Is Sidwell really Sadwell?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A sidwell parent here. I have to say I like the school but am deeply ashamed by how my Sidwell peers and “friends” are behaving on this thread. It’s petty and defensive. Of course, the school has a million problems. I don’t think it has anything to do with admissions issues. The kids have a toxic social culture. We discuss this in our potlucks all the time. The academic stress gets compounded by fact that generally kids can be very very mean to each other. This is not news at Sidwell. We wrestle with it in the PA all the time since they were in middle school and now they are in high school. It’s a problem. We all know this to be true as parents of Sidwell students. Peace everyone

I know several kids that have left Sidwell because of the culture. I am surprised as I always thought it was a top school in the DMV.

That is such a vague comment that it’s meaningless. How do you know they weren’t counseled out due to a rigorous academic “culture?”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A sidwell parent here. I have to say I like the school but am deeply ashamed by how my Sidwell peers and “friends” are behaving on this thread. It’s petty and defensive. Of course, the school has a million problems. I don’t think it has anything to do with admissions issues. The kids have a toxic social culture. We discuss this in our potlucks all the time. The academic stress gets compounded by fact that generally kids can be very very mean to each other. This is not news at Sidwell. We wrestle with it in the PA all the time since they were in middle school and now they are in high school. It’s a problem. We all know this to be true as parents of Sidwell students. Peace everyone

I know several kids that have left Sidwell because of the culture. I am surprised as I always thought it was a top school in the DMV.

That is such a vague comment that it’s meaningless. How do you know they weren’t counseled out due to a rigorous academic “culture?”

Because they said so. Exact words.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an example from my own life. Have daughter at Sidwell upper school. She eschoes everything said here. Great teachers and academics. Horrible toxic social culture and cut throat student body. I tell her it reminds me of Harvard Medical. Same thing. Best education possible. Great professors and mentors. But socially and with peers, it’s a four year knife fight. Hated every day and could not leave soon enough. Never donated a single dollar to that place. Only bad memories. When new applicants apply from my Alma mater, I assume it means that they are a smart but terrible person. That is what I see in Sidwell kids (not their teachers who are great). Over confident, over privileged, smart, talented, depressed, toxic little people. Sad but true

So, (1) you hated the “four year knife fight” that was Harvard Med.; (2) you and your daughter agree that Sidwell sounds just like your miserable time in medical school; and (3) you still chose/choose to send your child to Sidwell.

It sounds like both you and your daughter are masochists. You don’t deserve any sympathy. Lie in the bed you made.

+1. And note, this PP made sure we all knew that s/he went to Harvard Medical School. So you see, PP, you’re part of the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A sidwell parent here. I have to say I like the school but am deeply ashamed by how my Sidwell peers and “friends” are behaving on this thread. It’s petty and defensive. Of course, the school has a million problems. I don’t think it has anything to do with admissions issues. The kids have a toxic social culture. We discuss this in our potlucks all the time. The academic stress gets compounded by fact that generally kids can be very very mean to each other. This is not news at Sidwell. We wrestle with it in the PA all the time since they were in middle school and now they are in high school. It’s a problem. We all know this to be true as parents of Sidwell students. Peace everyone

I know several kids that have left Sidwell because of the culture. I am surprised as I always thought it was a top school in the DMV.

That is such a vague comment that it’s meaningless. How do you know they weren’t counseled out due to a rigorous academic “culture?”

Because they said so. Exact words.

I’m sure they did. It’s called spin. You’re leaving and you have to come up with a plausible reason.

[Anonymous]

As a Sidwell alum who was also a "lifer," the majority of the pressure that caused my own and my peer's mental health decline wasn't the school. It was our parents.

[Anonymous]

This thread is saddestnotwell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a Sidwell alum who was also a "lifer," the majority of the pressure that caused my own and my peer's mental health decline wasn't the school. It was our parents.

