Sidwell Obsession

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP Stylebook says the , goes inside the quotes. ``I think it looks better,'' said me.

Aren't there various exceptions? Those are what always confuse me.

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_good_word/2011/05/the_rise_of_logical_punctuation.html
Discussion of rule here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me chime in about the Sidwell thing. I had one kid at Sidwell for 10 years, another for 9. The older one graduated in the middle of his class from Sidwell (with average Sidwell SAT scores, which are about 2100, not 2350!), went to a very good but not ivy-level liberal arts college, and is now doing well in his chosen career (finance). The second kid was a stellar student at Sidwell in grades K-8, and then transferred to a top Montgomery County public school, where he continued to be a stellar student, and is now attending an Ivy-level college and doing quite well there. Sidwell did not "produce" wither #1 or #2 kid; they both received fine educations there, but I can't honestly say that the public high school was, all things considered, an inferior experience, or that Sidwell was superior. It all depends of the kid. In fact, there were some things #2 got to do - and excell at - at the public high school that
were not available at Sidwell.It was amusing to me that when we told some of #2 classmates' parents, at the end of 8th grade, that he would be transferring to a public school, they were truly concerned that #2's life prospects would be quickly heading south. I can tell you that just isn't the case. #1's cohort at Sidwell was the jockish, partying, social, middle-of-the-class (or worse) crowd, all nice kids, all doing well enough in life now, but by no means setting the academic world on fire. They didn't go to Ivies - they went to places like Michigan, Kenyon, NYU, etc - fine enough schools, of course, but not the Harvard/Yale/Princeton sugarplums that dance in the heads of many DCUM types. And colleges of that ilk are the norm, not the exception, for most graduates of Sidwell, STA, Maret, etc. While maybe 20 kids out of Sidwell's 110 or so graduates will go to Ivies, most will be Cornell/Penn/Brown rather than HYP. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just sayin.
By comparison, #2's cohort at the public high school was the top-10% crowd - the ones who took 12 APs, debated, edited the newspaper, interned at NIH, etc. Those kids ALL ended up at Ivy-level schools, without the $120K in Sidwell tuition, and with a rich, full high school experience. The difference, I will concede, is that the middle-of-class kids at the public hs are not a match for Sidwell's middle. But at the top, it's all the same.

I agree with most of what you stated and think that if Ivy is your goal then unless you know your child is going to be in the top 10% of their class in private that you are probably better transfering to a public. Your kid will still be in the top % but will probably have fewer legacies to compete with and it might increase their overall chances of getting in. Where I disagree with you is that the top 10% of students in Montgomery County or most public HS, even elite ones, get into Ivy leagues. Even with a lot of legacies you are probably looking at 10 or 30 students max attending Ivy league schools. I'm sure they went to great schools but there is no way the top 10 % in the large schools in Montgomery County go to Ivy league schools, that could be 200 students.

[Anonymous]

I think my DC is at the same MCPS as the quoted PP above and agree with her points. My DC is in that same top cohort and it is definitely comparable to the top private schools (having had a child at one of those as well). A couple of points to the second PP above. I think your 10% numbers are a bit off. The graduating class at my DCs school last year was about 450 kids so the top 10% is 45 kids. There was a list of colleges in the school paper last spring and while there were a lot of Ivy schools I don't think it was 45 kids - maybe it was 25. But at least 4-5 went to Stanford, 8-10 went to each of Williams and Amherst. The kids do very well. As to the legacy factor - at least at this school the parents are as well educated as at the private schools. Based on my experience there are many ivy league graduates in the parent body.

[Anonymous]

Didn't Sidwell also take in Al Gore's kid when he was kicked out of a more prestigious school for drug use.

Sidwell is a nice home for kids who are ignored by their career focused parents and troubled, but smart. For career focused DC social climbers, the association with political families is also a plus. So what if the kids get fondled a long the way? - they crave attention.

For those few who succeed in the climb to acceptance by the cave dwellers there are two schools down the road.

Carry on.

