Most down-to-earth schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well, I don't think this discussion for me is really about diversity per se. Except for that it seems like (and I could be wrong) that the schools I went to managed to have high quality programs AND a degree of diversity. We had a full-on auto shop and 4H clubs that seemed to prep people along a decent vocational track, and kids going to the university to take advanced math, at the same time.

I'm the PP who grew up in a Midwestern college town. And I've had this same argument with my father about tracking at his Midwestern high school in the 1950s. He was in the college track. "Everybody got along fine, and everybody got a good-quality education according to their needs, without economic-class conflict," he says. Well, if you asked the people who were not in the college track, maybe they'd remember things the same way -- or maybe they wouldn't. When I was in school, there were certainly disputes and resentments, just less overt than they are today. And they're not overt only in MCPS; they're also overt in that Midwestern college-town school system.

I'm pretty sure that the farm kids were happy in auto shop (and some of them went on to college to become ag engineers, and some just went back to work on the farms). I don't want to derail this into a discussion on tracking, but it seems like the worst of both worlds to purport to end tracking, and to not offer vocational or other training that is actually useful to people who might not be going to college right away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well, I don't think this discussion for me is really about diversity per se. Except for that it seems like (and I could be wrong) that the schools I went to managed to have high quality programs AND a degree of diversity. We had a full-on auto shop and 4H clubs that seemed to prep people along a decent vocational track, and kids going to the university to take advanced math, at the same time.

I'm the PP who grew up in a Midwestern college town. And I've had this same argument with my father about tracking at his Midwestern high school in the 1950s. He was in the college track. "Everybody got along fine, and everybody got a good-quality education according to their needs, without economic-class conflict," he says. Well, if you asked the people who were not in the college track, maybe they'd remember things the same way -- or maybe they wouldn't. When I was in school, there were certainly disputes and resentments, just less overt than they are today. And they're not overt only in MCPS; they're also overt in that Midwestern college-town school system.

I'm pretty sure that the farm kids were happy in auto shop (and some of them went on to college to become ag engineers, and some just went back to work on the farms). I don't want to derail this into a discussion on tracking, but it seems like the worst of both worlds to purport to end tracking, and to not offer vocational or other training that is actually useful to people who might not be going to college right away.

ITA. College is not for everybody, nor is a white collar job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

ITA. College is not for everybody, nor is a white collar job.

Yes, but the point is that the OP is remembering it as "Everybody got a good education and got along." That memory may not be accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ITA. College is not for everybody, nor is a white collar job.

Yes, but the point is that the OP is remembering it as "Everybody got a good education and got along." That memory may not be accurate.

Right, and OP is also saying that in her bucolic days growing up in a college town, parents didn't "do advocacy" at the schools or worry about academics. That might be true - I don't know. But I'm not sure the recollections of a child are necessarily accurate. I'm sure there were people worried about academics, but those people were unlikely to be the highly educated white professionals that OP's parents hung out with, since they had some assurance that the middle class kids of college professors were going to land on their feet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ITA. College is not for everybody, nor is a white collar job.

Yes, but the point is that the OP is remembering it as "Everybody got a good education and got along." That memory may not be accurate.

This is OP and I agree with that. Certainly, it's very tough to educate a population of migrant farmworkers kids, and they weren't taking AP classes with me. I guess my point was that the lack of concern or need for "advocacy", and the generally high academic standards at the school was NOT a result of having a totally homogeneous population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ITA. College is not for everybody, nor is a white collar job.

Yes, but the point is that the OP is remembering it as "Everybody got a good education and got along." That memory may not be accurate.

Right, and OP is also saying that in her bucolic days growing up in a college town, parents didn't "do advocacy" at the schools or worry about academics. That might be true - I don't know. But I'm not sure the recollections of a child are necessarily accurate. I'm sure there were people worried about academics, but those people were unlikely to be the highly educated white professionals that OP's parents hung out with, since they had some assurance that the middle class kids of college professors were going to land on their feet.

Yes, but my point is that I AM one of the highly educated professionals, and I don't want to have to worry! Just like my parents did not worry If I do have extra worry, time, and advocacy acumen to spare, I would actually prefer that it be spent on making the world a better place, not yogurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ITA. College is not for everybody, nor is a white collar job.

Yes, but the point is that the OP is remembering it as "Everybody got a good education and got along." That memory may not be accurate.

Right, and OP is also saying that in her bucolic days growing up in a college town, parents didn't "do advocacy" at the schools or worry about academics. That might be true - I don't know. But I'm not sure the recollections of a child are necessarily accurate. I'm sure there were people worried about academics, but those people were unlikely to be the highly educated white professionals that OP's parents hung out with, since they had some assurance that the middle class kids of college professors were going to land on their feet.

I'm the Midwestern PP, and in my bucolic days growing up in a college town, there were definitely parents who did both. Specifically, the highly-educated white professional parents. I didn't pay much attention to it, but I do remember it. (Other parents might also have advocated and/or worried, but I don't remember it.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, but my point is that I AM one of the highly educated professionals, and I don't want to have to worry! Just like my parents did not worry If I do have extra worry, time, and advocacy acumen to spare, I would actually prefer that it be spent on making the world a better place, not yogurt.

There's an easy solution to that -- don't worry! Nobody HAS to worry.

Also, in my experience, people's advocacy issues come to them, not the other way around, so things may yet turn out different from what you expect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ITA. College is not for everybody, nor is a white collar job.

Yes, but the point is that the OP is remembering it as "Everybody got a good education and got along." That memory may not be accurate.

