Landon vs. Georgetown Prep Upper School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of good stuff in 02:04's post a few up the page.

BUT:

An Honor Code is anywhere near the same thing being a Catholic in America. Being a Catholic goes beyond attending Mass or practicing the Faith more broadly. It has any number of cultural aspects.

With 60 boys in a class, how many Catholics can there be and still have room for the Mormons, Jews, Buddhists, and other Protestants? There are a few Catholics at Landon and their families are generally new to DC and not part of the larger Catholic community.

If you take most of the African Americans out of the mix at Prep, the student body is overwhelmingly Catholic, primarily from families that have been in DC for several generations. Prep is run by a Catholic religious order. Its staff and alumni are also overwhelmingly Catholics.

The schools are similar when viewed from the outside. But their primary difference is who attends each and not size of the student body.

For some reason, the Landon people choose to argue with this relatively obvious difference. I guess they are interested in seeing more Caholics enrolled or they don't want the school labeled as being dominated by other groups. It's curious to me. Prep has 450+ Catholic boys. Landon has a handful of them.

we are at Landon (and not catholic) The catholic kids in my DS class are neither new to DC nor are they not part of the Catholic community. I would say at least 20% of the class is Catholic.


It sounds like you have failed to move on from the 1990's.

[Anonymous]

14:04

Thanks for explaining the Catholic culture at Prep. Once again, you are probably an alum with a son at Prep or graduated from Prep who never moved on from his high school days. It amazes me how many Gonzaga and Prep alums I meet who continue to talk about their high school days and how many just live in the DC area their entire life and never get outside the Beltway.

Your obession with pointing out how many Catholics families are at Landon is just weird. You have been posted numerous times on this forum about this subject before and you often never mention other non religious schools (Bullis, Maret, Flint Hill). Clearly you have an axe to grind against Landon.

Have you ever thought there are some families out there who choose to send their kids to non Catholic schools to interact with kids / families from different faiths and backgrounds and want their son to be exposed to more of the real world. I happen to work at a big 4 consulting firm and I hate to break it to you, the majority of people I work with are not white Catholics and no one seems to ever talk about where they went to High School or what religion they are. Ironically, a few St. Albans, Maret and Potomac alums work in the same office.

Just curious, do you feel you are more "Catholic" because you grauted from a Catholic school or sent your son or daughter to Catholic School? Do you really look down upon families who choose to send their kids nonsectarian private schools.

[Anonymous]

15::54, the assumption is if a boy doesn't go to GP or Gonzaga and goes to another private school, there was a problem either disciplinary or academic or both. There is an informal network that helps GP admissions understand factors that might not be obvious on an application.

In your first paragraph, you got it right.

It may come as a surprise that the world you work in isn't the only one out there. And I don't know anyone who has bought into the "Diversity for Diversity's Sake" at all. That's why between GP and GZA there are 1500 boys at any one time and a hand full at Landon and St Albans and Bullis.

Landon's a special case. Catholics who send their kids there seem be going out of their way to put a thumb in the eye of the community.

[Anonymous]

Its only Gonzaga, Prep or St. Johns alums who care so much about where one went to high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its only Gonzaga, Prep or St. Johns alums who care so much about where one went to high school.

And there are a lot of those in Washington, along with sisters, brothers, uncles and aunts who feel similarly.

[Anonymous]

Because they never leave the area and have live a pretty sheltered lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because they never leave the area and have live a pretty sheltered lifestyle.

What's wrong with family, stability and life-long friendships?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of good stuff in 02:04's post a few up the page.

BUT:

An Honor Code is anywhere near the same thing being a Catholic in America. Being a Catholic goes beyond attending Mass or practicing the Faith more broadly. It has any number of cultural aspects.

With 60 boys in a class, how many Catholics can there be and still have room for the Mormons, Jews, Buddhists, and other Protestants? There are a few Catholics at Landon and their families are generally new to DC and not part of the larger Catholic community.

If you take most of the African Americans out of the mix at Prep, the student body is overwhelmingly Catholic, primarily from families that have been in DC for several generations. Prep is run by a Catholic religious order. Its staff and alumni are also overwhelmingly Catholics.

The schools are similar when viewed from the outside. But their primary difference is who attends each and not size of the student body.

For some reason, the Landon people choose to argue with this relatively obvious difference. I guess they are interested in seeing more Caholics enrolled or they don't want the school labeled as being dominated by other groups. It's curious to me. Prep has 450+ Catholic boys. Landon has a handful of them.

we are at Landon (and not catholic) The catholic kids in my DS class are neither new to DC nor are they not part of the Catholic community. I would say at least 20% of the class is Catholic.


It sounds like you have failed to move on from the 1990's.

Being a transplanted Catholic whose children have gone the route of non Catholic privates, I can actually attest that years ago when we moved here we tried to break into the local Catholic community. We felt very ostracized in ways that are hard to describe. Suffice it to say we pulled our first out of the local parish school and never looked back. Without identifying specifics we went the "Landon-like" route. I have noticed this pattern so often here that I so believe there really is something to the particular insularity of the local Catholics. I say this with some sadness as I felt somewhat betrayed (perhaps that is too strong) but I am trying to make a point. That is all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because they never leave the area and have live a pretty sheltered lifestyle.

What's wrong with family, stability and life-long friendships?

Because they lack perspective of other people, cultures, values, etc. Hence, the Catholic Mafia reputation in this area continues to endure and nauseate everyone else.

[Anonymous]

"Clearly you have an axe to grind against Landon." - The topic of this thread has to deal with differences between Prep and Landon, not Bullis, or any other school. Although it is generally true that there is a great deal of animus at GP against Landon, in particular.

"Have you ever thought there are some families out there who choose to send their kids to non Catholic schools to interact with kids / families from different faiths and backgrounds and want their son to be exposed to more of the real world." - Kids are exposed to "Diversity" everywhere. As for high school, almost all prefer homogeneity. In my mind "Diversity for Diversity Sake" is a meaningless slogan and has little value, if any.

"Just curious, do you feel you are more "Catholic" because you grauted from a Catholic school or sent your son or daughter to Catholic School? Do you really look down upon families who choose to send their kids nonsectarian private schools.- The Catholic schools are the choice of the overwhelming majority of Catholics that do not go the public school route. It's the normal thing to do. Choosing to go to a non-religious private is an odd choice. For members of the "community" it happens infrequently, but it is not well received by the group.

This should be good news for you as you won't have to be embarrassed by poor behavior by parents on your side of the field.

Suggesting "size" as the primary difference between the two schools is side-stepping the obvious fundamental difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because they never leave the area and have live a pretty sheltered lifestyle.

What's wrong with family, stability and life-long friendships?

Because they lack perspective of other people, cultures, values, etc. Hence, the Catholic Mafia reputation in this area continues to endure and nauseate everyone else.

Well, the Irish (the predominant Catholic ethnic group in DC) have been "nauseating" you and yours since they showed up beginning in the 1840's.

You seem to have been able to cope and even prosper. If symptoms continue, try of that over-the-counter sea sickness preventer.

[Anonymous]

This is funny. Well said 15:54.

[Anonymous]

The academics at Landon are better than Prep.

Look at the data of NMS finalists. College placement at Ivy League and NESCAC and top Engineering schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The academics at Landon are better than Prep.

Look at the data of NMS finalists. College placement at Ivy League and NESCAC and top Engineering schools.

Neither school is an academic powerhouse. There is a reason why athletics at those two schools are valued above all else, and by a wide margin.

[Anonymous]

Interesting, most "groups" move on after a generation or 3, but this group seems to be stuck, not in the 1990's, but the 1890's.