[Anonymous]

5:17 provides a good lesson in how people can learn a lot about a school's attitude and character by seeing what the school's parents and students post here. Your post says lots more about the Cathedral schools than about Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell is the school of choice for parents who are socially ambitious and want the opportunity to network with the political elite of Washington. Many Sidwell parents are older, on their second marriage and raising a second family. The average age of Sidwell parents is about 7-8 years greater than GDS, for example.

For many (not all) Sidwell parents the children (often step-children from the previous marriage) are an afterthought. These are kids who probably belong in boarding school, but, for some reason, stay at home. The Sidwell kids are high achievers because they are desperately seeking approval of their parents – Mom & Dad (or step Dad) just don’t have the time or desire and many probably don’t even know their kids full name and birthdate. There is a reason so many of those kids are in therapy. But you don’t have to rely on anonymous messages – spend some time on that campus and see the soulless blank gaze in the student’s eyes. It’s not a happy place – but if you want your kid to go to an Ivy league school, it’s a fine choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Didn't Sidwell also take in Al Gore's kid when he was kicked out of a more prestigious school for drug use.

Sidwell is a nice home for kids who are ignored by their career focused parents and troubled, but smart. For career focused DC social climbers, the association with political families is also a plus. So what if the kids get fondled a long the way? - they crave attention.

For those few who succeed in the climb to acceptance by the cave dwellers there are two schools down the road.

Carry on.

Yes, here's a little snippet that is unlikely to find its way into the Sidwell Friends "Alumni News & Notes"

Al Gore III, 24, was driving a blue Toyota Prius about 100 mph on the San Diego Freeway when he was pulled over at about 2:15 a.m., Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.

The deputies said they smelled marijuana and searched the car, Amormino said. They found less than an ounce of marijuana along with Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Adderall, which is used for attention deficit disorder, he said.

I'm sure he's the only one.

[Anonymous]

Wow, clearly the negative Sidwell posts were written by someone completely unfamiliar with the school. Not my experience at all. There is a nice mix of stay at home and working parents, younger and older parents, etc., just like any other school. And my children transferred to Sidwell, where they have been happier than they ever were in their other school.

[Anonymous]

I guess one could compare Al Gore III with Hugely from Landon?

This thread has jumped the shark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess one could compare Al Gore III with Hugely from Landon?

This thread has jumped the shark.

Yes, I think that is an apt comparison - especially since Hugley, like Gore III, was rejected by a better school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, clearly the negative Sidwell posts were written by someone completely unfamiliar with the school. Not my experience at all. There is a nice mix of stay at home and working parents, younger and older parents, etc., just like any other school. And my children transferred to Sidwell, where they have been happier than they ever were in their other school.

It's good that you believe that your children are happy at Sidwell -- I hope for their sake that you are right.

You are wrong about the compartive demographics - there are statistics on such things.

As to what parents value at Sidwell, consider one of the early posts on this thread:


Why the obsession with Sidwell?
1. Chelsea Clinton
2. Malia Obama
3. Sasha Obama
4. Lots of apps and thus rejections. We all want what is hard-to-get (e.g., Bill Gates trying to join Augusta National Golf Club).
Now does that sound like someone interested in their child's well being or their own social status? just asking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, clearly the negative Sidwell posts were written by someone completely unfamiliar with the school. Not my experience at all. There is a nice mix of stay at home and working parents, younger and older parents, etc., just like any other school. And my children transferred to Sidwell, where they have been happier than they ever were in their other school.

It's good that you believe that your children are happy at Sidwell -- I hope for their sake that you are right.

You are wrong about the compartive demographics - there are statistics on such things.

As to what parents value at Sidwell, consider one of the early posts on this thread:


Why the obsession with Sidwell?
1. Chelsea Clinton
2. Malia Obama
3. Sasha Obama
4. Lots of apps and thus rejections. We all want what is hard-to-get (e.g., Bill Gates trying to join Augusta National Golf Club).
Now does that sound like someone interested in their child's well being or their own social status? just asking.

Why do you think this was written by a Sidwell parent explaining their thinking? It sounds more like an interested person speculating about why so many are obsessed with the school.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell is declining - no argument about that.

[Anonymous]

Did the attorney general pull his kids out of Sidwell after the latest pedophile incident?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did the attorney general pull his kids out of Sidwell after the latest pedophile incident?

They were never there.