Upper School - Sidwell vs. NCS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NCS is a traditional by the books no nonsense education. Both great schools but the girls at NCS can chew the girls up at Sidwell any day of the week[b].

I'm not sure whether the poster meant this in regard to academics, but I will say that my sons, who graduated from Sidwell, always said the NCS girls were frighteningly Type A.

Did you try to start a productive conversation with your sons about not stereotyping girls who are open about being smart or ambitious?

I am openly smart and highly ambitious, and I understand that there is a difference between that and being a mean girl who placed herself, her needs and her wants above others and who is blinded by ambition. Not at all to say that that is what girls are like at that school, but it's a strawman argument to imply a boy is sexist and does not respect Smart, openly ambitious women because he recognizes that some people are frighteningly type a.

Does it seem like a fair statement to widely label all the girls at a specific school as "frighteningly type A"? Sounds like stereotyping to me. I don't have children at either school but have met terrific kids from each school. I don't think a mother posting that her sons think all the girls at another school are all "frighteningly type A" is a helpful or insightful statement, and I do think that when a child puts a broad label on an institution ("all kids at School X do drugs," "everyone at School Y is a lacrosse meathead," "everyone at School Z is frighteningly Type A"), it's good for a parent to push back at that kind of stereotyping, rather than just posting the adolescent observations as if they are gospel.

I don't like stereotyping and we're agreed on that. It's just as stereotyping though to imply that the girls are simply openly smart and ambitious, and that the earlier poster's son needs to be taught that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NCS is a traditional by the books no nonsense education. Both great schools but the girls at NCS can chew the girls up at Sidwell any day of the week[b].

I'm not sure whether the poster meant this in regard to academics, but I will say that my sons, who graduated from Sidwell, always said the NCS girls were frighteningly Type A.

Did you try to start a productive conversation with your sons about not stereotyping girls who are open about being smart or ambitious?

I am openly smart and highly ambitious, and I understand that there is a difference between that and being a mean girl who placed herself, her needs and her wants above others and who is blinded by ambition. Not at all to say that that is what girls are like at that school, but it's a strawman argument to imply a boy is sexist and does not respect Smart, openly ambitious women because he recognizes that some people are frighteningly type a.

Does it seem like a fair statement to widely label all the girls at a specific school as "frighteningly type A"? Sounds like stereotyping to me. I don't have children at either school but have met terrific kids from each school. I don't think a mother posting that her sons think all the girls at another school are all "frighteningly type A" is a helpful or insightful statement, and I do think that when a child puts a broad label on an institution ("all kids at School X do drugs," "everyone at School Y is a lacrosse meathead," "everyone at School Z is frighteningly Type A"), it's good for a parent to push back at that kind of stereotyping, rather than just posting the adolescent observations as if they are gospel.

I don't like stereotyping and we're agreed on that. It's just as stereotyping though to imply that the girls are simply openly smart and ambitious, and that the earlier poster's son needs to be taught that.

If you're fine with denigrating all girls who go to a specific school on the assessments of a poster's two teenage boys who go to another school, I don't think we do agree on stereotyping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NCS is a traditional by the books no nonsense education. Both great schools but the girls at NCS can chew the girls up at Sidwell any day of the week[b].

I'm not sure whether the poster meant this in regard to academics, but I will say that my sons, who graduated from Sidwell, always said the NCS girls were frighteningly Type A.

Did you try to start a productive conversation with your sons about not stereotyping girls who are open about being smart or ambitious?

I am openly smart and highly ambitious, and I understand that there is a difference between that and being a mean girl who placed herself, her needs and her wants above others and who is blinded by ambition. Not at all to say that that is what girls are like at that school, but it's a strawman argument to imply a boy is sexist and does not respect Smart, openly ambitious women because he recognizes that some people are frighteningly type a.

Does it seem like a fair statement to widely label all the girls at a specific school as "frighteningly type A"? Sounds like stereotyping to me. I don't have children at either school but have met terrific kids from each school. I don't think a mother posting that her sons think all the girls at another school are all "frighteningly type A" is a helpful or insightful statement, and I do think that when a child puts a broad label on an institution ("all kids at School X do drugs," "everyone at School Y is a lacrosse meathead," "everyone at School Z is frighteningly Type A"), it's good for a parent to push back at that kind of stereotyping, rather than just posting the adolescent observations as if they are gospel.

Hear, hear. The parents on this forum sound so immature and ridiculous. They are hopefully nothing like their introspective, smart and ambitious children at any of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NCS is a traditional by the books no nonsense education. Both great schools but the girls at NCS can chew the girls up at Sidwell any day of the week[b].

I'm not sure whether the poster meant this in regard to academics, but I will say that my sons, who graduated from Sidwell, always said the NCS girls were frighteningly Type A.

Did you try to start a productive conversation with your sons about not stereotyping girls who are open about being smart or ambitious?

I am openly smart and highly ambitious, and I understand that there is a difference between that and being a mean girl who placed herself, her needs and her wants above others and who is blinded by ambition. Not at all to say that that is what girls are like at that school, but it's a strawman argument to imply a boy is sexist and does not respect Smart, openly ambitious women because he recognizes that some people are frighteningly type a.

