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high schools where smart kids aren't considered nerds & can be popular?
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Anonymous
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My child loves academics and reading and knows a lot about a particular subject area. She recently made the comment that smart kids at school are never the cool ones. This despite the fact that I know there are a lot of smart kids at her school and that she has many good friends. But, she sees that the "popular" kids are not so smart and spend a lot of time talking about popular culture, video games, music and other kids. Is there a school where it is cool to be smart? One where the smartest kid in the class can also be the most popular?
We are in the public school track now. Our HS is good and I have no doubt that she will do well academically, go to a good college and have some circle of friends. But, it breaks my heart that she already sees herself as not able to be part of the mainstream. I'd be willing to consider a local private school or even a boarding school to help give her an environment where her talents are valued. I'm not a big fan of all girl schools, but I'd even be willing to consider that. Suggestions? |
Anonymous
| If she's in public school in MoCo now, the magnets are such places. My DD is very happy with her nerdy friends. |
Anonymous
| Move to VA and hope she gets into TJ. |
Anonymous
| GDS. |
Anonymous
| a number of boarding schools, including Milton Academy outside Boston. |
Anonymous
| The reason we sent DS to Sidwell was similar - he's really smart, academic, and intellectual, but also identifies as a social kid and as an athlete. It's working out great - he's in high school, has very good grades, and is popular. |
Anonymous
| I think many of the private schools and the competitive public schools in this area are like that. My DS is at a non magnet but competitive MCPS and is "popular" and part of his appeal apparently comes from having a 4.0 average and taking APs. |
Anonymous
| Of course, there are benefits to being unpopular. It does help you concentrate on your school work and teaches you that going against "popular" thinking won't kill you. Sounds to me like your daughter has a healthy attitude towards her social status that will serve her well in the long run. |
Anonymous
| OP, is your daughter in middle school? Because middle school pretty much sucks even for the so-called popular kids, and probably at almost every school. Things get better for the nerds in high school. |
Anonymous
| GDS has a reputation for nurturing very smart, slightly quirky kids. The kids there seem very happy. |
Anonymous
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OP,
My child went to public for elementary, and smart was cool. Now DC's in private, and smart's cool there, too. But DC is definitely plugged into popular culture. Also, DC is a boy, and an athlete, maybe it's different for girls. |
Anonymous
| NP here. GDS. |
Anonymous
Yes. Kids can, for example, be into theatre instead of athletics and still be very popular. Really neat kid who in HS and his family is good friends w/ our is like this. It really put GDS on my radar to see this play out. |
Anonymous
Gah. Sorry for the typos, my fingers can't keep up with my brain: "is in HS" and "good friends w/ ours." |
Anonymous
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As a now-grown smart kid, no offense, but duh, smart kids aren't ever popular (unless they are also good at athletics).
I mean, "popular" = "thought of highly by your peers" and in this case, the peers are not-as-bright children. Children, even bright ones, aren't known for their judgment or taste! I was never unpopular, but I was never in the "in" crowd -- which I'm sure my parents were happy about, considering that was the group that partied, drank, got in trouble, etc, and I and my friends were very tame. We had a good time and I'm still very close to them (and we're still nerds, but now we have the perspective to know we're cool!) 
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