Sidwell LS Principal

[Anonymous]

OP again. A bit amused by 21.49's tone. Is the expectation of minimally polite interaction with the principal being equated with looking for validation though our child? Smile.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]OP again. A bit amused by 21.49's tone. Is the expectation of minimally polite interaction with the principal being equated with looking for validation though our child? Smile. [/quote]

Oh g*d, boy I am glad I don't teach or have an admin role at Sidwell! What those professionals must have to put up with because of the sense some parents have of "having arrived"must be so far removed from what motivated them to go into education. It must be painful .Imagine a grown woman lingering around an elementary school lobby , fuming because the principal Is "right over there talking to someone else, but won't say hi and smile at me..after I've paid 30K for DS to go here"....LOL. The man isn't rude or weird; he's a Quaker. It is a Quaker school. Among other things they value simplicity over pretention.

[Anonymous]

The man isn't rude or weird; he's a Quaker. It is a Quaker school. Among other things they value simplicity over pretention. [/quote]

Thou doth protest too much. There is such a thing as basic courtesy, which is a human value. Whatever his reasons, there is no doubt there is a bit of a courtesy deficit.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP again. A bit amused by 21.49's tone. Is the expectation of minimally polite interaction with the principal being equated with looking for validation though our child? Smile. [/quote]

Oh g*d, boy I am glad I don't teach or have an admin role at Sidwell! What those professionals must have to put up with because of the sense some parents have of "having arrived"must be so far removed from what motivated them to go into education. It must be painful .Imagine a grown woman lingering around an elementary school lobby , fuming because the principal Is "right over there talking to someone else, but won't say hi and smile at me..after I've paid 30K for DS to go here"....LOL. The man isn't rude or weird; he's a Quaker. It is a Quaker school. Among other things they value simplicity over pretention. [/quote]

Being friendly is a Quaker value; not anticipating that each encounter with a parent will involve the parent being overbearing or demanding in behalf of his/her child is a Quaker value; not pre-judging people is a Quaker value . . .

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]What those professionals must have to put up with because of the sense some parents have of "having arrived" [/quote]

Well, in fairness to the parents, they were lead to believe they'd be "in a valley of love and delight".... I mean this is the "place just right," isn't it??

[Anonymous]

NO, NO -- they're QUAKERS. Not SHAKERS!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't like the guy, but the idea that because you are paying $30k somehow obligates him to bow down to parents is silly. He's there to run the school, not to schmooze with parents who seem desperate for attention.

Being courteous is not "bowing down". When your constituents pay for your salary, you would think a person would try very hard to be personable to the parents. Doing otherwise - as this guy does - is downright disrespectful.

[Anonymous]

Maybe he just has poor facial recognition skills, and doesn't want to risk thinking one parent is another. Or maybe he's - hard to imagine, I know - tired of parents.

[Anonymous]

I agree with everyone above (ok, not the racist, sexist part but...):

He is an administrator, teachor, educator, Quaker.
He is awkward and a bit off.
He is friendly sometimes, sometimes not.
He is tired of parents perhaps, perhaps not.
He is good at a huge part of his job.
The kids love him.

All the things can be true. But let's also remember that this is a lower school with children who range in ages from 4-9/10. This is not a high school or even a middle school where parents are not as needed or welcome. Small children go to school and it's normal and nice for parents to be there and be involved. This does not mean that they are overbearing, living through their children, needing to get a life. Elementary schools run with the help of parent volunteers. Lower school educators by definition have a lot of interaction with parents. I don't think that it's too much to ask the head of the school to also have social skills that are not so off putting to so many.

[Anonymous]

AMEN! OM! AMIN!

Anonymous wrote:I agree with everyone above (ok, not the racist, sexist part but...):

He is an administrator, teachor, educator, Quaker.
He is awkward and a bit off.
He is friendly sometimes, sometimes not.
He is tired of parents perhaps, perhaps not.
He is good at a huge part of his job.
The kids love him.

All the things can be true. But let's also remember that this is a lower school with children who range in ages from 4-9/10. This is not a high school or even a middle school where parents are not as needed or welcome. Small children go to school and it's normal and nice for parents to be there and be involved. This does not mean that they are overbearing, living through their children, needing to get a life. Elementary schools run with the help of parent volunteers. Lower school educators by definition have a lot of interaction with parents. I don't think that it's too much to ask the head of the school to also have social skills that are not so off putting to so many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe he just has poor facial recognition skills, and doesn't want to risk thinking one parent is another. Or maybe he's - hard to imagine, I know - tired of parents.

Then he should consider retirement.

[Anonymous]

Oh g*d, boy I am glad I don't teach or have an admin role at Sidwell! What those professionals must have to put up with because of the sense some parents have of "having arrived"must be so far removed from what motivated them to go into education. It must be painful .Imagine a grown woman lingering around an elementary school lobby , fuming because the principal Is "right over there talking to someone else, but won't say hi and smile at me..after I've paid 30K for DS to go here"....LOL. The man isn't rude or weird; he's a Quaker. It is a Quaker school. Among other things they value simplicity over pretention. [/quote]

As a Sidwell parent, I must say that I am glad too that you don't teach or have an admin role there. You must be impossible to put up with in real life. And, yes, thanks for the lecture on quaker values.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
True. Our experience too. "Methinks he might be getting long in the tooth" as the Bard would say.

Agree. That tired of your job? Perhaps it is time to leave...

[Anonymous]

What a vicious thread. Not a pleasant picture of the Sidwell parent body; obviously a few vocal complainers are not everyone, but You are not representing your school well. Why do people consider it acceptable to use an anonymous message board to attack a single individual in this way? Really sad and not fair to the individual.

[Anonymous]

Probably the poster is not really a Sidwell parent. Unfortunately, on these message boards, there is no way to tell who is lying.