Is Georgetown Day's Reputation Merited?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College placement stats do not lie, and GDS is probably second only to Sidwell.

Can you provide that info please?

GDS college placement is apocryphal - the school keeps the list secret. Parents seem to be satisfied though.

... or at least have enough good sense not to express their dissatisfaction here.

Ahhh yes… in the anonymous world of DCUM the college matriculation stats of schools that do not release their matriculation lists are astounding. If you believe the anonymous voices of DCUM, the matriculation stats of Sidwell and GDS are right up there with the matriculation of Lake Wobegon High – since all the children are above average. That said, those schools are both very good and I fully understand why they wouldn't want to have their matriculation lists picked apart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing that made us uncomfortable about GDS is boundaries. You call the teacher by the first name and the kids seem more informal with the teachers than at other places. We want our kids to see teachers as caring adults who guide and teach, but not as friends and equals. Some people love that aspect of GDS, just wasn't for us.

While calling teachers and administrators by their first names is symbolic, it is the rare child who does not understand that teachers nonetheless command a great deal of respect and authority. Teachers may be friendly, but my children have never mistaken their teachers as "friends," nor do the teachers and administrators view their students as such. Teachers are masterful at controlling the classroom, understanding the needs of each child, and guiding the child to his/her potential. The setting is informal, but the learning and commitment to intellect are about as serious as you will find anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that made us uncomfortable about GDS is boundaries. You call the teacher by the first name and the kids seem more informal with the teachers than at other places. We want our kids to see teachers as caring adults who guide and teach, but not as friends and equals. Some people love that aspect of GDS, just wasn't for us.

While calling teachers and administrators by their first names is symbolic, it is the rare child who does not understand that teachers nonetheless command a great deal of respect and authority. Teachers may be friendly, but my children have never mistaken their teachers as "friends," nor do the teachers and administrators view their students as such. Teachers are masterful at controlling the classroom, understanding the needs of each child, and guiding the child to his/her potential. The setting is informal, but the learning and commitment to intellect are about as serious as you will find anywhere.

Right. And there is nothing more charming than having a 6 or 7 year old refer to an adult as "Fred."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that made us uncomfortable about GDS is boundaries. You call the teacher by the first name and the kids seem more informal with the teachers than at other places. We want our kids to see teachers as caring adults who guide and teach, but not as friends and equals. Some people love that aspect of GDS, just wasn't for us.

While calling teachers and administrators by their first names is symbolic, it is the rare child who does not understand that teachers nonetheless command a great deal of respect and authority. Teachers may be friendly, but my children have never mistaken their teachers as "friends," nor do the teachers and administrators view their students as such. Teachers are masterful at controlling the classroom, understanding the needs of each child, and guiding the child to his/her potential. The setting is informal, but the learning and commitment to intellect are about as serious as you will find anywhere.

Right. And there is nothing more charming than having a 6 or 7 year old refer to an adult as "Fred."

Maybe in your world. But in mine, adults prefer that children call them by their first names. And, yes, the children are--gasp!--nice, well-behaved, and well-spoken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that made us uncomfortable about GDS is boundaries. You call the teacher by the first name and the kids seem more informal with the teachers than at other places. We want our kids to see teachers as caring adults who guide and teach, but not as friends and equals. Some people love that aspect of GDS, just wasn't for us.

While calling teachers and administrators by their first names is symbolic, it is the rare child who does not understand that teachers nonetheless command a great deal of respect and authority. Teachers may be friendly, but my children have never mistaken their teachers as "friends," nor do the teachers and administrators view their students as such. Teachers are masterful at controlling the classroom, understanding the needs of each child, and guiding the child to his/her potential. The setting is informal, but the learning and commitment to intellect are about as serious as you will find anywhere.

Right. And there is nothing more charming than having a 6 or 7 year old refer to an adult as "Fred."

or "Dick"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College placement stats do not lie, and GDS is probably second only to Sidwell.

Can you provide that info please?

