Which school routinely produces kids with poise?

[Anonymous]

What is SAAS?

[Anonymous]

Westminster School in Annandale

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is SAAS?

Maybe SSSA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is SAAS?

Maybe SSSA?

I would guess St. Anselm's Abbey School instead.

[Anonymous]

This is an interesting question! I'm not sure the answer for DC schools but I can give a little perspective on the Groton aspect (Groton Grad 1989). I think that schools like Groton, Exeter or Andover (based on what I observed in college), certainly self select AND actively encourage these traits.

My Groton classmates, for the most part, fell into 1 of 2 groups -- children of huge SES privilege or children of less wealthy parents who invested everything they had in their kids. The really economically wealthy kids came to Groton with unbelievable social and cultural capital. I had never seen anything like it -- and I was coming there from Potomac School. Partly because I'm a minority, partly the full scholarship, and larger personality, I spent a lot of time observing and analyzing the Groton Social mores. At Groton, many if not most non-wealthy kids are able to pick up what the wealthy kids arrived with: the cues, social graces, conversational knowledge base etc that convey social and cultural capital. These soft skills are what differentiated the Groton experience, for me, from what I would have gained at Potomac School at that time.

I really do wonder which of the DC area schools, if any, can provide this type of experience for my own children. Because while entirely worthwhile and unique, there's much about boarding school that is socially excruciating. Based on the recent high school grads I have met locally, I would agree with the previous posters that any school has graduates with poise and socio-cultural capital similar to the NE boarding schools -- so much of that is derived from parents and privilege. But at Groton, molding young adults with poise and leadership-readiness is a huge part of the design.

[Anonymous]

Landon.

[Anonymous]

If you are looking for something like the OFA "Pajama Boy," then Sidwell or GDS, but I do not think of those schools has producing "kids with poise" - to the contrary the grads seem quite awkward to me. Grads of the single gender schools strike me as most poised, especially STA, Holton, Landon, NCS, Prep, Stone Ridge and Viz - in no particular order.

[Anonymous]

Clearly the answer most people are giving is this: "Children from my own child's school are poised." And for many, this addition: "Children from rivals of my child's school are not poised."

Unfortunately, this seems to be just another vehicle for people to promote/bash schools indiscriminately.

Here's my challenge: Does anyone think the school your child currently attends produces grads who are generally NOT poised? In other words, is anyone here prepared to knock her own child's school?

[Anonymous]

Uh, Washington Ballet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the answer most people are giving is this: "Children from my own child's school are poised." And for many, this addition: "Children from rivals of my child's school are not poised."

Unfortunately, this seems to be just another vehicle for people to promote/bash schools indiscriminately.

Here's my challenge: Does anyone think the school your child currently attends produces grads who are generally NOT poised? In other words, is anyone here prepared to knock her own child's school?

Why on earth would we pay good money to a school that we think makes our kids awkward and rude, and lacking in manners?

I think this question might produce more negative answers if you asked a more specific question. For example, "does your school teach your children to shake hands when they are introduced to a new person?" Then you might get "of course not, that would be pretentious in a child" or "yes, they drill them on this, because it is good manners, which is essential for a livable and polite society".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's my challenge: Does anyone think the school your child currently attends produces grads who are generally NOT poised? In other words, is anyone here prepared to knock her own child's school?

Why on earth would we pay good money to a school that we think makes our kids awkward and rude, and lacking in manners?

Exactly right. And that's why people here who claim a school produces poised children are mainly biased, and those who claim another school does not produce poised children are also biased. It's a worthless question because no honest results can arise.

[Anonymous]

This isn't a metaphysical question. If your child plays sports, you'll visit most if these schools more than once and you'll have a strong sense of the student body. You will judge what you see by your own standards, but I can tell you exactly what you'll see because the student bodies of these school is almost as consistent as the campus buildings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This isn't a metaphysical question. If your child plays sports, you'll visit most if these schools more than once and you'll have a strong sense of the student body. You will judge what you see by your own standards, but I can tell you exactly what you'll see because the student bodies of these school is almost as consistent as the campus buildings.

That would be foolish, because you'd be equating the entire student body with just one small group of kids. For example, if I attend the Landon band events, I likely will get a very different perception of the school than if I attend Landon lacrosse events. Which group is the "true" indicator of the school's ability to produce poised students?

This applies even to different sports at the same school. At some places, all the jerks seem to gravitate to certain sports, so there will be lots of variation.

[Anonymous]

Pp again. Also, while 9:23 might identify certain of your child's opponent schools as unpoised, I'd bet the parents at that school disagree with you. I'm not saying it's a metaphysical question; I just think everyone is so biased in favor of her own school, and not fully informed about other schools, that a valid answer is impossible.

Everyone thinks she's an above average driver ... but many are below average.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pp again. Also, while 9:23 might identify certain of your child's opponent schools as unpoised, I'd bet the parents at that school disagree with you. I'm not saying it's a metaphysical question; I just think everyone is so biased in favor of her own school, and not fully informed about other schools, that a valid answer is impossible.

Everyone thinks she's an above average driver ... but many are below average.

Plus everyone is biased, in fact blinded, about their own kids' behavior. I think my snowflake is wonderful, and all her behavioral problems are the teacher's fault! Hang around DCUM long enough if you need daily proof.