Does anybody know the incident recently happened in Sidwell?

[Anonymous]

Parent at other big 3. This is terrible and the kid needs to be found and should be expelled but one kid does not mean that all students at Sidwell are racist. It’s one kid. The other matter of the kid naming himself I think is a non-issue.

[Anonymous]

Kid bought to get some shock and awe- or maybe even no user name up there - and here we are.
S/he, regardless of race, nationality, gender, religion, had a misjudgment and now will be kicked out of school and have this record.
Bad idea gone really bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kid bought to get some shock and awe- or maybe even no user name up there - and here we are.
S/he, regardless of race, nationality, gender, religion, had a misjudgment and now will be kicked out of school and have this record.
Bad idea gone really bad.

That's if they figure out who did it. A very big IF.

[Anonymous]

Have Sidwell students studied The Holocaust? I don’t mean if they’ve heard the term while studying WII but have they been exposed to the horrors of The Nazis? I do think a trip to the Hollocaust Museum is in order. I read a statistic the other day that 60% of Americans surveyed didn’t know what/where Auschwitz is.

Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but a few days ago, Anne Frank’s step sister spoke to the students in Newport CA (the ones who made the swastika out of solo cups). She was glad to have the opportunity and found the students to be mortified by their own actions, repentant and determined to turn bad into good.

-Jewish mom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have Sidwell students studied The Holocaust? I don’t mean if they’ve heard the term while studying WII but have they been exposed to the horrors of The Nazis? I do think a trip to the Hollocaust Museum is in order. I read a statistic the other day that 60% of Americans surveyed didn’t know what/where Auschwitz is.

Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but a few days ago, Anne Frank’s step sister spoke to the students in Newport CA (the ones who made the swastika out of solo cups). She was glad to have the opportunity and found the students to be mortified by their own actions, repentant and determined to turn bad into good.

-Jewish mom

+ 1

[Anonymous]

I'm Jewish and this is how I would want it handled. I would need to know more about these kids. Are they spewing antisemitism and hatred in other contexts or was this is a dare and some really stupid impulsive actions? Are they bullies? How did they justify the actions?

One of my kids is really impulsive and he has done some truly moronic things on dares. Never hateful, but still.

If this is a first offense for them or there is evidence these are decent kids who were ignorant and impulsive I would rather this be turned into a learning experience. I agree with having them go to the Holocaust museum and write a paper. I would also have them doing volunteer work around the school and have a disciplinary action where they are on probation and could be kicked out for another offense. If they are truly hateful kids who have repeat offenses, then expel.

[Anonymous]

brains aren't fully developed until 25-27...seriously impulsive behavior. I'm sure the kid is mortified right now. An amnesty should be declared to turn him/herself in and then a look to teachable moments in the classroom - not just about bigoted language (if it was? I haven't seen what exactly it was) but also the privileges and responsibilities of media and tech usage. But overall, this is not the biggest deal - it's just massively amplified by the echoes of the coverage. - not a Sidwell parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kid bought to get some shock and awe- or maybe even no user name up there - and here we are.
S/he, regardless of race, nationality, gender, religion, had a misjudgment and now will be kicked out of school and have this record.
Bad idea gone really bad.

That's if they figure out who did it. A very big IF.

They know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Savage + Indian is insensitive and in poor taste. Is the kid a racist, or deserve to be expelled? Not based on that username. Does it display poor judgement - yes.

Zero tolerance for hate. This child and whoever else did this should be expelled sorry. Lots of wonderful, progressive and kind children ready in the wings to take their place. They don’t belong their when they act like that.

In this case the boy is South Asian. So he thought he was being clever, when he was actually being crass and insensitive. I would give him a second chance and hope he learns from this. I can see how others may disagree though.

He was not being crass and insensitive and he was not trying to be clever. He was describing himself literally - Savage Indian = Awesome Person from India/of Indian Descent. We should be careful of deciding for others how they can or should identify themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I think that the "Sidwell bubble" doesn't exist. It's more of a "private school bubble" that has existed forever in every private school in town and elsewhere. Signed someone who grew up in a different private school bubble in a different city.

I think it does exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Savage + Indian is insensitive and in poor taste. Is the kid a racist, or deserve to be expelled? Not based on that username. Does it display poor judgement - yes.

Zero tolerance for hate. This child and whoever else did this should be expelled sorry. Lots of wonderful, progressive and kind children ready in the wings to take their place. They don’t belong their when they act like that.

In this case the boy is South Asian. So he thought he was being clever, when he was actually being crass and insensitive. I would give him a second chance and hope he learns from this. I can see how others may disagree though.

He was not being crass and insensitive and he was not trying to be clever. He was describing himself literally - Savage Indian = Awesome Person from India/of Indian Descent. We should be careful of deciding for others how they can or should identify themselves.

Exactly. I think all of the 'objectionable" user names have been cleared up and minimal, if any punishment doled out. The Swastikas on the other hand, need explaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell is notorious amongst parents for having an impossible to predict discipline policy..even the student handbook leaves the actual consequences essentially up for customization...while often cited as a source for "the rules" when discipline does occur...the handbook is used as needed, when convenient to cite, by administrators who make up the consequences for kids on a case by case basis. Is that a good thing? Not sure. As a Sidwell parent I have seen the school mostly make good calls when it comes to discipline I have heard about--- but I have also seen countless instances where prominent parents' kids act out or kids of families associated with the Board act out, and the school goes much lighter on those kids. This is especially the case when the acting out happens on digital or social media which is a domain the school essentially has no articulated policy or training for kids on. Sometimes they address issues when bullying or sexting occurs on social media, usually they don't..it all kind of depends...it doesn't feel like a safe environment in this respect.

