Anyone thinking of Green Acres School in "North Bethesda?"

[Anonymous]

Long-time Green Acres parent here, first posting, flame suit on. I'm a pretty optimistic person, but I can't let this go. My husband and I have one graduate and one in middle school, both smart and both love the school. My tenth grader is much better prepared than others in HS. GDS kids, by the way, tell us that even though they love GDS they miss Green Acres more.

GAS teachers are smart, sensible, caring, and incredibly hard working. You may not like the approach, but what could possibly justify saying they do no work? That says way more about that poster than about the teachers. Parents get email or calls at night if there's a problem. I was surprised how well teachers knew my children. Some teachers are better than others, but, well, no kidding, huh? I have never met a lazy teacher there or at any other school and I'm surprised anybody would say something so filled with disdain for others. You get out of people what you believe of them, I guess.

By the way, I actually asked the admission director why they changed it to "North Bethesda" instead of drawing my own conclusions based on speculation and negativity. She told me it was so people from Northwest DC and Bethesda, two primary markets, didn't think the school was near downtown Rockville. I prefer "Rockville" but at least her explanation makes sense.

I mean this in the most gentle, supportive, positive way: Some of you people are fucking crazy. If you want to find out about the school, go visit and talk to them. Think about what the philosophy means and whether it makes sense to you. If not, don't apply. But as the kids say, haters gonna hate. Don't listen to me or any of the shrews on this forum, who don't even have to take responsibility for any of our unqualified, lazy, judgmental bashing. Surely you have better things to do than beat up on a school that you (most of you) clearly know so little about. How easy it is to say "that school is sucks" and think that you're the expert. While you're doing that, there are teachers at Green Acres and all the other schools doing real work, trying to educate children. At least they're doing something positive.

[Anonymous]

pp, I wish you did not use the F word. I was going along with you until that. Sad that those who support the school use language like that.
I will look at public, thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:pp, I wish you did not use the F word. I was going along with you until that. Sad that those who support the school use language like that.
I will look at public, thanks.

Agree about the F-word! Makes you lose total credibility. I believe that the school is less progressive than they claim to be. (At least that was my experience.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp, I wish you did not use the F word. I was going along with you until that. Sad that those who support the school use language like that.
I will look at public, thanks.

Agree about the F-word! Makes you lose total credibility. I believe that the school is less progressive than they claim to be. (At least that was my experience.)

And "shrews."

[Anonymous]

oh no 15:15! you were doing great until you used the F word, I understand it is frustrating but Why do you take it so personal? are you a teacher there?
Listen, there are good and bad and in between teachers at every school. The problem with any other independent school is that the administrators have to do a better job at finding the teachers that are not doing their job. Parents pay a lot of money for them, the administrators and teachers to do what they have to do and i am not talking just about Green Acres.
It will help if you give examples, why do you say the school is like that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp, I wish you did not use the F word. I was going along with you until that. Sad that those who support the school use language like that.
I will look at public, thanks.

Agree about the F-word! Makes you lose total credibility. I believe that the school is less progressive than they claim to be. (At least that was my experience.)

New poster here - what was wrong with that use of the F word? Actually, I thought it was spot on to convey the point being made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It will help if you give examples, why do you say the school is like that?

Speaking as someone who would like to know more about GAS, I agree it would be nice for every commenter to give specific examples. But shouldn't we focus more on all the posters bashing the school? They tend to be the ones who consistently make these cryptic, generic references to sinister things without providing much or any detail. Frankly, the burden should be on them, not people who say their kids go to school there and like it. I'd love to hear specific and concrete examples from parents who have had bad experiences there - otherwise, their input is fairly useless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The predecessor was an unorganized, lying, hypocritical, narcissistic, incompetent woman.

I like how you lumped woman in with the other attributes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp, I wish you did not use the F word. I was going along with you until that. Sad that those who support the school use language like that.
I will look at public, thanks.

Agree about the F-word! Makes you lose total credibility. I believe that the school is less progressive than they claim to be. (At least that was my experience.)

New poster here - what was wrong with that use of the F word? Actually, I thought it was spot on to convey the point being made.

I hope GAS helps students express themselves more thoughtfully!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp, I wish you did not use the F word. I was going along with you until that. Sad that those who support the school use language like that.
I will look at public, thanks.

