Most conservative private school?

[Anonymous]

9:36. Would you be surprised if a conservative at a conservative school said the same thing? I guess I wouldn't. That's classic DC dinner table smack talk and i hear stuff like that all the time from both sides of the aisle.

[Anonymous]

Jimmy Carter is the only recent president I can think of that sent his child to a public school while in office. Not sure why everyone slams Obama for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny, it seems to me that the missions of most private schools (separating rich from poor, providing unequal access to educational resources) seems to be more of a Republican thing than a Democratic thing. So I think you'll be o.k. anywhere except public.

Interesting. I conclude the opposite. The whole point of this string is that the majority of the public schools in this area are full of liberal elites who, despite their lip service to "tolerance" and "diversity," are intolerant of any views other than their own (as demonstrated by your post) and justify the inequality of their child's circumstances by the fact that they believe, in their heart of hearts, that somebody else (generally the federal government) really should be doing something about improving the public schools. Which party is it that supports giving every parent the ability to choose where their child goes to school? Oh, yeah, that would be Republicans. Democrats oppose vouchers and school choice and other mechanisms to provide "more equal access to educational resources," because they "support the public schools (i.e., the teachers unions)," and then blithely send their own children to private school, leaving everyone else behind to fend for themselves. That would be you, President Obama, and almost everyone in the Obama Administration that I know (and I actually know quite a few). Generally nice people (but hypocrites).

Perfectly put. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9:36 -- You're telling me you made a decision about your child's education based on a single comment made at a dinner party -- probably, I'm guessing, by somebody with minimal social skills and a few drinks in him/her. That's a pretty slender reed upon which to condemn an entire parent body amd their children. If this really happened, and I have my doubts, you do know that you can simply choose to socialize with other parents, right?

No we did not make the decision based on that comment but it did confirm what we already sensed in visits and from other people we know at the school. Not to worry, our DC is doing extremely well in another school. That's the great thing about this area, we all have choices and some school communities are a fit and others aren't. Isn't that what this post is all about?

To the pp who wonders if I took it out of context, definitely not. It was clearly about the fact that one of the parents worked for the Bush administration (appointee). And that the war policies of the Administration were contrary to the religious philosophy of the school (although this particular offending parent apparently had nothing to do with any aspect of defense policy).

My point in my original comment was only to give an example of how some people not might feel welcome, and in particular how it could affect the kids as well.

[Anonymous]

Referring to the dinner party conversation. Yes, one person's behavior can influence how a prospective parent will view your school. Yes, everyone connected with the school is a representative for that school, even if they don't think they are.

[Anonymous]

You theorize, based on a single comment, that your family would not feel welcome at this school and that this "could affect" your kids. So, you'd only feel welcome at a school where every other family shares your political views? I think that's a little unrealistic; moreover, it makes me wonder how welcoming you'd be to a family whose politics are different from your own. And, BTW, what's your evidence for how this would affect the kids of families whose political views are more conservative than the majority of the parent body? I don't see younger kids discussing politics much at playdates, and to the extent that even high school students do, as a parent of teens. I'll echo what several posters have noted: the acorn can fall surprisingly far from the oak -- in other words, teens will always throw you a curve when you're least expecting it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You theorize, based on a single comment, that your family would not feel welcome at this school and that this "could affect" your kids. So, you'd only feel welcome at a school where every other family shares your political views? I think that's a little unrealistic; moreover, it makes me wonder how welcoming you'd be to a family whose politics are different from your own. And, BTW, what's your evidence for how this would affect the kids of families whose political views are more conservative than the majority of the parent body? I don't see younger kids discussing politics much at playdates, and to the extent that even high school students do, as a parent of teens. I'll echo what several posters have noted: the acorn can fall surprisingly far from the oak -- in other words, teens will always throw you a curve when you're least expecting it.

Actually we came from and ended up at predominately liberal schools but ones that tolerate and respect a variety of views. And my point about younger kids was that the parents may discourage their children from inviting the offending persons over for playdates if they don't feel they belong in the school community. Why subject your kids to that? Like I said before there are some schools you and your children feel comfortable in and some you don't - for a variety of reasons. Hopefully you can at least respect that? For what its worth my child didn't like the school based on a tour and a shadow visit.

[SAM2]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You theorize, based on a single comment, that your family would not feel welcome at this school and that this "could affect" your kids. So, you'd only feel welcome at a school where every other family shares your political views? I think that's a little unrealistic; ...

Actually we came from and ended up at predominately liberal schools but ones that tolerate and respect a variety of views. And my point about younger kids was that the parents may discourage their children from inviting the offending persons over for playdates if they don't feel they belong in the school community. Why subject your kids to that? Like I said before there are some schools you and your children feel comfortable in and some you don't - for a variety of reasons. Hopefully you can at least respect that? For what its worth my child didn't like the school based on a tour and a shadow visit.

PP, I don't think anyone in this discussion would fail to respect your right to choose a school where you feel comfortable. I think what surprised some people was your earlier post --

I was at a dinner where a parent from one of the liberal leaning schools said that she was pleased that a family in which one of the parents worked for the Bush administration had been driven from the school because they really didn't belong there .... The comments stuck with me and when it came time to apply to high schools we did not apply to that school becasue we did not think we would be comfortable in that kind of environment.

