Sidwell, Maret and Georgetown Day-- Are all the families very liberal?

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are fairly conversative socially and politically. I have been shying away from Sidwell, Maret and Georgetown Day because it is my perception that these schools are very liberal and that the families are generally very liberal as well. Can anyone confirm or deny this impression?

[Anonymous]

they are. every single person. seriously. they make normal liberals look like conservative christians.

[Anonymous]

Yes. "All" the families are "very" "liberal." Every last one, without exception or gradation. Very. Liberal. All of them.

[Anonymous]

Liberal parenting as well as liberal politics?

[Anonymous]

you bet.

[Anonymous]

Oh, all of it , sister. Liberal eveything. Liberal Liberal Liberal. They are not fighting the terror-loving terrorists in any way.

[Anonymous]

Actually, I think the phrase is "You betcha."

p.s. Can you see Russia from your kitchen?

[Anonymous]

What percentage are limousine liberals/"not in my backyard" types?

[Anonymous]

What ?!?!? Are these questions for real? Or is this a meta-joke? For McCain voters, that's a joke about jokes.

[Anonymous]

When one's child can discuss the details of Martin Luther King's life, having studied them for about the fifth time, but doe not know anything at all about Martin Luther (or even that he existed), or about the Reformation, one starts wondering whether one is paying for an education or for something else. So, a prospective parent for whom this might be an issue should ask questions about the political orientation of the school , and the questions should be honestly addressed. It will make everyone happier in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Fair comment, but I think you'd find that kind of thing across schools, private, public, etc, at least amongst elementary-school ages.

[Anonymous]

Well, I really think it's worth the sacrifice for your children's intellectual growth. Unless you will also avoid Ivy League schools or any other convergence of highly intelligent intellectuals - you should get used to being around liberals.

[Anonymous]

As a liberal myself, I'm wondering why the posters who are being rude can't simply answer the OP's question. And if they can't answer it based on experience, I wonder why they feel the need to chime in. They're probably not doing a whole lot to improve the OP's impression of liberal people, and they're showing an intolerant streak that seems rather. . . illiberal.

[Anonymous]

Yes, as someone who has lived in DC for almost 30 years, I would say your perception is probably correct, with a few caveats. DC is a predominantly liberal city, but there are some conservative enclaves (Georgetown, Wesley Heights, Spring Valley come to mind). So you will find some conservatives at Sidwell, and more at the Cathedral Schools. But, depending on the age of your child, you should keep an open mind. We are as liberal as they come, but our child went to a private middle school with a lot of conservative families, and, although the parents are not the type we would socialize with normally, everyone is very friendly, and my kid is thriving.

[Anonymous]

I have no problem with intellectual growth, or with the possibility that discussions with highly intelligent individuals (or regular people who have good points to make) lead one change one's views. But this is about accepting a lack of intellecutal diversity in order to become a member of a 'club," and for some people it may not be worth it. And I speak as somebody who graduated from an Ivy League school, so this is not sour grapes.

Let me give you another example, one of many. My DC goes to one of the schools frequently mentioned on these threads. In first grade DC came back from school proclaiming that people are evil, because they destroy the environment. After a while, DC started saying that plane crashes are good because they cut down the number of people and help animals. After that DC started saying that a "bid flu' epidemic would be good because mass deaths would cut down the population of humans etc. etc. and be good for the enivornment. DC doesn't hear these kinds of things at home. it is DC's takeaway from heavy handed teaching featuring a partiuclar point of view. I can relate similarly biased teaching regarding other social/political issues.

I would like the school to teach my DC to be a critical thinker. I see very little (except career) advantage in DC being taught, on my dime, to parrot half-baked platitudes of a particular political orientation.