+100. This is the real answer! My children are US Sidwell students. The number of stories they’ve shared about friends being forced to take classes by their parents would make your head spin. These are classes that don’t reflect the students’ interests (some of these kids are desperately trying to hang onto a B- in Math I). There are Sidwell students crying and stressed out by Math I-IV, and some of the 1A sciences classes. My children have asked why don’t they just drop the class. The answer is almost always “because my parents won’t let me.”

How should Sidwell fix that problem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an example from my own life. Have daughter at Sidwell upper school. She eschoes everything said here. Great teachers and academics. Horrible toxic social culture and cut throat student body. I tell her it reminds me of Harvard Medical. Same thing. Best education possible. Great professors and mentors. But socially and with peers, it’s a four year knife fight. Hated every day and could not leave soon enough. Never donated a single dollar to that place. Only bad memories. When new applicants apply from my Alma mater, I assume it means that they are a smart but terrible person. That is what I see in Sidwell kids (not their teachers who are great). Over confident, over privileged, smart, talented, depressed, toxic little people. Sad but true

Maybe a subset or a percentage, but what you are describing is not at all our kids experience.

[Anonymous]

So happy not to be associated with this awful place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an example from my own life. Have daughter at Sidwell upper school. She eschoes everything said here. Great teachers and academics. Horrible toxic social culture and cut throat student body. I tell her it reminds me of Harvard Medical. Same thing. Best education possible. Great professors and mentors. But socially and with peers, it’s a four year knife fight. Hated every day and could not leave soon enough. Never donated a single dollar to that place. Only bad memories. When new applicants apply from my Alma mater, I assume it means that they are a smart but terrible person. That is what I see in Sidwell kids (not their teachers who are great). Over confident, over privileged, smart, talented, depressed, toxic little people. Sad but true

But not you, right? You are not smart but terrible. And not your DD? She’s not an over confident, over privileged, smart, talented, depressed, toxic little person. Only the other people.

Do you hear that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a Sidwell alum who was also a "lifer," the majority of the pressure that caused my own and my peer's mental health decline wasn't the school. It was our parents.

+100. This is the real answer! My children are US Sidwell students. The number of stories they’ve shared about friends being forced to take classes by their parents would make your head spin. These are classes that don’t reflect the students’ interests (some of these kids are desperately trying to hang onto a B- in Math I). There are Sidwell students crying and stressed out by Math I-IV, and some of the 1A sciences classes. My children have asked why don’t they just drop the class. The answer is almost always “because my parents won’t let me.”

How should Sidwell fix that problem?

Choose different families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a Sidwell alum who was also a "lifer," the majority of the pressure that caused my own and my peer's mental health decline wasn't the school. It was our parents.

+100. This is the real answer! My children are US Sidwell students. The number of stories they’ve shared about friends being forced to take classes by their parents would make your head spin. These are classes that don’t reflect the students’ interests (some of these kids are desperately trying to hang onto a B- in Math I). There are Sidwell students crying and stressed out by Math I-IV, and some of the 1A sciences classes. My children have asked why don’t they just drop the class. The answer is almost always “because my parents won’t let me.”

How should Sidwell fix that problem?

Choose different families.

What if the children from those different families can’t handle Sidwell’s academic workload?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So happy not to be associated with this awful place.

I’m happy to not be associated with whatever awful place you inhabit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a Sidwell alum who was also a "lifer," the majority of the pressure that caused my own and my peer's mental health decline wasn't the school. It was our parents.

+100. This is the real answer! My children are US Sidwell students. The number of stories they’ve shared about friends being forced to take classes by their parents would make your head spin. These are classes that don’t reflect the students’ interests (some of these kids are desperately trying to hang onto a B- in Math I). There are Sidwell students crying and stressed out by Math I-IV, and some of the 1A sciences classes. My children have asked why don’t they just drop the class. The answer is almost always “because my parents won’t let me.”

How should Sidwell fix that problem?

Choose different families.

What if the children from those different families can’t handle Sidwell’s academic workload?

Do you seriously think only the children of type A toxic uber wealthy parents are smart enough for Sidwell? So arrogant.

[Anonymous]

We took a tour of several upper schools.

The kids looked exhausted, overworked, and not happy. Visually and physically.