Which School Has the Bigger Perception Problem - Landon or Sidwell?

[Anonymous]

Whatever, I'm just saying, it's hard to take you seriously as a rational person when you dismiss an entire parent body as stupid and the school's sports program as irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whatever, I'm just saying, it's hard to take you seriously as a rational person when you dismiss an entire parent body as stupid and the school's sports program as irrelevant.

Again, that last few comments are from a different person who did not make the stupid comment. However, while the sports program may not be irrelevant, if you have a son who is a serious athlete, Sidwell is not going to be the school that is named when people are looking at schools that have strong programs. And before everyone gets on the academics bandwagon, lots of kids coming out of stronger athletic schools do just fine in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:... if you have a son who is a serious athlete, Sidwell is not going to be the school that is named when people are looking at schools that have strong programs ....

NP here. It seems that if your child is truly a "serious athlete," then you need to do a lot more than just rely on word-of-mouth to pick the best school. And you need to consider realistically what "serious" means. One of my best friends growing up was a "serious" basketball player who lived and breathed the sport, ... but he also topped out at about 5'10". So by senior year in high school, he'd realized that his basketball career likely would end at age 18, and he moved on to other things in college.

If your child is just seriously interested in sports, but likely not college D1 level of skill, then most schools will be fine because your child will have plenty of opportunity to play. If your child is truly of a skill/ambition level that likely will play for a D1 college team, then you'd want to pick a high school that focuses on the particular sport. The school that's best for a budding Penn State linebacker might not be the best school for someone hoping to play soccer at NC, and someone who expects to be on Georgetown's starting five at basketball might pick another school entirely.

[Anonymous]

Also, as am outsider, who is new to this debate, I will say that I think that sidwell's focus on academics has been Less damaging to it's reputation and to the character rep of its Lkids than landon's lax culture.

[Anonymous]

Although if Sidwell devolves into a place where it's ok to be an a-hole as long as you're smart, it'll be hard to see that culture existing on a much higher plan of morality than Landon's it's ok to be an a-hole if you're a star athlete mentality.

[Anonymous]

Although if Sidwell devolves into a place where it's ok to be an a-hole as long as you're smart, it'll be hard to see that culture existing on a much higher plan of morality than Landon's it's ok to be an a-hole if you're a star athlete mentality.

Yeah, but the really smart kids are less likely to be bullies. I don't see much liklihood of the kids with pocket protectors running up and knocking someone in to the lockers and snickering with their friends.

[Anonymous]

Bullying can take different forms and, of course, there are lots of ways of being an a-hole that don't involve bullying.

That's before we get to the question of who thinks s/he is smart enough to be entitled to be an a-hole -- and those may not be the kids who are smartest.

[Anonymous]

From a cultural standpoint, Sidwell sounds an awful lot like Landon these days.

[Anonymous]

I hate cats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From a cultural standpoint, Sidwell sounds an awful lot like Landon these days.

What are you people smoking?

[Anonymous]

Yup. Attack the poster instead of debating the debate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yup. Attack the poster instead of debating the debate.

There is no debate. Hey, I don't know a heck of a lot about either school, but I follow this board enough to review the tale of the tape on their "scandals":

Landon: Alum facing Murder One for brutally beating his girlfriend, alumni involved in stripper party where one of the dancers made an (albeit false) rape accusation about an alum, widespread SAT cheating, students spiking food for homeless with hot sauce, fantasy sex league, countless brawls with boys from other schools on the weekends, vandalism of other schools' campuses.

Sidwell: Sexual abuse at a summer camp (err Gtown Prep and Beauvior), students reciting a sexist poem, two students allegedly associating a faculty member with an "inappropriate c-word," school psychologist had an affair with a mother estranged from her husband, an undermanned football team that lost a lot of games last fall.

Did I cover everything?

If anyone thinks Sidwell is comparable to Landon, then maybe Sidwell does in fact have the bigger "perception" problem, but the reality is Landon is hands-down the biggest joke, particularly considering the wide advantage Sidwell has in academic and national reputation.

[Anonymous]

On this board there may be perception problems, but not in the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell split the Florida double header winning the first game 7-4 and losing the second game in extra innings 15-14.

The Sidwell-STA score was 9-7.

And Sidwell is the new city champion. Beat Maret and then Wilson in a double header at Nationals Park today.

[Anonymous]

But sports are a joke there.