does anyone else find the social scene at Janney hard to take?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do all the "Janney moms" seem to wear those quilted jackets?

Too cold for toe shoes?

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Like a ballet shoe? Like a song and dance? What about the cold? Don't really get the reference here...

[Anonymous]

Getting invited to slightly less birthday parties and playdates sounds like a good thing. Consider yourself lucky! haha

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do all the "Janney moms" seem to wear those quilted jackets?

Too cold for toe shoes?

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Like a ballet shoe? Like a song and dance? What about the cold? Don't really get the reference here...

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/217674.page

Starts on the tenth post and goes on forever.

[Anonymous]

Janney is a very welcoming community with the slightest of efforts. Are there adults that are good friends and have a social history together? Yes there are, because that is what happens over time with a group of people that spend time together on collaborative projects,which is a lot of what volunteering over time at a school is. Are there many opportunities for families that want to join in, yes there are. Are there means to stay involved and get to know families on a less intense basis, yes there are. Are kids nice to each other and have play dates regardless of whether their parents have longstanding relationships, yes they are.

Is any child going to be invited to every birthday party, nope, there are about 100 students per grade spread over 4 or 5 classrooms depending on the grade. It is just not possible.

Janney is a great school, it is not an exclusive high school clique of parents. It is an engaged community, so it is not a group of strangers and there are people that know each other better than they know newcomers when families first arrive. I expect that would be true at any school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is some of this going on at murch as well. I see it but I honestly can't make myself care enough. I'm a single mom, not wealthy, I work all the time. My weekends are spend on chores and playmates. I don't think I need to be the most popular parent at school. I want my child to make his own friends and I don't necessarily have to be best friends with the parents. I don't plan to run for PTA. Education is important and I'm cordial and will hapily socialize when time permits, but I'm not crying because I'm not in the "in crowd".

Mann is also like this. My DC was invited to three birthday parties this year. Truth be told, I don't mind at all since our weekends are always so busy. It bothers DC a bit though.

[Anonymous]

Did not realize parents/adults look toward their kids' elementary school to provide them with friends and social outlets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Janney is a very welcoming community with the slightest of efforts. Are there adults that are good friends and have a social history together? Yes there are, because that is what happens over time with a group of people that spend time together on collaborative projects,which is a lot of what volunteering over time at a school is. Are there many opportunities for families that want to join in, yes there are. Are there means to stay involved and get to know families on a less intense basis, yes there are. Are kids nice to each other and have play dates regardless of whether their parents have longstanding relationships, yes they are.

Is any child going to be invited to every birthday party, nope, there are about 100 students per grade spread over 4 or 5 classrooms depending on the grade. It is just not possible.

Janney is a great school, it is not an exclusive high school clique of parents. It is an engaged community, so it is not a group of strangers and there are people that know each other better than they know newcomers when families first arrive. I expect that would be true at any school.

Signed,

Queen Bee

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did not realize parents/adults look toward their kids' elementary school to provide them with friends and social outlets.

Why do you think that is odd? Most folks I know who have kids are fairly immersed in their kids' schools - most schools strive to create a sense of community, whether with students, faculty, parents, etc. We have a number of friends - the ones from our kids' school is about the largest. We nearly moved this school year and DH and I discussed if it would be more difficult to integrate into a school community when the kids are older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did not realize parents/adults look toward their kids' elementary school to provide them with friends and social outlets.

Why do you think that is odd? Most folks I know who have kids are fairly immersed in their kids' schools - most schools strive to create a sense of community, whether with students, faculty, parents, etc. We have a number of friends - the ones from our kids' school is about the largest. We nearly moved this school year and DH and I discussed if it would be more difficult to integrate into a school community when the kids are older.

Maybe it's an American culture thing. I'm from Asia and my mom was a teacher there for 30+ yrs. Asians don't think of their kid's school as a social outlet for parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Janney is a very welcoming community with the slightest of efforts. Are there adults that are good friends and have a social history together? Yes there are, because that is what happens over time with a group of people that spend time together on collaborative projects,which is a lot of what volunteering over time at a school is. Are there many opportunities for families that want to join in, yes there are. Are there means to stay involved and get to know families on a less intense basis, yes there are. Are kids nice to each other and have play dates regardless of whether their parents have longstanding relationships, yes they are.

Is any child going to be invited to every birthday party, nope, there are about 100 students per grade spread over 4 or 5 classrooms depending on the grade. It is just not possible.

Janney is a great school, it is not an exclusive high school clique of parents. It is an engaged community, so it is not a group of strangers and there are people that know each other better than they know newcomers when families first arrive. I expect that would be true at any school.

Signed,

Queen Bee

That is hilarious. I wrote this and I am not one of the most involved parents. We have friends within the school community that we have made over years, but I am not on a single committee, the PTA or a room parent. I see what people are resenting but I think it is the natural outcome of involved people. Do you expect people not to become friends when they work together? I work full time and volunteer to bring things or chaperone field trips on occasion.

There is nothing exclusionary about the Janney community if you are not looking to be excluded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did not realize parents/adults look toward their kids' elementary school to provide them with friends and social outlets.

Why do you think that is odd? Most folks I know who have kids are fairly immersed in their kids' schools - most schools strive to create a sense of community, whether with students, faculty, parents, etc. We have a number of friends - the ones from our kids' school is about the largest. We nearly moved this school year and DH and I discussed if it would be more difficult to integrate into a school community when the kids are older.

Maybe it's an American culture thing. I'm from Asia and my mom was a teacher there for 30+ yrs. Asians don't think of their kid's school as a social outlet for parents.

That reminds me of a quote I read somewhere about the high Indian (the sub-continent) population in technology fields Somebody of note (sorry, I don't recall who) was asked "if we were worried about competition from India. Hell no! Our Indians can kick their Indian asses any day!"

Asian-Americans are more successful than Asians.

[Anonymous]

"There is nothing exclusionary about the Janney community if you are not looking to be excluded."

That is definitely not true. There are some parent cliques, especially among the PTA and room mom types. And some can lean bitchy and judgmental. But there also are plenty of other parents who are friendly and disinterested in their social position at the school. And I don't seeing the cliques having much of an affect on the children's social lives.

[Anonymous]

It was like this when my DD attended, but some Charters are like this as well. We are a AA family, so maybe that's why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did not realize parents/adults look toward their kids' elementary school to provide them with friends and social outlets.

Why do you think that is odd? Most folks I know who have kids are fairly immersed in their kids' schools - most schools strive to create a sense of community, whether with students, faculty, parents, etc. We have a number of friends - the ones from our kids' school is about the largest. We nearly moved this school year and DH and I discussed if it would be more difficult to integrate into a school community when the kids are older.

Maybe it's an American culture thing. I'm from Asia and my mom was a teacher there for 30+ yrs. Asians don't think of their kid's school as a social outlet for parents.

That reminds me of a quote I read somewhere about the high Indian (the sub-continent) population in technology fields Somebody of note (sorry, I don't recall who) was asked "if we were worried about competition from India. Hell no! Our Indians can kick their Indian asses any day!"

Asian-Americans are more successful than Asians.

Many Asian countries, Taiwan, S. Korea, etc. have all become 1st world economies within a generation and China is the world's second largest economy after the U.S. Your blanket statement that Asian-Americans are more successful than Asians may hold true for first generation Asian Americans but isn't necessarily true for later generations who become Americanized.

[Anonymous]

I don't get it either. Maybe it is because on the Hill kids go to a lot of different schools. Between my neighborhood friends (only a few go to our school) who I have know. Since the kids were babies and work friends I don't feel the need to be involved in the school social scene.