Mrs. Simpson's Classes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:16:32. I'm sure they teach some good things. It's just that other places teach the same manner set and are more open to all students and not just from 4 private schools.

The person asked which schools Mrs. Simpson's draws heavily from. There are other schools there but certain schools seem to do one or the other. It is not just the 4 private schools listed. If you really want to do Mrs. Simpson's you just need to find someone who goes and get a recommendation. It is not that exclusive or hard to get an invite especially if you re a boy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:16:32. I'm sure they teach some good things. It's just that other places teach the same manner set and are more open to all students and not just from 4 private schools.

The person asked which schools Mrs. Simpson's draws heavily from. There are other schools there but certain schools seem to do one or the other. It is not just the 4 private schools listed. If you really want to do Mrs. Simpson's you just need to find someone who goes and get a recommendation. It is not that exclusive or hard to get an invite especially if you re a boy.

Are kids ever rejected? In the sense that a family fishes for an invitation but it never comes? I'm thinking there's a higher number of applicants than spots, so not everyone who wants to can come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This can't be for real!

Oh It's for Real, my parents sent me there years ago, i can hardly believe that Mrs. Simpson is still alive - this was probably about 20 years ago or so...

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately it was VERY real LOL. I had to go to Mrs Simpsons in the late 80s - early 90s. Some of my Landon classmates and I ended up getting dis-invited by setting off firecrackers in one of the bathrooms while we were supposed to be getting our dates "cookies and punch". After our parents made all of us go for five years, we'd had about quite enough of Mrs. Simpson. I wonder if she is still alive. She had to of been in her 50s when we were there. My folks said "you must know how to waltz when you get invited to an inauguration ball"....LMAO, i've done well for myself but haven't yet received my invitation to one of those !

[Anonymous]

Wow, I stumbled upon this thread and was amazed to see this was even an issue. To correct a few points

- Mrs. S is not a finishing school. It's not even a school. It's a dance class once a month for 8 mos out of the year.
- It costs only about $300 which probably doesn't cover the costs of running it.
- Kids get a bang out of it - at least in the early years. Some kids and parents, like us, get tired of the repetitive nature and the costume demands (halloween, fifties dance costume, western hoedown).
- I don't know of anyone from my kids' school who wanted in and were excluded. That includes everyone, black, Jew, Asian, liberal, conservative.
- I served on the committees and made sure there were kids from every walk of life.
- yes, I believe it is true the organization was sued decades ago for discrimination but no one seems to remember the detail or settlement. I can vouch that the discrimination no longer exists. I got a kick out of the posted newspaper article from 1993. Nobody messes with Bobbie Kilberg and lives to tell about it.
- You are usually recommended by two members of the Committee. The reason behind this today is that they need boys. I was asked point blank if my older daughter were to be accepted would my son, three years behind her, also commit when he was eligible in 5th grade.
- Both kids enjoyed it for a few years. Then the stress of homework and other things just pushed it out of the way.
- I understand that girls that continue with it through high school (we did not) are eventually "presented" at a cotillion ball but the last time I heard the cost was from a disgruntled dad who said he wasn't paying $15,000 to present his daughter to anyone even if it was for charity. This may be myth but it was a good story, nonetheless.
- The boys, however, get to go free to the presentation balls. They also get invited to all the local "real" debutante balls and NYC because they know how to dance. Some of the boys' mothers really get into this at the high school level and hold banquets for the boys in their homes before they attend the local classes (we dropped out)
- At the younger ages, the kids are adorable. Yes, they must go through the receiving line of adults. My husband did this and then was told by someone running the dance "Quick, go wash your hands - you are now covered by every germ from every school in the city". Purell all around.
- My frustration with the classes is that after the receiving line, costume check, a few dancers, oreos and punch I can't really say either of my kids will be able to dance at their weddings.

Then neither can their parents. .

[Anonymous]

I go there, mostly private school people can go

[Anonymous]

Is someone paid to revive this thread every four months?

[Anonymous]

Perhaps parents could actually teach and demonstrate good manners for their kids.
Novel idea.

[Anonymous]

i went in 4th and 5th grade...in the late 90's

it's really not that big of a deal. its like 400 kids in a room. when the guys are told they can can ask the girls to dance, they literally sprint across the dancefloor to ask certain ones first. looking back now, it was hilarious.

one time for the halloween party a friend of mine had one of those masks where you squeeze a pump and fake blood rushes down. once he got to mrs simpson in the receiving line she was not amused. She sent him away to change into a spare cow costume - possibly the least cool costume a 4th grader could wear.

exclusivity is lost on the kids, that for sure. i never thought anything of it. you were just in a cattolion with a bunch of your friends. it seems like parents put too much stock in perceived hierarchy or pecking order. life's too short to worry about BS like that.

[Anonymous]

Our son was invited. I did not respond because the only two thouhts that popped into my head were Woody Allen
“I'd never join a club that would allow a person like me to become a member.”
OR
"Thank you for inviting me to join your party but our family has other plans."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately it was VERY real LOL. I had to go to Mrs Simpsons in the late 80s - early 90s. Some of my Landon classmates and I ended up getting dis-invited by setting off firecrackers in one of the bathrooms while we were supposed to be getting our dates "cookies and punch". After our parents made all of us go for five years, we'd had about quite enough of Mrs. Simpson. I wonder if she is still alive. She had to of been in her 50s when we were there. My folks said "you must know how to waltz when you get invited to an inauguration ball"....LMAO, i've done well for myself but haven't yet received my invitation to one of those !

Ha! I remember this. We must have been in the same class.

[Anonymous]

I did one of these as a kid in a Southern city. Meh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with poster re. Af Am parents not wanting their kids to be a part of an elitist 'club'. FYI, PP, I have two Af Am kids, and both were 'invited', along with members of their private school class, to attend. WE DECLINED, with no remorse or regret. By the way, you must uphold and agree with segregation if you allow your child to attend, and admit that's the reason. I 'hear' pride in your voice when you say "Af Am kids are not invited'. I am ashamed and fearful of parents like you, as you teach your kids your non-values, and they in turn sit next to my child in a classroom. So sad.

Another AA family here who declined. I tore up the invitation after reading it.

[Anonymous]

I am AA and considering CC or Mrs Simpson's for our son.Although the history of Mrs Simpson's is not pretty, neither is the history of this country
There are obvious efforts that have been made to diversify the classes,although it may be under a lawsuit. However, Isn't that the way it is for AA's in this country? We have to take advantage of opportunities that are NOW made available to us...like voting, education, using drinking in water fountains.

These classed are as much about the parents as the organizers. If you participate, make sure you make all of the families welcome. If you don't participate, leave the thread so those that are gathering information can make an informed decision.

Anonymous wrote:CC takes anyone who wants to sign up. My daughter asked to do it -- trust me, not something I think is a priority -- and she has a great time. So what the Hell, I sign her up.

I am a native Washingtonian who remembers the bad old days of Mrs. Simpson's previous incarnation, Mrs. Schippens. They explicitly excluded kids who were Jewish, Black or Catholic (yep, Catholic). In the 1980s, I believe, they were sued and entered into a consent agreement. They will take a smattering of kids whom they previously excluded. But just a few. Judging who was asked in my daughter's class, I would bet they are in violation of their consent decree.

Honestly, i don't see any conceivable reason to invite some kids at this age to join a social club while not inviting others. No justifiable reason at all. Even if they didn't have the history of segregation I would be offended by the whole thing.

But CC is cool, if you like that sort of thing.

[Anonymous]

wondering when the classes are - some are Fridays and others are Saturdays? Is this true?