Maret or GDS

[Anonymous]

Maret parent here. The social justice culture is alive and well at Maret too. I’d say it feel less preachy, less heavy-handed than GDS. Academically, Maret has as range of students in terms of abilities and drive, which I feel as a parent is an advantage because it gives the school less of a rat-race feeling. There are plenty of highly academic kids in every grade. But they’re not all like that, and so the kids who are driven, tend to be more self-driven. It’s a terrific school.

[Anonymous]

GDS sends a larger percentage of its seniors to top colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret. We applied and got into both. I found Maret much warmer and a smaller school suited our child. I also found GDS insufferable! Their ‘call teachers by their first name’ even if you are a kindergartner was too woke! Actually I’m not sure why we even applied to GDS - that’s how turned off I was.

We looked at GDS and ended up sending our kids elsewhere, but I really wonder if parents who criticize the "first names" policy at GDS are actually racist. Everyone who has looked into the school seriously knows that the reason for the first names policy was to defy the Jim Crow laws and culture that were still in place. White children and adults had to be addressed as "Miss/Mrs./Mr." by Black people regardless of age; Black children and adults were not given that respect. Even Black adults had to call young white children "Miss X" or "Mr. X" and white children were allowed to call a Black man "boy." If you understand why those "honorifics" were eliminated, I don't understand why you would think that custom to be too "woke." Instead, I kinda wonder if maybe you're actually racist or think that's OK. Also, FWIW, my kids' Jewish preschool also didn't use "Mr." or "Mrs." or "Ms." so you had a bunch of 2 year olds calling adults by their first names, too.

This is an issue with the GDS community. Love to call people racist if they have a different viewpoint. Frankly, your explanation of why only first names are used is not very convincing as practically the entire world and most languages use some form of Mr., Mrs, Ms, etc.,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret. We applied and got into both. I found Maret much warmer and a smaller school suited our child. I also found GDS insufferable! Their ‘call teachers by their first name’ even if you are a kindergartner was too woke! Actually I’m not sure why we even applied to GDS - that’s how turned off I was.

We looked at GDS and ended up sending our kids elsewhere, but I really wonder if parents who criticize the "first names" policy at GDS are actually racist. Everyone who has looked into the school seriously knows that the reason for the first names policy was to defy the Jim Crow laws and culture that were still in place. White children and adults had to be addressed as "Miss/Mrs./Mr." by Black people regardless of age; Black children and adults were not given that respect. Even Black adults had to call young white children "Miss X" or "Mr. X" and white children were allowed to call a Black man "boy." If you understand why those "honorifics" were eliminated, I don't understand why you would think that custom to be too "woke." Instead, I kinda wonder if maybe you're actually racist or think that's OK. Also, FWIW, my kids' Jewish preschool also didn't use "Mr." or "Mrs." or "Ms." so you had a bunch of 2 year olds calling adults by their first names, too.

This is an issue with the GDS community. Love to call people racist if they have a different viewpoint. Frankly, your explanation of why only first names are used is not very convincing as practically the entire world and most languages use some form of Mr., Mrs, Ms, etc.,

Try to read the post before you comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret. We applied and got into both. I found Maret much warmer and a smaller school suited our child. I also found GDS insufferable! Their ‘call teachers by their first name’ even if you are a kindergartner was too woke! Actually I’m not sure why we even applied to GDS - that’s how turned off I was.

We looked at GDS and ended up sending our kids elsewhere, but I really wonder if parents who criticize the "first names" policy at GDS are actually racist. Everyone who has looked into the school seriously knows that the reason for the first names policy was to defy the Jim Crow laws and culture that were still in place. White children and adults had to be addressed as "Miss/Mrs./Mr." by Black people regardless of age; Black children and adults were not given that respect. Even Black adults had to call young white children "Miss X" or "Mr. X" and white children were allowed to call a Black man "boy." If you understand why those "honorifics" were eliminated, I don't understand why you would think that custom to be too "woke." Instead, I kinda wonder if maybe you're actually racist or think that's OK. Also, FWIW, my kids' Jewish preschool also didn't use "Mr." or "Mrs." or "Ms." so you had a bunch of 2 year olds calling adults by their first names, too.

This is an issue with the GDS community. Love to call people racist if they have a different viewpoint. Frankly, your explanation of why only first names are used is not very convincing as practically the entire world and most languages use some form of Mr., Mrs, Ms, etc.,

Try to read the post before you comment.

NP. Whatever the original reasoning, in current times I think it’s goofy and don’t like it as a parent. And in current times the old justification is anachronistic. Today it just feels a bit like morally superior crowing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret. We applied and got into both. I found Maret much warmer and a smaller school suited our child. I also found GDS insufferable! Their ‘call teachers by their first name’ even if you are a kindergartner was too woke! Actually I’m not sure why we even applied to GDS - that’s how turned off I was.

