right wing speak the rest of us refer to as "respect." Replace the word and see how toxic the right is with these critiques.

Talk about deflection . . . .

True. Let’s call this what it is. These threads are all just a huge circle jerk for conservatives.

One could characterize these class periods at GDS in same way, except for liberals. At least participation in DCUM threads is free and voluntary.

[Anonymous]

Anyone else amused at the spectacle of privileged minority and female students at a top private school yelling at white boys that the boys have more privilege. Are they all blind to the fact that they are in an elite environment and are way more privileged than the majority of the world

[Anonymous]

+1000

This is why I can never listen to the virtue signaling from those who send DC to these schools.

[Anonymous]

OP, I can see why you are concerned. Would it be possible for your son's contribution to the seminar to ask questions to flesh out the opinions being offered? It's so hard not to get defensive and feel defeated in these conversations, especially when people throw around ill-defined terms and snap judgments. However, when you drill down on what they are really saying, discussions become more substantive and less combative.


How do you define toxic masculinity? What specific examples of these behaviors have you observed in your life? This can be informative for your son.

You don't think that men should be heads of companies? Why? Do you believe this because you want to correct historical wrongs or because of characteristics that you think all men possess? Why would you ban all men?

Do any women who head companies possess these same characteristics you identified as toxic?

What behaviors in males do you see as positive and supportive of women and not toxic masculinity?

Your son could offer his own experience of a time when he felt pushed toward some gender norm that he wasn't comfortable with.

[Anonymous]

We chose an all-boy school for high school for my sons.

Too much weird crap like that at our public MS.

It’s been fantastic and the boys are more open to expressing feelings and are very considerate and supportive of one another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else amused at the spectacle of privileged minority and female students at a top private school yelling at white boys that the boys have more privilege. Are they all blind to the fact that they are in an elite environment and are way more privileged than the majority of the world

Where was this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else amused at the spectacle of privileged minority and female students at a top private school yelling at white boys that the boys have more privilege. Are they all blind to the fact that they are in an elite environment and are way more privileged than the majority of the world

Where was this?

Only in the heads of aggrieved snowflakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Believe it OP.

We’re from out of state during Covid and have a good dialog with our teens, this tone and school content really stuck out to them too. And us. Check out the handouts and authors of the sheets to better understand who’s generating this.

very good idea. Feels like I need to dig in. I also appreciate other inputs on this thread from other respondents.

I would just register these concerns with the HoS, he’s heard them all before and maybe once the quantity gets frequent and high enough he and the board will do something.
But tell your son to be proud of who he is and that college and the real world will be better than this bubble. And to just ignore most of it, it’s a product of the a small minority of the times that’s been allowed in to k-12 schooling after doing the same at many colleges.

I can tell you it only gets worse in college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We chose an all-boy school for high school for my sons.

Too much weird crap like that at our public MS.

It’s been fantastic and the boys are more open to expressing feelings and are very considerate and supportive of one another.

Us too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The traditionally liberal elite private schools have all become exceedingly woke, everywhere in the US. I'm a graduate of such a school and have watched the school evolve from liberal but open minded to progressive and somewhat open minded to woke and ideological. You must understand that once an institution becomes ideological, there's no changing it. Because it's run and populated by people who believe in the ideology. There is no compromise because how can you compromise on what you think is righteous and just? It's the same mindset behind the editor of the WaPo rambling about moving beyond objectivity to a better.. whatever.

You can complain about the seminar but this thinking will be taught and encouraged by the faculty everywhere in the other classes. Even in once objective subjects like math and science. Ideology, like all ideology, becomes a disease. Eventually, hopefully, it will burn itself out but it won't happen in the next few years. It usually takes decades. New board, new head, new faculty, different parents.

It's for this reason that people like me and many of my old classmates are no longer impressed by fancy name elite schools or colleges that we'd attended and hoped our children would attend. There are other schools, however. You have to decide whether to put up with this thinking and be in an environment where you will be constantly opposed to what the school, the faculty and many if not most students deeply believe in, or simply pull your child out and go elsewhere. There are other options in the DC area that are more balanced and more like what schools were in the past and don't treat objectivity or different viewpoints as a bad word.

"woke" is right wing speak the rest of us refer to as "respect." Replace the word and see how toxic the right is with these critiques.

Talk about deflection . . . .

True. Let’s call this what it is. These threads are all just a huge circle jerk for conservatives.

One could characterize these class periods at GDS in same way, except for liberals. At least participation in DCUM threads is free and voluntary.

Touche

And pls leave the international folks on the sidelines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Believe it OP.

We’re from out of state during Covid and have a good dialog with our teens, this tone and school content really stuck out to them too. And us. Check out the handouts and authors of the sheets to better understand who’s generating this.

very good idea. Feels like I need to dig in. I also appreciate other inputs on this thread from other respondents.

I would just register these concerns with the HoS, he’s heard them all before and maybe once the quantity gets frequent and high enough he and the board will do something.
But tell your son to be proud of who he is and that college and the real world will be better than this bubble. And to just ignore most of it, it’s a product of the a small minority of the times that’s been allowed in to k-12 schooling after doing the same at many colleges.

I can tell you it only gets worse in college

Only a handful have it this nutty, and it’s tainting their reputation. Harvards Dean is driving it into the ground.

[Anonymous]

Our DC had a great experience at GDS, it changed his life. I don't know which teacher you're talking about, but if my kid told me this I'd bring it up with Russell and Khalid, two men who are in positions of power at the school. My DC had a teacher who seemed to discriminate against certain students and favor others. Parents brought that to the administration's attention, with receipts, and that teacher was not invited back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We chose an all-boy school for high school for my sons.

Too much weird crap like that at our public MS.

It’s been fantastic and the boys are more open to expressing feelings and are very considerate and supportive of one another.

After all the events at the schools we applied to, we wish we had applied to an all boys school, too...