Social climate at Georgetown Day School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think that anyone who has the opportunity to attend GDS and does not is missing out. I have been attending said school since pre-k and am now a student at the high school. I don't understand this fascination on whether teachers dress up for Halloween and first names. As a student, these are merely details magnified that make up the extraordinary experience I have been lucky to have at GDS. The school is very liberal, which might discourage some parents, has proven successful for kids and students. Students respect their teachers more than if we addressed them with formal titles because we form that respect on our own. I often do see kids snacking during their classes and that is mainly because students often spend lunch of mini break continuing a class discussion with their teacher.

Oh please. You have never experienced anything except GDS so of course you are going to think it is the greatest.

Really? I don't think it is that common for kids to really love school. That is one of the great things about GDS (I'm an alum). To be fair, I think Sidwell, Maret, and StA also inspire these positive feelings from students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the attacks. Either you understand/relate to a progressive curriculum or you don't. If you don't, no need to send your children there - there are plenty of other schools out there. To each their own.

To the student who posted - sorry that some adults do not behave with more kindness on these posts. I think you represented yourself well, and that is all you can control. My children in preschool attend a school where they call the teachers by their first name - I am also baffled by the obsession with that.

Soon-to-be middle school seeking parent here, who does have an "obsession" with THAT. Not sure that I can explain it to you because it really does represent a different mindset on parenting, but I will try.

The practice of students at GDS calling teachers by first names is not the only reason we will most likely not seek admission there, but it represents (to me at least) a host of other factors that says the school is too child-centered (as in, "Your Child Is Wonderful!!!!!!") for my taste. I am not looking for a school that merely accepts my kids where they are and worships that. I want a school that will guide them to grow to be the best young adults, the best people they can possibly be. That requires recognizing their current failures and inadequacies, things I do not hear at schools like GDS.

My child is not the equal of an adult who is two or three times his age, and neither is yours. Calling his teacher "Joe" instead of "Mr. Smith" is inappropriate as it gives the child the impression that his teacher is just another buddy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Soon-to-be middle school seeking parent here, who does have an "obsession" with THAT. Not sure that I can explain it to you because it really does represent a different mindset on parenting, but I will try.

The practice of students at GDS calling teachers by first names is not the only reason we will most likely not seek admission there, but it represents (to me at least) a host of other factors that says the school is too child-centered (as in, "Your Child Is Wonderful!!!!!!") for my taste. I am not looking for a school that merely accepts my kids where they are and worships that. I want a school that will guide them to grow to be the best young adults, the best people they can possibly be. That requires recognizing their current failures and inadequacies, things I do not hear at schools like GDS.

My child is not the equal of an adult who is two or three times his age, and neither is yours. Calling his teacher "Joe" instead of "Mr. Smith" is inappropriate as it gives the child the impression that his teacher is just another buddy.

Your family clearly doesn't belong at GDS. I don't consider my child a bundle of failures and inadequacies that need to be fixed. As a rule, I taught my child to believe every person is equal, no matter how small. It's not like those of us who prefer it don't understand where you're coming from or never thought about it, we just don't agree with you.

These are cultural differences about social hierarchy that reflect ethnicity, geography, and social class. There's not a whole lot of point arguing about it or feeling superior, because there isn't any persuasion on either side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the attacks. Either you understand/relate to a progressive curriculum or you don't. If you don't, no need to send your children there - there are plenty of other schools out there. To each their own.

To the student who posted - sorry that some adults do not behave with more kindness on these posts. I think you represented yourself well, and that is all you can control. My children in preschool attend a school where they call the teachers by their first name - I am also baffled by the obsession with that.

Soon-to-be middle school seeking parent here, who does have an "obsession" with THAT. Not sure that I can explain it to you because it really does represent a different mindset on parenting, but I will try.

