Lowell School Extended Application Deadline?

[Anonymous]

I am the "defender"...I don't feel the need to defend Lowell, but I feel that anytime I do post something factual on the Board (such as parents have been told that applications are not down in any significant way) I am jumped on for "defending" the school. Like a PP said, a torrent of negativity usually follows any positive post I make on Lowell. Therefore, I feel like I am "defending" the school even if I am just posting some info. So I was trying to head off the torrent by posting that first line

Even though you were not insinuating anything about me, you have followed up with the statement that "parents of certain schools tend to defend on DCUM" I am not sure what this means. I read hundreds of posts about Beauvoir and very little on Lowell, so I am just aiming to inform that small group that may not be seeking the "Big 3" about the school my DC attends. I have lots to say about the school (positive and negative) since we've been there a bunch of years under two differents heads of school. That's all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm poster 16:38. I did not insinuate anything about the poster or say anything negative about her school. I really wanted to know why she felt the need to defend the school because she said she feels like she is always defending Lowell on these boards. I really wanted to know why anyone felt the need to defend their school for the reasons I stated earlier -- people are going to have different opinions and perceptions. Lots of schools get bashed (including my kids' school), but only parents of certain schools tend to defend on DCUM. Forgive my sincere question.

I'm 12:20. I wasn't talking about you, necessarily. I was talking about the general tone of this Board. Another observation is that while "lots of schools get bashed," there are some schools that are bashed much more than others, for reasons that are not readily apparent (Beauvoir comes immediately to mind.) But we've gone OT.

[Anonymous]

I was wondering about the "parents at certain schools feel the need to defend" also. The remark sounds like a dig. I also really dislike when people attack someone who posts something nice, or even *gasp* a full paragraph, and then correctly identifies themsleves as a parent of a student, and gets called a "BOOSTER" like its an awful, unbalanced, nasty way to act. If it is what one truly believes its not "boosting" its praising and its absoltely legitimate. Or the often seen comment "the X school's AD just posted" in response to positives. Personal attacks do nothing to aid the conversation.

Lots of parents (yes, I am one) are really, incredibly, happy with the school our child(ren) attends. Perhaps it was one's first choice, perhaps not, but there is nothing wrong with stating how pleased and delighted you are by your child's school and his or her experience there. It is wonderful actually. There are also posters who legitimately think that X school is the best school out there for whatever reason. Stating that is not wrong, whether it is one the widely admired schools on this particular board or not. Really, there is very, very, little reason for a parent to spout over-the-top praise for a school unless they believe it. I for one, would be complaining loudly and often if the school I pay almost $30,000 per child for was not meeting my expectations. Since my kid's school is, why is it wrong to praise it once in a while? That's a hypothetical question BTW.

Normally I would feel obligated to reveal my children's school but lately, with all the hate, I really don't. I will say, as I said before ( I am the one who originally called 16:38 to task) that it is not Lowell. I am really glad however, that the Lowell parent is so happy with her child's school. Its a position I bet many of the "nastiest" envy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was wondering about the "parents at certain schools feel the need to defend" also. The remark sounds like a dig. I also really dislike when people attack someone who posts something nice, or even *gasp* a full paragraph, and then correctly identifies themsleves as a parent of a student, and gets called a "BOOSTER" like its an awful, unbalanced, nasty way to act. If it is what one truly believes its not "boosting" its praising and its absoltely legitimate. Or the often seen comment "the X school's AD just posted" in response to positives. Personal attacks do nothing to aid the conversation.

Lots of parents (yes, I am one) are really, incredibly, happy with the school our child(ren) attends. Perhaps it was one's first choice, perhaps not, but there is nothing wrong with stating how pleased and delighted you are by your child's school and his or her experience there. It is wonderful actually. There are also posters who legitimately think that X school is the best school out there for whatever reason. Stating that is not wrong, whether it is one the widely admired schools on this particular board or not. Really, there is very, very, little reason for a parent to spout over-the-top praise for a school unless they believe it. I for one, would be complaining loudly and often if the school I pay almost $30,000 per child for was not meeting my expectations. Since my kid's school is, why is it wrong to praise it once in a while? That's a hypothetical question BTW.

Normally I would feel obligated to reveal my children's school but lately, with all the hate, I really don't. I will say, as I said before ( I am the one who originally called 16:38 to task) that it is not Lowell. I am really glad however, that the Lowell parent is so happy with her child's school. Its a position I bet many of the "nastiest" envy.

You know, my comment was not a dig...merely an observation. But you're so busy "calling people to task" that you don't realize how vitrol you sound. Parents from Lowell, Aidan, St. Patricks, etc. tend to defend comments made on DCUM more than parents from other schools. For example, Beauvoir is constantly bashed on DCUM. Besides the thread on the incidents from last summer, the parents don't seem to defend against negative comments made about it nearly as often. Same for Sidwell. Same for GDS. Same for Green Acres. etc. BTW, no my kids don't go to Beauvoir.

FWIW, and I'm sure you'll doubt the fact, we were parents at Lowell before our DC moved on to the next school. While at Lowell, I never felt the need to defend the school or my choice to send my DC there regardless of what others thought.

[Anonymous]

PP, the implication seems to be the school defenders are driven by some sort of insecurity. I know you'll correct me if I'm reading you wrong, but that's what I see between your lines.

FWIW, it seems that almost every school has a lobby here, and this includes the so-called top tier schools that nobody would accuse of insecurity, in fact quite the opposite. It's not just "certain" schools that have defenders. So you see the Sidwell moms who post endlessly about how "down to earth" the other parents are, the Beauvoir moms who post about how their kids thrive in the more structured environment, the GDS moms who defend their kids against the recent ridiculous charge of obesity, and on and on and on.

To me, it's frustration and a desire to set the record straight. The first three posts were speculation, and nothing wrong with that, but she had some actual insider knowledge. Not insecurity.

[Anonymous]

I have never noticed that parents of kids in the schools you name "defend" those schools more than posters at other schools. Probably because I read the posts about schools I am interested in and do not label the parents who post as either defenders, because they same something good, or bashers, because they say something bad. I just read what they say about the school with interest, since they are most familiar with it, and file it away in case I need it one day when we are looking at that school. Why are you so anxious to name names and label people's posts with your own vitrol?

As for Beauvoir, FWIW, I, personally, think it is a really great school. I do not think it gets more negative comments than other schools if you balance it out with all the praise it gets. Seems to me that for schools that get talked about a great deal, it all evens out in the end.

[Anonymous]

20:49, please re-read my post a little more carefully. I didn't say the schools I mentioned (Sidwell, Beauvoir, GDS) were defended MORE often than other schools like Lowell. I said they are defended just about ON PAR WITH just about every other school in town. This is perfectly rational response to your assertion that only some schools like Lowell have defenders.

And why take the Beauvoir snippet so personally? It was just an example. Geez, why can you take digs at "Lowell defenders" but if somebody even mentions your school as part of a longer string of JOKEY examples, you get riled up. No sense of humor, apparently. I happen to like the Cathedral schools, FWIW. But can we not even acknowledge here that they also have their criticizers and their defenders?

I suppose these posts make me a "Lowell defender defender."

[Anonymous]

Oops, sorry 20:49. I thought you were the person who posted the negative comments about the Lowell defender. I hadn't had a chance to read the entire thread.