Landon vs. Georgetown Prep Upper School

[Anonymous]

19:07 and 19:20 (Landon parents) - Thank you for your thougthtful comments. I think your insights will be helpful to many families entering and/or considering Landon for their sons -- in a positive way. Although, I am the PP interested in hearing from GP families, I have to say your even-handed discussion of the pros and cons of Landon makes me question whether we should give Landon another look. To be honest, we were interested in Landon because of the positive things you mentioned, but was turned/scared away by the series of negative actions by a few of the students and alumni. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your experiences and opinions. Since GP is the school we would like to learn more about, it would be great if GP parents could provide the pros and cons about Prep like the posters here.

[Anonymous]

Clearly our experiences at Landon have been totally different or at least our expectations have been different. Landon is nothing more than an over-priced sports camp. They don’t have teachers, they have coaches/mentors. Their instructors in the classrooms are not academicians; they are full-time coaches who have to justify receiving a living wage. Teachers at Landon say things to the students in the classroom and the halls that might be acceptable for a Roid Rage driven Booby Knight on a basketball court to his players, but certainly not children in their math and science classes.

This idea that Landon provides mentors is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard in my life. First of all if your children have parents, why in the world would they need a mentor? If your children need a mentor they don’t need Landon, they need new parents.

Speaking of crap it would be good if you stopped lying about the idea that music and arts are equally respected as athletics. Granted, if you are good at sports and good at the arts you will be respected, but if your primary interests are music and theater, and not sports you will be treated like crap.

Landon students are home schooled. The classes are only about 45 minutes long. They are only long enough to review home work. Most of the day is spent on breaks, playing sports and tormenting physically weaker students. The only reason Landon graduates any smart and capable students is because they have well educated parents who teach their children and provide travel opportunities or they are affluent enough to hire tutors. Landon has a pretty campus, but not much learning is actually happening in their classrooms.

I am positive that when the Banfield family founded Landon in 1929, just as the Nazi Party was rising to power that they modeled their school after the Hitler Youth Movement in Germany. I’d like to know in what year ethnic minorities were first enrolled at Landon? Landon is multicultural today, but it is still operated like a Hitler Youth Camp. Tell anyone the BIG LIE that they are the Master Race or in Landon’s case Masters of the Universe and gradually they will begin to believe that the big lie is actually true.

Ask around and you'll find Landon students have a very bad reputation locally and Landon graduates have a very bad reputation nationwide. Why would decent human beings want their children to permanently have the stigma attached to them of having graduated from Landon? The only rational reason anyone would want their child to graduate from Landon is because they enjoy the show no kindness and take no prisoners Hitler Youth Mentality that is part of the fabric of the Landon experience.

[Anonymous]

Wow 01:40. Bet you're glad you got that off your chest. Given the time of your posting, it looks like you have just come in from a s### party. I have no Landon connection, but guess what? When I read a poisonous rant like that, it actually makes me better disposed toward the school. The voice of reason tells me to avoid the nutter and support his/her victim. Welcome to your own self-defeat, 01:40.

[Anonymous]

12.42 It would be impossible for me to care less what your thoughts are on the hours I keep. Believe it or not, somewhere in the world people someone is always awake.

You are free to disagree with me as much and as often as you like. However, you can't deny the facts that the Banfields opened the school in 1929 when the Nazis were rising to power. The Landon web site has always had a picture from that era of several boys who could have been taken directly from a Hitler Youth propaganda poster.

Tell me, when did Landon begin enrolling ethnic minority students?

There is nothing poisonous about my last posting unless of course for you the truth is toxic.

[Anonymous]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Educational_institutions_established_in_1929

along with 133 other schools. Did all these schools start because of Hitler?

[Anonymous]

I get your argument 01:40/13:39. My DH, who was brought up in England, attended a school that was founded in 1440. That's when the Ming dynasty was ruling China and therefore explains why he broke one of my French porcelain plates last night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clearly our experiences at Landon have been totally different or at least our expectations have been different. Landon is nothing more than an over-priced sports camp. They don’t have teachers, they have coaches/mentors. Their instructors in the classrooms are not academicians; they are full-time coaches who have to justify receiving a living wage. Teachers at Landon say things to the students in the classroom and the halls that might be acceptable for a Roid Rage driven Booby Knight on a basketball court to his players, but certainly not children in their math and science classes.

This idea that Landon provides mentors is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard in my life. First of all if your children have parents, why in the world would they need a mentor? If your children need a mentor they don’t need Landon, they need new parents.