The practice of students at GDS calling teachers by first names is not the only reason we will most likely not seek admission there, but it represents (to me at least) a host of other factors that says the school is too child-centered (as in, "Your Child Is Wonderful!!!!!!") for my taste. I am not looking for a school that merely accepts my kids where they are and worships that. I want a school that will guide them to grow to be the best young adults, the best people they can possibly be. That requires recognizing their current failures and inadequacies, things I do not hear at schools like GDS.

My child is not the equal of an adult who is two or three times his age, and neither is yours. Calling his teacher "Joe" instead of "Mr. Smith" is inappropriate as it gives the child the impression that his teacher is just another buddy.

I do not believe that children who call teachers by their first names believe that they are the social equals of their teachers. They know that they are teachers and they know that they are adults. You need to look at how they treat the teachers beyond the name used to address them. In the opposite scenario, we have all seen children who use proper titles with adults who through their other words and behavior clearly show that they feel superior to the adults.

It is just a form of address and not the important part of the relationship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soon-to-be middle school seeking parent here, who does have an "obsession" with THAT. Not sure that I can explain it to you because it really does represent a different mindset on parenting, but I will try.

The practice of students at GDS calling teachers by first names is not the only reason we will most likely not seek admission there, but it represents (to me at least) a host of other factors that says the school is too child-centered (as in, "Your Child Is Wonderful!!!!!!") for my taste. I am not looking for a school that merely accepts my kids where they are and worships that. I want a school that will guide them to grow to be the best young adults, the best people they can possibly be. That requires recognizing their current failures and inadequacies, things I do not hear at schools like GDS.

My child is not the equal of an adult who is two or three times his age, and neither is yours. Calling his teacher "Joe" instead of "Mr. Smith" is inappropriate as it gives the child the impression that his teacher is just another buddy.

Your family clearly doesn't belong at GDS. I don't consider my child a bundle of failures and inadequacies that need to be fixed. As a rule, I taught my child to believe every person is equal, no matter how small. It's not like those of us who prefer it don't understand where you're coming from or never thought about it, we just don't agree with you.

These are cultural differences about social hierarchy that reflect ethnicity, geography, and social class. There's not a whole lot of point arguing about it or feeling superior, because there isn't any persuasion on either side.

Yep, we got it. Your snowflake is perfect.

[Anonymous]

My snowflake was far from perfect.....DS could not look his old head of school in the eye each morning when he had to greet and shake hands with the head. Fast forward....ending his first year at GDS, his confidence is off the chart! Greet every Head at GDS with confidence and respect. First time in his short school life that he could easily attend school clear through the summer.

It's obviously not for everyone, but I would never criticize someone for choosing a traditional school for there child. I would simply think it fits their family values. None of my business!

[Anonymous]

This is a sincere, not trolling question: why do parents around here spend so much on private schools? I did the rough math in my head and if you have a kid at GDS from K-12 you'll end up spending half a million dollars in tuition - is that correct? I can't believe that people have that much money to spend, particularly when there are really good public schools around. I also think that if these families with all these resources put their time and effort into volunteering with the public schools, ALL kids would be the beneficiaries (and isn't one of GDS's missions social justice?). I know there are families who get financial aid, but aren't most parents shelling out close to $35K per year per child?

To the OP, I wonder if you set that money aside for your child wouldn't he be better off in the long run?

Again, I'm not a troll, just someone who grew up in a middle-class military family and can't wrap my head around spending that kind of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the attacks. Either you understand/relate to a progressive curriculum or you don't. If you don't, no need to send your children there - there are plenty of other schools out there. To each their own.

To the student who posted - sorry that some adults do not behave with more kindness on these posts. I think you represented yourself well, and that is all you can control. My children in preschool attend a school where they call the teachers by their first name - I am also baffled by the obsession with that.

Soon-to-be middle school seeking parent here, who does have an "obsession" with THAT. Not sure that I can explain it to you because it really does represent a different mindset on parenting, but I will try.

The practice of students at GDS calling teachers by first names is not the only reason we will most likely not seek admission there, but it represents (to me at least) a host of other factors that says the school is too child-centered (as in, "Your Child Is Wonderful!!!!!!") for my taste. I am not looking for a school that merely accepts my kids where they are and worships that. I want a school that will guide them to grow to be the best young adults, the best people they can possibly be. That requires recognizing their current failures and inadequacies, things I do not hear at schools like GDS.

