School doesn’t celebrate high achieving kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The struggling students need the support and encouragement. Don’t be small.

Exactly, this is what the culture has become - don’t make low performing students feel bad, don’t eclipse them with your achievements

Big jump from not making others feel bad by bragging to stunting yourself. People are saying the former, not the latter. Your son has you to cheer him on, many other kids have parents who have no idea what's going on at school. By all means, push your son to be the best that he can be, but remember that not all kids have the privilege of having a parent like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The struggling students need the support and encouragement. Don’t be small.

Exactly, this is what the culture has become - don’t make low performing students feel bad, don’t eclipse them with your achievements, you are making others feel bad if you talk about your accomplishments, keep it to yourself.

It feels like socialism.

Ironically, I’ve just read in Reddit about low income students who had to work 20 hours/week in a restaurant since twelve, yet excelled academically and got into Ivies schools with full scholarships.

That’s a leap. You’re insecure so you’re hearing a message no one is sending. If it’s such a great magnet, no one is “celebrating” DC because every kid is doing similar things.

And because private schools are way better at stoking parents’ ego because they want money. Public doesn’t have to bother.

- private school admin

But OP's school clearly does bother, hence why their newsletter is constantly praising students for certain accomplishments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. So just knowing your child is successful isn’t enough for you? You need the bragging rights and for everyone else to know just how great your kid is?

Maybe the school is highlighting things that help the community or highlighting students who may not otherwise receive any recognition. Maybe they’re hoping that these kids will continue to be excited about learning and helping others.

Sounds like your child already knows how to be a strong student and is used to being constantly praised and highlighted. Why do they need the continual public ego boost?

Who cares what parents say to their kids?

My kid sees the school recognizing others for this or that - kindness award, school athletes, but DC is invisible.

To me it feels that American public schools celebrate mediocrity, because I don’t see the outlier being celebrated and I know they are there from all kinds of families.

It is all kinds of families. It’s unremarkable when a high income family drives their kid to enrichment programs, tutors when it turns out their kid is average intellectually, SAT private and prep classes before taking the SAT test 4 times. Everything is calculated down to the weekly schedule.

Compare that to the kid who walks home to their public housing high rise. No one will be home until 9 pm after their shifts. The majority of kids living there are hanging out outside. This kid stays home and studies all afternoon. Self starter, ambitious, intelligent, doing their best. This kid would have loved a tutor to get their ACT up to a score of 33 but they got a 30 on their own. Not bad.

Seriously, who is more impressive?

It’s also unremarkable when a high income family drives their kid to clubs sports, hires private coaching when it turns out their kid is average athletically, etc, yet these athletes are publicly praised by the school. Why the double standards?

> The majority of kids living there are hanging out outside. This kid stays home and studies all afternoon. Self starter, ambitious, intelligent, doing their best. This kid would have loved a tutor to get their ACT up to a score of 33 but they got a 30 on their own. Not bad.

This could describe many kids who get ignored by their school, only replace the self-studied 30 with a 35. Why should a kid like this be ignored by their school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weird.

It sounds like an AI bot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. So just knowing your child is successful isn’t enough for you? You need the bragging rights and for everyone else to know just how great your kid is?

Maybe the school is highlighting things that help the community or highlighting students who may not otherwise receive any recognition. Maybe they’re hoping that these kids will continue to be excited about learning and helping others.

Sounds like your child already knows how to be a strong student and is used to being constantly praised and highlighted. Why do they need the continual public ego boost?

Who cares what parents say to their kids?

My kid sees the school recognizing others for this or that - kindness award, school athletes, but DC is invisible.

To me it feels that American public schools celebrate mediocrity, because I don’t see the outlier being celebrated and I know they are there from all kinds of families.

It is all kinds of families. It’s unremarkable when a high income family drives their kid to enrichment programs, tutors when it turns out their kid is average intellectually, SAT private and prep classes before taking the SAT test 4 times. Everything is calculated down to the weekly schedule.