Speaking of crap it would be good if you stopped lying about the idea that music and arts are equally respected as athletics. Granted, if you are good at sports and good at the arts you will be respected, but if your primary interests are music and theater, and not sports you will be treated like crap.

Landon students are home schooled. The classes are only about 45 minutes long. They are only long enough to review home work. Most of the day is spent on breaks, playing sports and tormenting physically weaker students. The only reason Landon graduates any smart and capable students is because they have well educated parents who teach their children and provide travel opportunities or they are affluent enough to hire tutors. Landon has a pretty campus, but not much learning is actually happening in their classrooms.

I am positive that when the Banfield family founded Landon in 1929, just as the Nazi Party was rising to power that they modeled their school after the Hitler Youth Movement in Germany. I’d like to know in what year ethnic minorities were first enrolled at Landon? Landon is multicultural today, but it is still operated like a Hitler Youth Camp. Tell anyone the BIG LIE that they are the Master Race or in Landon’s case Masters of the Universe and gradually they will begin to believe that the big lie is actually true.

Ask around and you'll find Landon students have a very bad reputation locally and Landon graduates have a very bad reputation nationwide. Why would decent human beings want their children to permanently have the stigma attached to them of having graduated from Landon? The only rational reason anyone would want their child to graduate from Landon is because they enjoy the show no kindness and take no prisoners Hitler Youth Mentality that is part of the fabric of the Landon experience.

No Landon connection here, but jeez what's with all of the negativity. How smart of a parent were you if you thought the school was THAT bad? 1) I doubt Landon is anywhere near what you've said after two other solid Landon parent's opinions which touched on both the pros and cons. 2) It tells alot about your decision making. Don't you think you'd be hinted somewhere in the admission process to turn away from a school which you seem to hate so much? I smell troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get your argument 01:40/13:39. My DH, who was brought up in England, attended a school that was founded in 1440. That's when the Ming dynasty was ruling China and therefore explains why he broke one of my French porcelain plates last night.

Too funny! We needed a little humor with all the Hitler talk. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Educational_institutions_established_in_1929

along with 133 other schools. Did all these schools start because of Hitler?

It is irrelevant how many schools were established in 1929. What is relevant is that Landon was established at the time when the Nazis and the Hitler Youth were emerging as a powerful forces and that Landon mirrors that image.

When were minority students first enrolled at Landon?

If you can find the number of schools that were established in 1929, finding the date when Landon first began enrolling ethnic minority students should be a breeze. Landon was modeled after the Hitler Youth and they did not enroll ethnic minorities until decades after the school was founded.
Landon may enroll ethnic minorities today, but they still operate like a Hitler Youth Camp.

[Anonymous]

As for the poster who continues to compare Landon's finding to the Hitler Youth.... I have no idea if you are a Prep alum or parent but you sound like an idiot who lives a very very lonely life. I pity you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly our experiences at Landon have been totally different or at least our expectations have been different. Landon is nothing more than an over-priced sports camp. They don’t have teachers, they have coaches/mentors. Their instructors in the classrooms are not academicians; they are full-time coaches who have to justify receiving a living wage. Teachers at Landon say things to the students in the classroom and the halls that might be acceptable for a Roid Rage driven Booby Knight on a basketball court to his players, but certainly not children in their math and science classes.

This idea that Landon provides mentors is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard in my life. First of all if your children have parents, why in the world would they need a mentor? If your children need a mentor they don’t need Landon, they need new parents.

Speaking of crap it would be good if you stopped lying about the idea that music and arts are equally respected as athletics. Granted, if you are good at sports and good at the arts you will be respected, but if your primary interests are music and theater, and not sports you will be treated like crap.

Landon students are home schooled. The classes are only about 45 minutes long. They are only long enough to review home work. Most of the day is spent on breaks, playing sports and tormenting physically weaker students. The only reason Landon graduates any smart and capable students is because they have well educated parents who teach their children and provide travel opportunities or they are affluent enough to hire tutors. Landon has a pretty campus, but not much learning is actually happening in their classrooms.

I am positive that when the Banfield family founded Landon in 1929, just as the Nazi Party was rising to power that they modeled their school after the Hitler Youth Movement in Germany. I’d like to know in what year ethnic minorities were first enrolled at Landon? Landon is multicultural today, but it is still operated like a Hitler Youth Camp. Tell anyone the BIG LIE that they are the Master Race or in Landon’s case Masters of the Universe and gradually they will begin to believe that the big lie is actually true.

Ask around and you'll find Landon students have a very bad reputation locally and Landon graduates have a very bad reputation nationwide. Why would decent human beings want their children to permanently have the stigma attached to them of having graduated from Landon? The only rational reason anyone would want their child to graduate from Landon is because they enjoy the show no kindness and take no prisoners Hitler Youth Mentality that is part of the fabric of the Landon experience.