My child is not the equal of an adult who is two or three times his age, and neither is yours. Calling his teacher "Joe" instead of "Mr. Smith" is inappropriate as it gives the child the impression that his teacher is just another buddy.

PP, your DC might be able to make the cut if s/he were able to demonstrate that s/he is not as small-minded as you. The school uses first name for historical reasons, not because of wanting to foster a "buddy" climate. Yes, it does represent a different mindset, but no on parenting.

[Anonymous]

It is a lot of money to go K-12, no doubt, although the steep rise in tuitions in all the top private schools in DC means that the parents writing the check for grade 12 is facing a much higher burden than what they signed up for when their kid started kindergarten. And that trend continues.

Why do people do it? For some, the money doesn't matter and they want the best for their kids and believe a private school education is the best. Although that is not a large percentage of the parents, it is a larger percentage than you might think. This is DC, after all, and there are lots of parents pulling down one or even two very large incomes. Or with family wealth. If one parent works and makes 400k, or both parents make that together, a 35k tuition bill is readily manageable unless one is already living beyond or near the limit of one's means.

The families that receive financial aid believe they are getting something very valuable on a subsidized basis. They too (like all parents) want the best for their kids.

Families in the middle that don't receive financial aid but have more limited means have to work harder to make it work, by sacrificing other things. They do it because they too are sold on the value this gives to their kids. It is not only the reputation of the school that brings value -- far more important are the smaller classes, personalized attention, opportunity to learn from peers who uniformly or almost uniformly take school seriously, and great teachers.

All that said, we have great public schools in the DC metro area too. It could be that some parents overestimate the advantages of private school. Some who are reluctant to go the private route for K-12 send their kids to the public schools for K-8 and then switch over to private for high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It is a lot of money to go K-12, no doubt, although the steep rise in tuitions in all the top private schools in DC means that the parents writing the check for grade 12 is facing a much higher burden than what they signed up for when their kid started kindergarten. And that trend continues.

Why do people do it? For some, the money doesn't matter and they want the best for their kids and believe a private school education is the best. Although that is not a large percentage of the parents, it is a larger percentage than you might think. This is DC, after all, and there are lots of parents pulling down one or even two very large incomes. Or with family wealth. If one parent works and makes 400k, or both parents make that together, a 35k tuition bill is readily manageable unless one is already living beyond or near the limit of one's means.

The families that receive financial aid believe they are getting something very valuable on a subsidized basis. They too (like all parents) want the best for their kids.

Families in the middle that don't receive financial aid but have more limited means have to work harder to make it work, by sacrificing other things. They do it because they too are sold on the value this gives to their kids. It is not only the reputation of the school that brings value -- far more important are the smaller classes, personalized attention, opportunity to learn from peers who uniformly or almost uniformly take school seriously, and great teachers.

All that said, we have great public schools in the DC metro area too. It could be that some parents overestimate the advantages of private school. Some who are reluctant to go the private route for K-12 send their kids to the public schools for K-8 and then switch over to private for high school.

Thank you - that was a great and thoughtful reply. I appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the attacks. Either you understand/relate to a progressive curriculum or you don't. If you don't, no need to send your children there - there are plenty of other schools out there. To each their own.

To the student who posted - sorry that some adults do not behave with more kindness on these posts. I think you represented yourself well, and that is all you can control. My children in preschool attend a school where they call the teachers by their first name - I am also baffled by the obsession with that.

Soon-to-be middle school seeking parent here, who does have an "obsession" with THAT. Not sure that I can explain it to you because it really does represent a different mindset on parenting, but I will try.

