Plea for nicer comments in this Forum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[quote=Anonymous
I really don't envy anyone. We can afford Sidwell, easily. My dcs could make it into one of the big 3. We live in MC, and there is no way that I would subject my kiddies to those schools.

But that's it exactly. You wouldn't "subject" your kids to "one of those schools". Perhaps "those schools" are a great fit for some kids, and not a great fit for others. Perhaps some parents put their kids there for all the wrong reasons, but others do it for all the right reasons. Perhaps the students don't feel that they are being "subjected" to anything!

What I meant was that after a looong commute, they would be with classmates from DC (mostly), who they would never see on the weekends...My point is that not everyone with incomes of 500k+ wants Sidwell. Some of us are happy in suburbia (yes, happy), with MCPS or Norwood or WES or what.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone read OP's post? Lots of negativity still flowing here.

Hello again. I am the original poster. I have not made any other posts on this thread until now, but wanted to respond briefly to this quote above. I think that my original posting was balanced, and don't really see any negativity there. I was not the one that made comments about envy. I genuinely would be surprised if anyone envied my family or my child, so I would not have said that. Also I think it's great for people to debate issues, but just recommend that it be in a nice tone without any ad hominum attacks.

I think it may be best for me to just not use this particular forum because it tends to be a pretty big downer. Thank you.

OP, I didn't mean that you were being negative. I meant the responses to your post were negative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, don't let the anonymous jerks get away with setting the tone for the rest of us. If you see someone being a jerk, tell her to stop.

Or simply ignore them and hope they go away (unlikely).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone read OP's post? Lots of negativity still flowing here.

Hello again. I am the original poster. I have not made any other posts on this thread until now, but wanted to respond briefly to this quote above. I think that my original posting was balanced, and don't really see any negativity there. I was not the one that made comments about envy. I genuinely would be surprised if anyone envied my family or my child, so I would not have said that. Also I think it's great for people to debate issues, but just recommend that it be in a nice tone without any ad hominum attacks.

I think it may be best for me to just not use this particular forum because it tends to be a pretty big downer. Thank you.

OP, when I read your original post I wondered why you mentioned that your child went to "one of the frequently discussed schools"? It is that need to establish one's position, so prevalent on this forum, that can bring out the worst in people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You just have to accept that there is quite a bit of envy towards those whose kids are in the so called "Big 3/4" and whose kids are in the 99%ile. This is manifested in many ways - from being outright nasty to discrediting both the methods of testing and the schools themselves. Just recognize these posts for what they are and never take much notice - literally water off a duck's back. Anonymity means that it is unlikely to end. Take the good from the ones who are really out to help - and there are many - and ignore the ones deliberately trying to incite, is my advice.

The reason you take so much heat is because of the way you come across to the "general public." Envy - hmmm . . . You're literally saying that the people who follow the threads under this topic are to be envied. How would you expect people to act? If you watched your word choice and didn't think so highly of yourself, I doubt you'd encounter the negativity.

Furthermore, those who "discredit" these testing methods have a right to question how it's possible to have so many in the 99th percentile. Finding educational consultants willing to test your child is indeed questionable. Furthermore, there is the the curiosity surrounding the type of children who make up the testing population.

I am certain there are some who may wish to incite. But most, I believe, feel the need to question the posters regarding their arrogant tone.

I am the poster you are referring to. I think your response proves my point. Nowhere in my post did I say I had a child in the big 3/4 and in the 99%ile and yet you are all over me - jumping up and down a la Rumpelstilskin. Well I do have a child in a big 3/4 and that child did score in the 99%ile and I stand by my original point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You just have to accept that there is quite a bit of envy towards those whose kids are in the so called "Big 3/4" and whose kids are in the 99%ile. This is manifested in many ways - from being outright nasty to discrediting both the methods of testing and the schools themselves. Just recognize these posts for what they are and never take much notice - literally water off a duck's back. Anonymity means that it is unlikely to end. Take the good from the ones who are really out to help - and there are many - and ignore the ones deliberately trying to incite, is my advice.

The reason you take so much heat is because of the way you come across to the "general public." Envy - hmmm . . . You're literally saying that the people who follow the threads under this topic are to be envied. How would you expect people to act? If you watched your word choice and didn't think so highly of yourself, I doubt you'd encounter the negativity.

Furthermore, those who "discredit" these testing methods have a right to question how it's possible to have so many in the 99th percentile. Finding educational consultants willing to test your child is indeed questionable. Furthermore, there is the the curiosity surrounding the type of children who make up the testing population.

I am certain there are some who may wish to incite. But most, I believe, feel the need to question the posters regarding their arrogant tone.

I am the poster you are referring to. I think your response proves my point. Nowhere in my post did I say I had a child in the big 3/4 and in the 99%ile and yet you are all over me - jumping up and down a la Rumpelstilskin. Well I do have a child in a big 3/4 and that child did score in the 99%ile and I stand by my original point.

What is your point? I was questioning your word choice - your use of the word ENVY. And now you're trying to respond to my posting by informing us of the fact that your child is ". . . in a big 3/4 and that child did score in the 99%ile. . . " So you're bragging, hoping to make the rest of us envious, I suppose. I think you've just helped to support my original post.

[Anonymous]

Let's see: starting with OP's boast about how one of her kids goes to one of the "frequently discussed schools" and moving on to Poster #2 who talks about envying people with kids in those schools....

Do you really not see what's wrong here?

It's possible that these remarks are innocent. But if so, they show a lamentable amount of cluelessness re the feelings of others. Or "innocent" posturing.