Applying to Sidwell for 9th grade year after next

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell parent here -- OP, your post raises interesting sociological and demographic questions. I think your concern is more related to taste and style than to "old money v. new", a distinction which has become increasingly irrelevant as old money has withered away and a meritocracy has flourished since WWII. Thus, you will find plenty of new money families at Sidwell, including ours in which both grandfathers of our children were the first in their families to attend land-grant colleges (on the GI Bill)m then the next generation attended Ivy League schools, thus spawning legacies in the current student generation, allowing our children to be looked down upon by their college classmates who are the first generation in their families to attend those schools.

Of course, the extent and manner to which we "new money" families choose to display our newly-created wealth may be different from the "new money" families at your school, but perhaps less so than you imagine. I remember seeing a ginormous white Cadillac SUV at a Landon game some time ago and thinking to myself, "Ah, this is what people on DCUM mean when they post those snarky references to Landon moms. We would never have such an ostentatious display of wealth at Sidwell Friends School." Of course, the very next morning what did I see in the carpool line at the US but a ginormous white Cadillac SUV! Hoisted by my own snarky petard! So, OP, I would say to you: beware, the new money isn't always greener on the other side.

If I am understanding what you mean about new money isn't always greener (didn't you mean old money?) Well maybe not always...I'll give you that. But more often than not. Ha,ha.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"New money?" Seriously?

You may not like what the OP has to say, but she has a point. New money people are too caught up in houses, jewelry, cars and clothes. Old money people may have those things but at least they have the good sense not to flaunt them, they're not really that impressed by them and are more concerned with the greater community/world around them or things like arts, culture and travel. For an old swamp Yankee who was surrounded by people with Jimmy Choo shoes, Louis Vuitton bags and botoxed lips and foreheads at my child's "new money" school, there's a lot to be said for old money.

Sorry, but I have to ask. What exactly is "an old swamp Yankee"?

The actual definition refers to certain people from southern New England but we used the term a little differently and more loosely. The richest people in the town I grew up in were the quintessential old swamp Yankees. They drove the oldest beat-up Volvos, they reused paper bags and collected rubber bands and the like but they had "royal" pedigrees and education and had priceless art on the walls of their modest Cape Cods or colonials. Those of us of more modest means (like me) used it to signify people who wore old jeans and T-shirts and worn out sneakers. In other words, people who care more about substance than appearances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"New money?" Seriously?

You may not like what the OP has to say, but she has a point. New money people are too caught up in houses, jewelry, cars and clothes. Old money people may have those things but at least they have the good sense not to flaunt them, they're not really that impressed by them and are more concerned with the greater community/world around them or things like arts, culture and travel. For an old swamp Yankee who was surrounded by people with Jimmy Choo shoes, Louis Vuitton bags and botoxed lips and foreheads at my child's "new money" school, there's a lot to be said for old money.

Sorry, but I have to ask. What exactly is "an old swamp Yankee"?

The actual definition refers to certain people from southern New England but we used the term a little differently and more loosely. The richest people in the town I grew up in were the quintessential old swamp Yankees. They drove the oldest beat-up Volvos, they reused paper bags and collected rubber bands and the like but they had "royal" pedigrees and education and had priceless art on the walls of their modest Cape Cods or colonials. Those of us of more modest means (like me) used it to signify people who wore old jeans and T-shirts and worn out sneakers. In other words, people who care more about substance than appearances.

I like old swamp Yankee types...but really, how many of them or Quaker types are going to be found at Sidwell these days? Honest question.

[Anonymous]

OP here - OK maybe my new money vs old money comment doesn't hold true anymore. What I really want in a school is one that has a sustainable vision of the future and a community that buys into it. Unfortunately, I don't live in the suburbs and I refuse to drive more than 40 minutes to the school. I like that people at Sidwell are willing to spend money on sustainable building and practices even if it doesn't currently reap enormous $ savings, only carbon footprint savings. I like that they have a curriculum that stresses sustainability and environmental protection and that the kids grow up learning about all this.
Many schools have jumped on the sustainability bandwagon but most are doing it for show, like the school DS is at now, for instance. Many of the staff, faculty and more than a few parents would like the school to be proactive but the administration is primarily concerned with the schools image, not the actual substance. I'm not singling them out for criticism either, most schools and companies for that matter do the same thing.
If I'm wrong about Sidwell please enlighten me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"New money?" Seriously?

You may not like what the OP has to say, but she has a point. New money people are too caught up in houses, jewelry, cars and clothes. Old money people may have those things but at least they have the good sense not to flaunt them, they're not really that impressed by them and are more concerned with the greater community/world around them or things like arts, culture and travel. For an old swamp Yankee who was surrounded by people with Jimmy Choo shoes, Louis Vuitton bags and botoxed lips and foreheads at my child's "new money" school, there's a lot to be said for old money.

Sorry, but I have to ask. What exactly is "an old swamp Yankee"?

The actual definition refers to certain people from southern New England but we used the term a little differently and more loosely. The richest people in the town I grew up in were the quintessential old swamp Yankees. They drove the oldest beat-up Volvos, they reused paper bags and collected rubber bands and the like but they had "royal" pedigrees and education and had priceless art on the walls of their modest Cape Cods or colonials. Those of us of more modest means (like me) used it to signify people who wore old jeans and T-shirts and worn out sneakers. In other words, people who care more about substance than appearances.

Thank you ! I had not heard that term before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"New money?" Seriously?

You may not like what the OP has to say, but she has a point. New money people are too caught up in houses, jewelry, cars and clothes. Old money people may have those things but at least they have the good sense not to flaunt them, they're not really that impressed by them and are more concerned with the greater community/world around them or things like arts, culture and travel. For an old swamp Yankee who was surrounded by people with Jimmy Choo shoes, Louis Vuitton bags and botoxed lips and foreheads at my child's "new money" school, there's a lot to be said for old money.

Sorry, but I have to ask. What exactly is "an old swamp Yankee"?

The actual definition refers to certain people from southern New England but we used the term a little differently and more loosely. The richest people in the town I grew up in were the quintessential old swamp Yankees. They drove the oldest beat-up Volvos, they reused paper bags and collected rubber bands and the like but they had "royal" pedigrees and education and had priceless art on the walls of their modest Cape Cods or colonials. Those of us of more modest means (like me) used it to signify people who wore old jeans and T-shirts and worn out sneakers. In other words, people who care more about substance than appearances.

I like old swamp Yankee types...but really, how many of them or Quaker types are going to be found at Sidwell these days? Honest question.

I was kind of taking it to the extreme. But, that said, the parents I know at Sidwell are much less into conspicuous consumption than those at other schools. Even if they have "fancy stuff" they aren't flashy about it and certainly don't fawn (think the Real Housewives of ....) over people who do have means the way parents from my daughter's school did. BTW, none of my children went to Sidwell - so that's not my angle.