The practice of students at GDS calling teachers by first names is not the only reason we will most likely not seek admission there, but it represents (to me at least) a host of other factors that says the school is too child-centered (as in, "Your Child Is Wonderful!!!!!!") for my taste. I am not looking for a school that merely accepts my kids where they are and worships that. I want a school that will guide them to grow to be the best young adults, the best people they can possibly be. That requires recognizing their current failures and inadequacies, things I do not hear at schools like GDS.

My child is not the equal of an adult who is two or three times his age, and neither is yours. Calling his teacher "Joe" instead of "Mr. Smith" is inappropriate as it gives the child the impression that his teacher is just another buddy.

Some kids seem to accomplish more in a day that adults accomplish it a week. Why shouldn't they use first names where adults do?

[Anonymous]

I went to GDS. Calling teachers by first names is just not that big a deal. A teacher is a teacher and whether you call them by their first name by Mr. or Ms. or Mrs., at the end of the day kids are going to respect, pay deference or ridcule a teacher based on the same factors that have influenced teacher/student relations for centuries. I will say the one awkward thing is figuring out that some parents did not want to be addresssed by their first names. I later discovered that is always gonig to be an issue with some parents saying, "Please call me by first name" and others "Please don't"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a sincere, not trolling question: why do parents around here spend so much on private schools? I did the rough math in my head and if you have a kid at GDS from K-12 you'll end up spending half a million dollars in tuition - is that correct? I can't believe that people have that much money to spend, particularly when there are really good public schools around. I also think that if these families with all these resources put their time and effort into volunteering with the public schools, ALL kids would be the beneficiaries (and isn't one of GDS's missions social justice?). I know there are families who get financial aid, but aren't most parents shelling out close to $35K per year per child?

To the OP, I wonder if you set that money aside for your child wouldn't he be better off in the long run?

Again, I'm not a troll, just someone who grew up in a middle-class military family and can't wrap my head around spending that kind of money.

Selective independent school education is a very expensive luxury. While many independent school families struggle with education costs, a majority do not. For a great many independent school parents, $40k/year is a small portion (<10%) of their disposable income. Our lifestyle doesn't suffer for it. We already donate and save a significant amount and the alternative uses for tuition money are much more frivolous. Given the choice between writing tuition checks and buying a beach house, tuition wins.

I am a big believer in public education and I would prefer to pay higher taxes for better public schools. By not sending my child to public school, my local school system has an extra $17k to spend on other students. I don't know how much PTA volunteering or bake sales would equate to that much additional revenue for the public schools. If anything, we are making the job of the public school easier - they have our money but not the burden of educating our child. No one makes the argument that choosing an Ivy undermines community colleges land grant universities. So why make the case that independent K-12 hurts public schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a sincere, not trolling question: why do parents around here spend so much on private schools? I did the rough math in my head and if you have a kid at GDS from K-12 you'll end up spending half a million dollars in tuition - is that correct? I can't believe that people have that much money to spend, particularly when there are really good public schools around. I also think that if these families with all these resources put their time and effort into volunteering with the public schools, ALL kids would be the beneficiaries (and isn't one of GDS's missions social justice?). I know there are families who get financial aid, but aren't most parents shelling out close to $35K per year per child?

To the OP, I wonder if you set that money aside for your child wouldn't he be better off in the long run?

Again, I'm not a troll, just someone who grew up in a middle-class military family and can't wrap my head around spending that kind of money.

I don't have kids at GDS but at another, similarly priced DC independent school. And believe me, PP, we ask ourselves this question a lot. There is also a lot of discussion about this topic on other threads in this forum, if you want to get a broader base of thoughts.

I appreciate your point that if these families put time and effort into volunteering in the public schools, they may be improved and would benefit more children. That may be the case in some situations, but for us, there are simply too many problems with the bureaucracy of the public school system to make it "fixable" by parent volunteers. The testing, testing, testing, along with the left-leaning curriculum in social science and language arts classes, the fixation on student issues that should be addressed at home, the inability to fire incompetent teachers -- there are just too many inadequacies and distractions within the public school system. So we are sucking it up and shelling it out.

[Anonymous]

Is their one social program at GDS? I heard the programs are different at each grade level.