| It was a number of reasons. Academics just weren’t impressive enough to make me put up with social striving. I only applied to co-ed schools because I had hoped to send my kids to school together, so I actually don’t know anything about Brearley. They are now at separate k8. It was just how it worked out. |
Would be more productive if you mentioned the great K-8 school that everyone can send their child to. I personally don’t like HM, but finding a good private school seems difficult. |
Why don’t you like HM? |
It’s not parody. He or she genuinely doesn’t understand how St. David, Regis, or Notre Dame can be considered intellectual or rigorous. |
| I don’t want to out my kids so I am going to keep the name of their schools quiet. There are K8 on east and west sides that are nice schools. None are magic, but the kids and parents are nice, the academics are solid enough. The boys schools K8 are particularly well-loved by the people who send their kids there. |
Doesn't seem like many who attended want to send their child. HM seems to accept the most amount of nouveau riche families. For many, it is about buying the prestige of going to a TT school. The dynamic looks very competitive from the start in the lower level rather than a sweet experience. |
Deerfield is, was, always will be the slytherin of the founders league. |
This is outdated. What the previous head, Margarita, did to instill and enforce progressive ideology on the school remains in force and little of the old Deerfield remains. It is like most of its other top boarding school peers with little to differentiate it. |
To this point specifically, is there anyone sending their kids to elementary or preschool for 65+k/yr who is not "buying the prestige of going to a TT school"? I have no illusions that it's about merit and how this 4 year old's block-arranging prowess is a sure indicator of a future academic superstar. |
I would expect someone to at least know the difference between a traditional and progressive education. Why they picked the school besides it is the easiest of the TT schools to be admitted to. |
I think it has the most national reputation and is known to be rigorous, so it attracts a certain crowd. "Easiest" is likely the wrong word because it clearly has maintained its admissions standards. |
Right, i think by "easiest" they mean "possible to enter in the early grade without being a child and a grandchild of an alum/not enrolled in the super-feeder daycare.." HM expands meaningfully in the upper grades where they are able to get very academically strong kids many of whom take advantage of the depth of their math/science elective offerings. If your kid is smart/nerdy, they will have a good chance of finding their crowd. |
Respectfully, hard disagree, chum. They’ve made leaps on diversity, but it remains quantum leaps from its peers. |
Same poster here: Deerfield also isn’t a founders league member. |
Cynical answer: no, of course not. It’s all social climbing and networking. Truth: Yes, 100%. I’m a trinity survivor, as is my sibling, and my kid is at little dalton now, has been since K. We opted to send the kiddo to dalton (they were admitted to trinity and hunter, too) in part because we genuinely believe they will have the greatest chance of gaining the love of learning and developing into a healthy young adult there more than anywhere else. We don’t care about prestige, never really have, we don’t particularly care where they wind up going to college (or if they decide they want to transfer to another school at some point), and we don’t mind what they wind up doing with their life (within reason, of course). We want them to be happy and kind. The rest - becoming adequately educated, hard-working, cultured, etc. - are secondary concerns. But prestige we couldn’t give less of a fuh about. |