Compare that to the kid who walks home to their public housing high rise. No one will be home until 9 pm after their shifts. The majority of kids living there are hanging out outside. This kid stays home and studies all afternoon. Self starter, ambitious, intelligent, doing their best. This kid would have loved a tutor to get their ACT up to a score of 33 but they got a 30 on their own. Not bad.

Seriously, who is more impressive?

Im my opinion, the question is the amount of effort. There are kids who get to 35-36 without tutors. So a score of 30 is not great. It’s like participation trophy - yay, you did some work.

And if a kid has a tutor it still takes hours and hours of practice to get to that level. There is no magic.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like this stem program has nothing to do with the school. It was an outside activity you child individually chose to do. Why should the school promote that?

Was there a cost for this internship or was it completely free?

[Anonymous]

I mean do they even need to say anything? I went to a top ranked magnet and to this day still know who was a national merit finalist. It was also published in our local paper (which was a big county).

But I agree with you. I think a lot of times these admin who write this stuff have a chip on their shoulder. They play favorites. Same with what holidays they recognize. My school had Chinese New Year celebrations as well as Eid and Nowruz, but they definitely would never mention Christmas or Easter.

[Anonymous]

After reading just a few posts, my best guess is that they don't recognize OP's kid because his mother is such a PITA, and they are hoping they will return to the private school from whence they came.

[Anonymous]

Some private school parents can't function outside the private school bubble lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is just a vent.

DC switched from private to a magnet public in high school. On paper they looked good. In reality, the admins in this school are either very incompetent or have some weird agenda.

They celebrate no child left behind level of activities - students built a drying rack for firefighters or students got 30 on ACT, but they tone down high achieving kids.

They have news letters, social media, podcast where the school constantly advertises itself.

DC did was a huge success story for a local STEM state program - selected one of 40 from 800 applicants for an internship, scored the highest in their contest and got 1st prize, was featured in state magazine for this. Not a sound from the school.

I see the old school posting about students’ awards, wins, recognition. “We are very proud of Larla for being the only student chosen for this super internship.”

DC was selected for a top ranked national research program, the one that picks 20 kids from the entire country and very high stats kids often don’t get in. The school doesn’t care. Not a word.

DC is going to be a national merit semifinalist - not a sound.

So yeah, I’m holding a grudge.

Your need for repeated validation is super weird. Jesus. Your kid is getting all kinds of acknowledgment but it chaps your hide that he isn't getting *more?* Really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The struggling students need the support and encouragement. Don’t be small.

Exactly, this is what the culture has become - don’t make low performing students feel bad, don’t eclipse them with your achievements, you are making others feel bad if you talk about your accomplishments, keep it to yourself.

It feels like socialism.

Ironically, I’ve just read in Reddit about low income students who had to work 20 hours/week in a restaurant since twelve, yet excelled academically and got into Ivies schools with full scholarships.

How is that "ironic?" Explain it to me like I'm five.

When you're done with that, explain how this is socialism. Explain THAT to me like I'm five. Use citations and references.

And your trope of a response is eyeroll inducing. Especially since you sound like you're dumb as shit.

[Anonymous]

In this day and the age the less information publicly released about your kid the better. Your student sounds like a really high achieving academically inclined person and that will be very valuable for success in their life. Not really a great thing to share at this point in time. It just causes problems.

Our district does use these high achieving kids to put out public statements, basically to keep the tax payers of the district happy with the success of the school. In my opinion, that does not help the students and actually manipulates their success.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like they are more focused on celebrating achievements that are in school related activities and that your child has done a bunch of stuff outside of school. Not sure why you expect the school to track down everything their students are doing outside of school and somehow publicize them.

[Anonymous]

As the sibling of someone extremely smart/high-achieving, I can tell you my parents never cared if the school advertised their accomplishments. That has served the child well and is a sign of down-to-earth, non-showy parents and child. I would do some introspection of why you need this.

[Anonymous]

Are you perhaps confusing a school celebrating and taking credit for things they contribited to, as opposed to things kids who happen to attend their public school did on their own time somewhere else?