No Landon connection here, but jeez what's with all of the negativity. How smart of a parent were you if you thought the school was THAT bad? 1) I doubt Landon is anywhere near what you've said after two other solid Landon parent's opinions which touched on both the pros and cons. 2) It tells alot about your decision making. Don't you think you'd be hinted somewhere in the admission process to turn away from a school which you seem to hate so much? I smell troll.

While the comparison with "Hitler Youth" is way over the top, it is unreasonable to assume that everyone's experience is positive.

If you are interested in learning about these schools, listening to the few critics might not be a bad idea. And of course, you have to apply the same sort of filter that you should be using on the favorable reports.

I would expect there's a fair amount of reluctance to admit that after spending $120K you got far less than you expected. Boosters are a "dime a dozen".

[Anonymous]

Yeah however, I get what 17:15 is saying. If the poster hated Landon so much, don't you think they'd sense something during the admissions process which would turn them off? I agree with the 17:15 poster whos saying it's a troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just saw this thread near the top of the forum threads. Anyways, I understand what PPs are saying here. I am a former Landon parent who has had two sons graduate from Landon a few years back. So I cannot say much about GP. Here is my view on Landon:

It's a great, tight community which brings in new and prospective students with open arms. Our reputation has taken a hit in recent years due to misconduct from current students and alumni. I will tell you, they do not represent the Landon community as a whole. There were mixed feelings in the community of sadness, anger, disappointment, and more feelings towards the alumni and current student's actions which have depleted the reputation of the school, not only in the DC Metropolitan area, but also on a national scale. However, you cannot blame them entirely because the administration and "father's club" run the show. The Father's Club takes too many decisions which should be pure administrative decisions. For example, why did the Fantasy Sex Scandal boys not get expelled is perplexes me. However, I've heard from current parents that they have tightened up and took on the approach of one moderate-big mistake and you're out. Moving on to Academics, they have a great prepatory curriculum. This may be a biased answer, but I have taken a look at majority of schools in the area, and those who bash Landon academics haven't had a DS at Landon. They are solid academics with a more traditional approach in terms of teaching. The science, math, and english departments are solid. The language department is definitely growing though, probably not the best in the area. There are many International opportunities for Landon students to go to Spain, China, Australia, Germany, France, and other countries to help their experience in language learning. Freshmen year is challenging, sophomore year is a little more low key because the kids learn to manage time more effectively but depends on the schedule, and Junior and Senior years are pressure cooker years at Landon. Moving on the to Athletics and the Arts. Athletics have always been an essential part of Landon. Yes Athletics are emphasized in the school curriculum, but definitely not over academics. Teachers, who are also coaches, always have emphasized that skipping a practice or game is fine if the reason is to meet with a teacher for further academic help or some academic event. I cannot tell you much about Landon arts since my two DS both drew and painted, so I can only tell you about the studio arts rather than performing arts. The studio arts resources are fantastic with great teachers who push the child to be creative and helps a kid enjoy the art.

Thank you for taking the time to share such a thoughtful post. Just curious--are the coach/teachers certified as teachers in the academic area they teach with a major in that field? Or are they coaches who happen to teach in a certain area? TIA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah however, I get what 17:15 is saying. If the poster hated Landon so much, don't you think they'd sense something during the admissions process which would turn them off? I agree with the 17:15 poster whos saying it's a troll.

I don't think it is a troll at all. This poster makes the same comments on any thread related to Landon. I understand if the poster had a bad experience but the constant comparison's to Hitler Youth is just over the top and shows someone who is more than a litle unhinged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah however, I get what 17:15 is saying. If the poster hated Landon so much, don't you think they'd sense something during the admissions process which would turn them off? I agree with the 17:15 poster whos saying it's a troll.

I don't think it is a troll at all. This poster makes the same comments on any thread related to Landon. I understand if the poster had a bad experience but the constant comparison's to Hitler Youth is just over the top and shows someone who is more than a litle unhinged.

You might want to check out the article from the Summer 2010 Landon Magazine that included this quote from among a number quotes from Landon alums who also compare their experience in the military to their experience at Landon.also

"The experience of working with a Special Forces team
reminded him of Landon. “You’re literally working with
twelve guys who are like your brothers,” xxx said. “You go
through hell with them, and you’re successful because of
each other. I found it very similar to Landon.”

This isn't regular basic training and service in the infantry. This is the most extreme environment the Army has.

The "going through hell" part is noteworthy.