GDS college placement is apocryphal - the school keeps the list secret. Parents seem to be satisfied though.

Their college placement is fine, but no more impressive than most private schools in the area. My neighbor even said she didn't think her daughter did any better with college placement than she would have from public school, BUT she felt her child benefited academically tremendously and got good advice ensuring she would get into most of the places to which she applied. I would focus more on the education and atmosphere and not on where the kids go to college. If your kid is "Harvard" material, then sure a private school makes it a bit easier to get in than a public, but you aren't going to get a kid in who doesn't belong there unless your family bought a building there.

[Anonymous]

I received the matriculation list on a HS tour. I don't want to copy and paste the whole thing here but in the last 3 years they sent 15 to Yale and 15 to Harvard which is pretty good.

My impression was that the kids in the classes looked more engaged than at other schools we have seen. There was also laughter coming from some classes which indicates to me the students are having a good time learning. That said, there is a general sense of disorder and I have to say disrespect that pervades the school.

The school was a mess with backpacks tossed all throughout the halls we had to step over and overturned trash bags here and there. We witnessed a student correct a teacher in class about something and then roll their eyes at the other students in the class.

[Anonymous]

If you want your kid to be a liberal, transgender basket case, this school is right for you

[Anonymous]

I think college placement stats are more of a reflection of the selection the school engages in than preparation for applying to college. Some schools even game that by giving a preference to children of ivies. If you have a very bright, talented child they might even do better in the college process coming from a school where they aren't competing with their classmates.

I have a DC at Field where they also use first names. Going in, it was not something I liked and it took some getting used to. But at Field, at least, there are genuine bonds between the faculty and students -- they seem to genuinely enjoy each other's company -- but with a respect for boundaries. I have heard that GDS students are disrespectful of adults. I have no direct connection with GDS but I can tell you that this is not the case at Field. So the first name thing can be good, or not.

[Anonymous]

GDS Class of 1997 here. My class sent 5 to Yale and 2 to Harvard and 2 to Princeton. Of the 8 of us who went to Columbia/Barnard, 7 placed out of freshman comp, and the 8th overslept on the morning of the placement test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two months into it, I would give GDS mixed reviews. I must start by saying that I still believe that GDS is the best option for my DS’s very unique needs. He is extraordinarily mature with little time for typical high school pursuits such as athletics preferring postmodern ironic literature – so he needed a stimulating environment to reach his potential. GDS provides that.

As a PP has noted, the environment is more structured than advertised (but less structured than other schools). The teachers seem to have the ability to stimulate the most talented students though they seem to be a bit constrained by some of the less mature students. Some less mature students seem to take the less structured environment as a license to engage in juvenile horse play. They are not the majority, but their presence inhibits some of the more reticent form opening up as much as they’d like. So when it comes to the student body a little more structure might be helpful. That said, my son is grateful for the lack of dogma, which he simply would not tolerate. On balance, GDS would be a good choice if your child is like mine.

This is pretty accurate. Your son should join the philosophy club, take Modern Lit. as soon as he can, and think about designing an independent study in postmodern ironic lit.
~Another GDS parent whose teen is a literary snob.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want your kid to be a liberal, transgender basket case, this school is right for you

If you are suggesting that one's sexual identity or preference is a learned behavior, and therefor can be unlearned through conversion therapy, then I can suggest a few schools for you.

http://www.splcenter.org/conversion-therapy

Unfortunately, very few of the schools in the DC area will cater to your moronic view of the world.

[Anonymous]

You should stick with public OP. You sound like you want more structure and testing than the privates generally want. Stick with some TAG program out in VA or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want your kid to be a liberal, transgender basket case, this school is right for you

If you are suggesting that one's sexual identity or preference is a learned behavior, and therefor can be unlearned through conversion therapy, then I can suggest a few schools for you.

http://www.splcenter.org/conversion-therapy

Unfortunately, very few of the schools in the DC area will cater to your moronic view of the world.

LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want your kid to be a liberal, transgender basket case, this school is right for you

+1. No way for our kids.