We looked at GDS and ended up sending our kids elsewhere, but I really wonder if parents who criticize the "first names" policy at GDS are actually racist. Everyone who has looked into the school seriously knows that the reason for the first names policy was to defy the Jim Crow laws and culture that were still in place. White children and adults had to be addressed as "Miss/Mrs./Mr." by Black people regardless of age; Black children and adults were not given that respect. Even Black adults had to call young white children "Miss X" or "Mr. X" and white children were allowed to call a Black man "boy." If you understand why those "honorifics" were eliminated, I don't understand why you would think that custom to be too "woke." Instead, I kinda wonder if maybe you're actually racist or think that's OK. Also, FWIW, my kids' Jewish preschool also didn't use "Mr." or "Mrs." or "Ms." so you had a bunch of 2 year olds calling adults by their first names, too.

This is an issue with the GDS community. Love to call people racist if they have a different viewpoint. Frankly, your explanation of why only first names are used is not very convincing as practically the entire world and most languages use some form of Mr., Mrs, Ms, etc.,

Try to read the post before you comment.

NP. Whatever the original reasoning, in current times I think it’s goofy and don’t like it as a parent. And in current times the old justification is anachronistic. Today it just feels a bit like morally superior crowing.

This exactly. The GDS community loves to act morally superior. It gets annoying. It does not take much to be labeled a racist at this school. Other than that, it is a solid education. Maret seems fine although a bit small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret. We applied and got into both. I found Maret much warmer and a smaller school suited our child. I also found GDS insufferable! Their ‘call teachers by their first name’ even if you are a kindergartner was too woke! Actually I’m not sure why we even applied to GDS - that’s how turned off I was.

We looked at GDS and ended up sending our kids elsewhere, but I really wonder if parents who criticize the "first names" policy at GDS are actually racist. Everyone who has looked into the school seriously knows that the reason for the first names policy was to defy the Jim Crow laws and culture that were still in place. White children and adults had to be addressed as "Miss/Mrs./Mr." by Black people regardless of age; Black children and adults were not given that respect. Even Black adults had to call young white children "Miss X" or "Mr. X" and white children were allowed to call a Black man "boy." If you understand why those "honorifics" were eliminated, I don't understand why you would think that custom to be too "woke." Instead, I kinda wonder if maybe you're actually racist or think that's OK. Also, FWIW, my kids' Jewish preschool also didn't use "Mr." or "Mrs." or "Ms." so you had a bunch of 2 year olds calling adults by their first names, too.

This is an issue with the GDS community. Love to call people racist if they have a different viewpoint. Frankly, your explanation of why only first names are used is not very convincing as practically the entire world and most languages use some form of Mr., Mrs, Ms, etc.,

Try to read the post before you comment.

I read the post and I don’t buy the explanation. What does that do today for equality? Absolutely nothing. So you are implying that GDS is all talk about racial equality and no action. I realize I am generalizing about one thing but it is emblematic about GDS. Let’s make a huge fuss over things that don’t matter any more. GDS has a mission in name only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GDS sends a larger percentage of its seniors to top colleges.

So does Maret.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GDS sends a larger percentage of its seniors to top colleges.

So does Maret.

But does a student get into a “top” college because their education prepared them in an exceptional manner or because their parent is a former National Security Advisor or current cable news anchor?

[Anonymous]

Probably both but what’s the question? I would say that there is no material difference in the outcomes of kids between the two schools, so that shouldn’t be a determining factor. There are enough other differences (size, degree of social justice focus, sports, to some extent location) that decision drivers should be available.

[Anonymous]

Trying to decide for 7th. Honest question- are all kids treated equally at Maret and GDS? We know there are kids coming into the grade whose families pulled strings (board member refs etc) at one of these schools. Not sure if it is common practice, but we didn’t and don’t want DC in a class where they may already be “favorite kids.”

[Anonymous]

Honest answer: there are kids at all the top private schools with connections. Those connections may very well help them gain admission. Once they are at the school, though, they are not treated differently. They have to work for their grades just like anyone else.

[Anonymous]

Thank you PP for that. We are down to the wire and need to decide this week.

[Anonymous]

Maret is smaller. I think of that when I think of the social aspect of school and having more of a pool of kids for friends. The GDS new building is really nice, and some of Maret's are aging, but if you're comparing for HS the new GDS facility won't be one your kid often uses. We have friends and both and both are happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trying to decide for 7th. Honest question- are all kids treated equally at Maret and GDS? We know there are kids coming into the grade whose families pulled strings (board member refs etc) at one of these schools. Not sure if it is common practice, but we didn’t and don’t want DC in a class where they may already be “favorite kids.”

Unconnected Maret family here. I have never felt like there were favorites based on who people's parents were, though the kids of the well known parents or well off parents were all nice kids.