The heads of middle and upper school respectively do not have strong leadership skills or policy on this...it is a common complaint..If you ask kids at Sidwell what the discipline policy is in Middle School or in Upper School, they simply can not tell you. I hope this incident propels the administration of the school to start acting with consistency and clarity so kids stop feeling they are on unfair playing fields when some kids get disciplined for acts others are ignored for--and so kids can know with clarity what the consequences are for various forms of bad behavior.

this comment with respect to discipline in the middle school seems accurate. however it's *not* at all accurate with respect to the upper school. we are new to the upper school, and there are very clear policies about behavior, and the school leaders seem to adhere to that. (ie there is a point system, and students are allocated points for lateness, rudeness, skipping class etc, and once you reach a certain number of points, then you have silent study hall during lunch time for a week, etc.). it's a very consistent, clear system and seems to work.

however this incident is so serious that I would assume it would have far greater disciplinary response. as a parent, I would like follow up from Bryan on whether they find those who did this and would like to hear about the punishment. our freshman became aware only of the swastikas in the user name and wasn't aware of any user names regarding Asian or Native Americans. evidently it all happened fast and there was gasping and stunned silence and an abrupt end of the presentation. the presentation was being given by a student about his service project and he was apparently quite devastated. students, parents, faculty, admin are all dismayed. it's very upsetting that this happened.

Just curious, what words were used in the usernames against Asian/Native Americans?

I don’t even understand where hatred for Asians, Native Americans or Jews comes from - especially from a young person.
Aren’t some of these people their classmates as well? So they have no regard for their own classmates?

Parents. That’s why schools need to vet parents more carefully. They poison communities if their views are intolerant.

This is a simplistic and dated take. It’s very easy for kids to stumble into this stuff now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kid bought to get some shock and awe- or maybe even no user name up there - and here we are.
S/he, regardless of race, nationality, gender, religion, had a misjudgment and now will be kicked out of school and have this record.
Bad idea gone really bad.

That's if they figure out who did it. A very big IF.

They know.

You know this for a fact, or you're just surmising? Because I think that unless the kid was dumb enough to go through the Sidwell wifi, it could be very difficult to track this down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell is notorious amongst parents for having an impossible to predict discipline policy..even the student handbook leaves the actual consequences essentially up for customization...while often cited as a source for "the rules" when discipline does occur...the handbook is used as needed, when convenient to cite, by administrators who make up the consequences for kids on a case by case basis. Is that a good thing? Not sure. As a Sidwell parent I have seen the school mostly make good calls when it comes to discipline I have heard about--- but I have also seen countless instances where prominent parents' kids act out or kids of families associated with the Board act out, and the school goes much lighter on those kids. This is especially the case when the acting out happens on digital or social media which is a domain the school essentially has no articulated policy or training for kids on. Sometimes they address issues when bullying or sexting occurs on social media, usually they don't..it all kind of depends...it doesn't feel like a safe environment in this respect.

The heads of middle and upper school respectively do not have strong leadership skills or policy on this...it is a common complaint..If you ask kids at Sidwell what the discipline policy is in Middle School or in Upper School, they simply can not tell you. I hope this incident propels the administration of the school to start acting with consistency and clarity so kids stop feeling they are on unfair playing fields when some kids get disciplined for acts others are ignored for--and so kids can know with clarity what the consequences are for various forms of bad behavior.

this comment with respect to discipline in the middle school seems accurate. however it's *not* at all accurate with respect to the upper school. we are new to the upper school, and there are very clear policies about behavior, and the school leaders seem to adhere to that. (ie there is a point system, and students are allocated points for lateness, rudeness, skipping class etc, and once you reach a certain number of points, then you have silent study hall during lunch time for a week, etc.). it's a very consistent, clear system and seems to work.

however this incident is so serious that I would assume it would have far greater disciplinary response. as a parent, I would like follow up from Bryan on whether they find those who did this and would like to hear about the punishment. our freshman became aware only of the swastikas in the user name and wasn't aware of any user names regarding Asian or Native Americans. evidently it all happened fast and there was gasping and stunned silence and an abrupt end of the presentation. the presentation was being given by a student about his service project and he was apparently quite devastated. students, parents, faculty, admin are all dismayed. it's very upsetting that this happened.

Just curious, what words were used in the usernames against Asian/Native Americans?

I don’t even understand where hatred for Asians, Native Americans or Jews comes from - especially from a young person.
Aren’t some of these people their classmates as well? So they have no regard for their own classmates?

Where does it come from? Alt-right trolls. Social media and YouTube. Also gaming - White supremacists approach kids that way sometimes.

Everyone is on social media - few people, I hope, spend time on alt-right topics.
Though apparently a young Walt Whitman high graduate was handing out racist/alt right flyers in Rochester so maybe there are a lot of hateful young people out there? Which is awful.

https://13wham.com/news/local/police-one-issued-citation-for-white-supremacist-materials-found-in-brighton-last-year

Sorry - a Walt Whitman graduate . He is a college student in Rochester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:brains aren't fully developed until 25-27...seriously impulsive behavior. I'm sure the kid is mortified right now. An amnesty should be declared to turn him/herself in and then a look to teachable moments in the classroom - not just about bigoted language (if it was? I haven't seen what exactly it was) but also the privileges and responsibilities of media and tech usage. But overall, this is not the biggest deal - it's just massively amplified by the echoes of the coverage. - not a Sidwell parent

I have a 9 and 12 year old. We are white and not Jewish. Both of my children know about hate language and know that they may NEVER use it. If they did anything like this I would expect the school to take strong and decisive action and, while I would be devastated for my child, I would support the school. This is not about an impulse. That language and thought process should not be a joke. This is not impulsivity. This is hate.