Right, and OP is also saying that in her bucolic days growing up in a college town, parents didn't "do advocacy" at the schools or worry about academics. That might be true - I don't know. But I'm not sure the recollections of a child are necessarily accurate. I'm sure there were people worried about academics, but those people were unlikely to be the highly educated white professionals that OP's parents hung out with, since they had some assurance that the middle class kids of college professors were going to land on their feet.

Yes, but my point is that I AM one of the highly educated professionals, and I don't want to have to worry! Just like my parents did not worry If I do have extra worry, time, and advocacy acumen to spare, I would actually prefer that it be spent on making the world a better place, not yogurt.

It's a shame the world does not care exclusively about your issues. Such a pity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ITA. College is not for everybody, nor is a white collar job.

Yes, but the point is that the OP is remembering it as "Everybody got a good education and got along." That memory may not be accurate.

Right, and OP is also saying that in her bucolic days growing up in a college town, parents didn't "do advocacy" at the schools or worry about academics. That might be true - I don't know. But I'm not sure the recollections of a child are necessarily accurate. I'm sure there were people worried about academics, but those people were unlikely to be the highly educated white professionals that OP's parents hung out with, since they had some assurance that the middle class kids of college professors were going to land on their feet.

Yes, but my point is that I AM one of the highly educated professionals, and I don't want to have to worry! Just like my parents did not worry If I do have extra worry, time, and advocacy acumen to spare, I would actually prefer that it be spent on making the world a better place, not yogurt.

So...don't advocate. I also think the yogurt thing has become a straw man here for what is seen as "hippie" or "bougie" advocacy. But I'm the PP who pointed out that the same parents who raised the yogurt issue were the ones who rallied parents and kids to come shovel the school blacktop so the kids could have outdoor recess as soon as school was back in session after the snowstorm. There were fresh muffins, and coffee/tea, and it was actually a lot like the "neighborhood barbeques" that OP says she wants.

They are also the same parents who recently won an online contest to get the school a butterfly garden. I'm glad those parents are involved. My kids benefited from outdoor recess after the snowstorm, and will benefit from the beautiful school garden. I'm confident that OP's childhood school had parents who got involved in similar ways.

[Anonymous]

Choosing to sell Trix Fauxgurt in an elementary school cafeteria screams a lack of good judgement on many levels (not anticipating push-back from well-educated parents being only one). Are you by any chance that person, OP? Or did you negotiate the business deal to get it in the cafeteria?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Choosing to sell Trix Fauxgurt in an elementary school cafeteria screams a lack of good judgement on many levels (not anticipating push-back from well-educated parents being only one). Are you by any chance that person, OP? Or did you negotiate the business deal to get it in the cafeteria?

OP didn't bring up the yogurt, I did. I'm the ESS "old timer" who no longer has kids there but heard about it from a neighbor, and I mentioned the incident only as metaphor for a certain breed of hyper-obsessive helicopter parent intent on curating every aspect of their children's existence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Choosing to sell Trix Fauxgurt in an elementary school cafeteria screams a lack of good judgement on many levels (not anticipating push-back from well-educated parents being only one). Are you by any chance that person, OP? Or did you negotiate the business deal to get it in the cafeteria?

OP didn't bring up the yogurt, I did. I'm the ESS "old timer" who no longer has kids there but heard about it from a neighbor, and I mentioned the incident only as metaphor for a certain breed of hyper-obsessive helicopter parent intent on curating every aspect of their children's existence.

I am OP and I concur with this usage of the Affaire du Trix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Choosing to sell Trix Fauxgurt in an elementary school cafeteria screams a lack of good judgement on many levels (not anticipating push-back from well-educated parents being only one). Are you by any chance that person, OP? Or did you negotiate the business deal to get it in the cafeteria?

OP didn't bring up the yogurt, I did. I'm the ESS "old timer" who no longer has kids there but heard about it from a neighbor, and I mentioned the incident only as metaphor for a certain breed of hyper-obsessive helicopter parent intent on curating every aspect of their children's existence.

I am OP and I concur with this usage of the Affaire du Trix.

I don't. I would be appalled if my kids were offered Trix Yogurt as an option for school lunch. What crap. I'm not at the school -- not even sure what school it is -- but I don't consider wanting my kid to eat healthy food to be a symptom of a hyper-obsessive helicopter parent intent on curating every aspect of my child's existence. Unless you think being in charge of their diet is helicopter parenting, which most people don't. Most people agree that parents are responsible for their children's health, which includes eating healthy food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Choosing to sell Trix Fauxgurt in an elementary school cafeteria screams a lack of good judgement on many levels (not anticipating push-back from well-educated parents being only one). Are you by any chance that person, OP? Or did you negotiate the business deal to get it in the cafeteria?

OP didn't bring up the yogurt, I did. I'm the ESS "old timer" who no longer has kids there but heard about it from a neighbor, and I mentioned the incident only as metaphor for a certain breed of hyper-obsessive helicopter parent intent on curating every aspect of their children's existence.

I am OP and I concur with this usage of the Affaire du Trix.

I don't. I would be appalled if my kids were offered Trix Yogurt as an option for school lunch. What crap. I'm not at the school -- not even sure what school it is -- but I don't consider wanting my kid to eat healthy food to be a symptom of a hyper-obsessive helicopter parent intent on curating every aspect of my child's existence. Unless you think being in charge of their diet is helicopter parenting, which most people don't. Most people agree that parents are responsible for their children's health, which includes eating healthy food.

Right. So maybe explain to your kid why the yogurt is shitty food and why it would be healthier to avoid it, or at least consume it minimally. Then let them choose what to do. Or will you also be checking the nutritional content in their college cafeteria one day?