Does it seem like a fair statement to widely label all the girls at a specific school as "frighteningly type A"? Sounds like stereotyping to me. I don't have children at either school but have met terrific kids from each school. I don't think a mother posting that her sons think all the girls at another school are all "frighteningly type A" is a helpful or insightful statement, and I do think that when a child puts a broad label on an institution ("all kids at School X do drugs," "everyone at School Y is a lacrosse meathead," "everyone at School Z is frighteningly Type A"), it's good for a parent to push back at that kind of stereotyping, rather than just posting the adolescent observations as if they are gospel.

I don't like stereotyping and we're agreed on that. It's just as stereotyping though to imply that the girls are simply openly smart and ambitious, and that the earlier poster's son needs to be taught that.

I'm the earlier poster, and my sons' comments are simply their observations of the NCS girls they've met. That's not the same things as a stereotype, which is a judgment made about an individual based on her identity, not on actual acquaintance with her. As for my sons' views, you can take 'em or leave 'em -- as you would any other subjective observation made in this forum. And, once again, I would add that they didn't characterize the girls as smart and ambitious, but as Type A. There is a distinction, and it is one that they are well aware of since they have a sister, several cousins and many friends who are smart and ambitious young women.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NCS is a traditional by the books no nonsense education. Both great schools but the girls at NCS can chew the girls up at Sidwell any day of the week[b].

I'm not sure whether the poster meant this in regard to academics, but I will say that my sons, who graduated from Sidwell, always said the NCS girls were frighteningly Type A.

Did you try to start a productive conversation with your sons about not stereotyping girls who are open about being smart or ambitious?

I am openly smart and highly ambitious, and I understand that there is a difference between that and being a mean girl who placed herself, her needs and her wants above others and who is blinded by ambition. Not at all to say that that is what girls are like at that school, but it's a strawman argument to imply a boy is sexist and does not respect Smart, openly ambitious women because he recognizes that some people are frighteningly type a.

Does it seem like a fair statement to widely label all the girls at a specific school as "frighteningly type A"? Sounds like stereotyping to me. I don't have children at either school but have met terrific kids from each school. I don't think a mother posting that her sons think all the girls at another school are all "frighteningly type A" is a helpful or insightful statement, and I do think that when a child puts a broad label on an institution ("all kids at School X do drugs," "everyone at School Y is a lacrosse meathead," "everyone at School Z is frighteningly Type A"), it's good for a parent to push back at that kind of stereotyping, rather than just posting the adolescent observations as if they are gospel.

I don't like stereotyping and we're agreed on that. It's just as stereotyping though to imply that the girls are simply openly smart and ambitious, and that the earlier poster's son needs to be taught that.

If you're fine with denigrating all girls who go to a specific school on the assessments of a poster's two teenage boys who go to another school, I don't think we do agree on stereotyping.

The bolded is an excellent point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NCS is a traditional by the books no nonsense education. Both great schools but the girls at NCS can chew the girls up at Sidwell any day of the week[b].

I'm not sure whether the poster meant this in regard to academics, but I will say that my sons, who graduated from Sidwell, always said the NCS girls were frighteningly Type A.

Did you try to start a productive conversation with your sons about not stereotyping girls who are open about being smart or ambitious?

This is a great point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NCS is a traditional by the books no nonsense education. Both great schools but the girls at NCS can chew the girls up at Sidwell any day of the week[b].

I'm not sure whether the poster meant this in regard to academics, but I will say that my sons, who graduated from Sidwell, always said the NCS girls were frighteningly Type A.

Did you try to start a productive conversation with your sons about not stereotyping girls who are open about being smart or ambitious?

This is a great point

Do you honestly think that girls at Sidwell aren't open about being smart and ambitious?

[Anonymous]

Bump

[Anonymous]

Why keep bumping this tired old thread?

[Anonymous]

Um, because decisions will need to be made soon and we are trying to learn as much as we can about the strengths and weaknesses of different schools?

[Anonymous]

This is less about strengths and weaknesses and more about rumor, innuendo, and deeply harbored prejudice, often borne from rejection. If you have gone through the stressful process of applying to one of these two schools, with all of the testing, essays and future expense, then I suggest you find real and non-anonymous person or two to talk to for an informed point of view.

[Anonymous]

If your child is lucky enough to get into either then pick that one. If your child gets into both LET YOUR CHILD PICK. You should trust your child's judgement at this age.

[Anonymous]

Didn't the author of "Queen Bees and Wannabes," upon which the film "Mean Girls" was based, teach for a while at NCS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NCS is a traditional by the books no nonsense education. Both great schools but the girls at NCS can chew the girls up at Sidwell any day of the week[b].

I'm not sure whether the poster meant this in regard to academics, but I will say that my sons, who graduated from Sidwell, always said the NCS girls were frighteningly Type A.

Translation - Son couldn't get a date with a girl from NCS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NCS is a traditional by the books no nonsense education. Both great schools but the girls at NCS can chew the girls up at Sidwell any day of the week[b].

I'm not sure whether the poster meant this in regard to academics, but I will say that my sons, who graduated from Sidwell, always said the NCS girls were frighteningly Type A.

Translation - Son couldn't get a date with a girl from NCS.

Oh, you're so funny!