Agree about the F-word! Makes you lose total credibility. I believe that the school is less progressive than they claim to be. (At least that was my experience.)

New poster here - what was wrong with that use of the F word? Actually, I thought it was spot on to convey the point being made.

Another NP here, and I don't have any connection to the school although I'm curious about it.

I agree, the F word accurately conveyed PP's frustration with the haters and served as an appropriate intensifier for the word "crazy." It was a good word choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp, I wish you did not use the F word. I was going along with you until that. Sad that those who support the school use language like that.
I will look at public, thanks.

Agree about the F-word! Makes you lose total credibility. I believe that the school is less progressive than they claim to be. (At least that was my experience.)

New poster here - what was wrong with that use of the F word? Actually, I thought it was spot on to convey the point being made.

I hope GAS helps students express themselves more thoughtfully!

Sure. I would never want my DD to use the F word in her elementary school. But rest assured that when her Dad goes to work each day at the "firm", he uses and hears it at times in interactions with colleagues and clients. When dealing with Internet trolls on anonymous message boards bashing a school and providing no real detail, I can sympathize with the poster's view that it was an appropriate time to drop a well placed F bomb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp, I wish you did not use the F word. I was going along with you until that. Sad that those who support the school use language like that.
I will look at public, thanks.

Agree about the F-word! Makes you lose total credibility. I believe that the school is less progressive than they claim to be. (At least that was my experience.)

New poster here - what was wrong with that use of the F word? Actually, I thought it was spot on to convey the point being made.

Another NP here, and I don't have any connection to the school although I'm curious about it.

I agree, the F word accurately conveyed PP's frustration with the haters and served as an appropriate intensifier for the word "crazy." It was a good word choice.

It is never a good word choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp, I wish you did not use the F word. I was going along with you until that. Sad that those who support the school use language like that.
I will look at public, thanks.

Agree about the F-word! Makes you lose total credibility. I believe that the school is less progressive than they claim to be. (At least that was my experience.)

New poster here - what was wrong with that use of the F word? Actually, I thought it was spot on to convey the point being made.

Another NP here, and I don't have any connection to the school although I'm curious about it.

I agree, the F word accurately conveyed PP's frustration with the haters and served as an appropriate intensifier for the word "crazy." It was a good word choice.

It is never a good word choice.

Thank you Mrs. Simpson

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp, I wish you did not use the F word. I was going along with you until that. Sad that those who support the school use language like that.
I will look at public, thanks.

Agree about the F-word! Makes you lose total credibility. I believe that the school is less progressive than they claim to be. (At least that was my experience.)

New poster here - what was wrong with that use of the F word? Actually, I thought it was spot on to convey the point being made.

Another NP here, and I don't have any connection to the school although I'm curious about it.

I agree, the F word accurately conveyed PP's frustration with the haters and served as an appropriate intensifier for the word "crazy." It was a good word choice.

It is never a good word choice.

I have no skin in this game but Fucking is often a good word choice!

[Anonymous]

"F" word poster here. Oops. I apologize for the language. I have never heard a Green Acres teacher use that word (though some might in private). I am just a lowly parent, but I am also sure that parents at other schools would NEVER do that.

Okay, okay, let me be serious for one minute. I think it would be a shame if that one word caused you to ignore the point I was making. It seems like it's too easy to say, "Uh-oh, she used the F word, so she loses total credibility," without considering what the point was. New DCUM topic: "Does anybody in YOUR child's school say the F-word?" First post: "Yes, but nobody younger than second grade!"

I admit I should have chosen my words more wisely. I am sorry. But I think grownups, even those who don't use such R-rated language, just have to be capable of forming opinions more carefully than from such a source where everybody posts anonymously and nothing can actually be verified. This is like the TMZ of independent school news but without all the careful reporting. If that one poster really will go to public school just because one harebrained fool (that'd be me) used one naughty word, I wonder if the naughty word might not have been the real problem.

This whole place is a nuthouse. There are people who are earnest and sincere and just want information, but it's a nuthouse still. Does anybody really believe this is a good source of accurate information and not mostly ax-grinding and rumor-mongering? If your children used DCUM as a source in a research paper, you'd be totally cheesed off [chiefly British] at the school. By the way, I hadda look that one up. I usually just say "fucking crazy."

I'm actually a nice person. I'm sorry the craziness got to me. Really. I hope you'll still consider what I had to say. And think about where you can get decent information.