-- which suggests that some random dinner party comment was the key reason you did not apply. I'm glad you clarified that your decision was more well-thought-out. Your own choice of a liberal school that respects a variety of views also shows that you understand that politics need not determine school choices. I'm still a little surprised at your claim that some parents will actively discourage their own children from even playing with the children of anyone who disagrees politically ( ). I'd be curious to hear whether you ever actually encountered that, or are instead just theorizing that it might possibly happen. I'm sure there are plenty of closed-minded people around, but I have never encountered anything like that in DC. I'd really hope they're the rare exception in any school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny, it seems to me that the missions of most private schools (separating rich from poor, providing unequal access to educational resources) seems to be more of a Republican thing than a Democratic thing. So I think you'll be o.k. anywhere except public.

Interesting. I conclude the opposite. The whole point of this string is that the majority of the public schools in this area are full of liberal elites who, despite their lip service to "tolerance" and "diversity," are intolerant of any views other than their own (as demonstrated by your post) and justify the inequality of their child's circumstances by the fact that they believe, in their heart of hearts, that somebody else (generally the federal government) really should be doing something about improving the public schools. Which party is it that supports giving every parent the ability to choose where their child goes to school? Oh, yeah, that would be Republicans. Democrats oppose vouchers and school choice and other mechanisms to provide "more equal access to educational resources," because they "support the public schools (i.e., the teachers unions)," and then blithely send their own children to private school, leaving everyone else behind to fend for themselves. That would be you, President Obama, and almost everyone in the Obama Administration that I know (and I actually know quite a few). Generally nice people (but hypocrites).

Perfectly put. Thanks.

DITTO!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jimmy Carter is the only recent president I can think of that sent his child to a public school while in office. Not sure why everyone slams Obama for that.

President Carter used his daughter as a pawn. The public face was that she went to public school, but she received intensive tutoring from private school teachers. The whole thing was a charade.

The Obama's had their daughters in a private school in Chicago before the family moved to DC. Part of their decision, I would guess, was to make their academic transition as seamless as possible. Had the Obama girls been in public before coming to DC, then I could see some of the criticism being warranted. However, given things, I do not thing such criticism is fair.

[Anonymous]

The "dinner party" story is true, and although I am a liberal, I agree with the poster who factored it into their school decision. What bothers me most is that it wasn't parents and kids who drove the family out, but faculty. I have heard enough stories from my conservative friends about teachers mocking their kids political views to feel that this is a bigger issue than liberal families. Kids should feel valued by their teachers, not bullied, regardless of their politics.

[SAM2]

Anonymous wrote:The "dinner party" story is true, and although I am a liberal, I agree with the poster who factored it into their school decision. What bothers me most is that it wasn't parents and kids who drove the family out, but faculty. I have heard enough stories from my conservative friends about teachers mocking their kids political views to feel that this is a bigger issue than liberal families. Kids should feel valued by their teachers, not bullied, regardless of their politics.

Thanks for that comment. I apologize because my question was not clear enough. I wasn't asking you to re-confirm the truth of the dinner party story, but rather this point:

I'm still a little surprised at your claim that some parents will actively discourage their own children from even playing with the children of anyone who disagrees politically. I'd be curious to hear whether you ever actually encountered that, or are instead just theorizing that it might possibly happen.

Have you actually encountered this, or are you just guessing it could happen?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "dinner party" story is true, and although I am a liberal, I agree with the poster who factored it into their school decision. What bothers me most is that it wasn't parents and kids who drove the family out, but faculty. I have heard enough stories from my conservative friends about teachers mocking their kids political views to feel that this is a bigger issue than liberal families. Kids should feel valued by their teachers, not bullied, regardless of their politics.

If you're not the poster, how do you know the story is true? Further, how do you know the faculty "drove the student" out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jimmy Carter is the only recent president I can think of that sent his child to a public school while in office. Not sure why everyone slams Obama for that.

President Carter used his daughter as a pawn. The public face was that she went to public school, but she received intensive tutoring from private school teachers. The whole thing was a charade.

The Obama's had their daughters in a private school in Chicago before the family moved to DC. Part of their decision, I would guess, was to make their academic transition as seamless as possible. Had the Obama girls been in public before coming to DC, then I could see some of the criticism being warranted. However, given things, I do not thing such criticism is fair.

.

Let me get this straight - because the obamas were hypocritical on education in Chicago, it makes it ok for them to be hypocritical in dc? I do have an issue with anti school choice community organizer types not putting their kids in public Ed-hopefully deep in the community they're 'organizing'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jimmy Carter is the only recent president I can think of that sent his child to a public school while in office. Not sure why everyone slams Obama for that.

President Carter used his daughter as a pawn. The public face was that she went to public school, but she received intensive tutoring from private school teachers. The whole thing was a charade.

The Obama's had their daughters in a private school in Chicago before the family moved to DC. Part of their decision, I would guess, was to make their academic transition as seamless as possible. Had the Obama girls been in public before coming to DC, then I could see some of the criticism being warranted. However, given things, I do not thing such criticism is fair.

.

Let me get this straight - because the obamas were hypocritical on education in Chicago, it makes it ok for them to be hypocritical in dc? I do have an issue with anti school choice community organizer types not putting their kids in public Ed-hopefully deep in the community they're 'organizing'.

I was getting ready to post the same though and then saw your post! Totally agree with you! Guess these extreme Obama fans will rationalize anything.