Who applies to GDS? I don't know anyone that applied there?

[Anonymous]

I know it is supposed to be a great school so I am surprised that noone I know applied there. I am not starting a debate here but I am truly just curious as to what the reason would be and I don't want to ask. Now that I think of it, most of them did not apply to Sidwell either but they all applied to Beauvoir as their first choice. Confused.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends in part on the (sorry, can't think of better word) types of people you hang out with. ie, what they want for their children in an educational SETTING and in life in general. Single sex, uniforms, religious or not?, progressive or not? That kind of thing.

We know of 0 people who applied to Beauvoir and several who applied to GDS this year.

[Anonymous]

Speaking in gross generalizations, people who only apply to Beauvior and not to Sidwell or GDS tend to do so because of their politically conservative perspective on social issues. In particular, they are frequently people who are uncomfortable with their children being "exposed" to the reality of the existence of lesbian and gay people in the world.

GDS and Sidwell do active outreach to families headed by lesbian and gay parents and address issues of different family structures and other forms of diversity within their communities.

The discussions about whether or not children call their teachers by their first names or address them as Mr. or Ms. and whether or not curriculum is "traditional" are, imho, coded language for their desire for their children to be in an environment with people who they believe will share their social and political perspective.

However, Beauvior does have politically and socially progressive families - and it even has families headed by lesbian and gay parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking in gross generalizations, people who only apply to Beauvior and not to Sidwell or GDS tend to do so because of their politically conservative perspective on social issues. In particular, they are frequently people who are uncomfortable with their children being "exposed" to the reality of the existence of lesbian and gay people in the world.

GDS and Sidwell do active outreach to families headed by lesbian and gay parents and address issues of different family structures and other forms of diversity within their communities.

The discussions about whether or not children call their teachers by their first names or address them as Mr. or Ms. and whether or not curriculum is "traditional" are, imho, coded language for their desire for their children to be in an environment with people who they believe will share their social and political perspective.

However, Beauvior does have politically and socially progressive families - and it even has families headed by lesbian and gay parents.

Thank you for your explanation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking in gross generalizations, people who only apply to Beauvior and not to Sidwell or GDS tend to do so because of their politically conservative perspective on social issues. In particular, they are frequently people who are uncomfortable with their children being "exposed" to the reality of the existence of lesbian and gay people in the world.

GDS and Sidwell do active outreach to families headed by lesbian and gay parents and address issues of different family structures and other forms of diversity within their communities.

The discussions about whether or not children call their teachers by their first names or address them as Mr. or Ms. and whether or not curriculum is "traditional" are, imho, coded language for their desire for their children to be in an environment with people who they believe will share their social and political perspective.

However, Beauvior does have politically and socially progressive families - and it even has families headed by lesbian and gay parents.

So people who want traditional curriculums don't like gay people?? Seriously, this seems a BIT of a stretch to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking in gross generalizations, people who only apply to Beauvior and not to Sidwell or GDS tend to do so because of their politically conservative perspective on social issues. In particular, they are frequently people who are uncomfortable with their children being "exposed" to the reality of the existence of lesbian and gay people in the world.

GDS and Sidwell do active outreach to families headed by lesbian and gay parents and address issues of different family structures and other forms of diversity within their communities.

The discussions about whether or not children call their teachers by their first names or address them as Mr. or Ms. and whether or not curriculum is "traditional" are, imho, coded language for their desire for their children to be in an environment with people who they believe will share their social and political perspective.

However, Beauvior does have politically and socially progressive families - and it even has families headed by lesbian and gay parents.

I'm an AA single mom, my son is a Beauvoir alum. GDS was suggested as a perfect fit for my son and family. I toured it and met with the AD. I found GDS to be a lovely school, just not for my son. The structure of it just wouldn't work. I witnessed kids running and yelling down hallways, lying on the floor doing their work, etc. I'm by no means traditional/conservative in view or lifestyle. Our family has many Gay and Lesbian friends and we're socially conscious. The other school families that we were closest with had similar views regarding GDS' structure after touring. The school is just not a great fit for all children. My decision to pull my son's app had nothing to do with protecting him from Gays and Lesbians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm an AA single mom, my son is a Beauvoir alum. GDS was suggested as a perfect fit for my son and family. I toured it and met with the AD. I found GDS to be a lovely school, just not for my son. The structure of it just wouldn't work. I witnessed kids running and yelling down hallways, lying on the floor doing their work, etc. I'm by no means traditional/conservative in view or lifestyle. Our family has many Gay and Lesbian friends and we're socially conscious. The other school families that we were closest with had similar views regarding GDS' structure after touring. The school is just not a great fit for all children. My decision to pull my son's app had nothing to do with protecting him from Gays and Lesbians.

I said it was a gross generalization. Of course it does not apply to all families who apply to or choose or attend Beauvior. But there is truth to it, nonetheless.

And, for the other pp, no, of course I'm not saying that all who prefer a traditional curriculum are homophobic. But there is a lot of unspoken messaging that goes on when people describe schools, and - for some people - discussion of "traditional" means more about the absence of certain features than the presence of them.

[Anonymous]

Well, someone must apply to GDS and Sidwell, since they have an overwhelming number of applicants for each slot!

My impression is that it does not have to do (much) with liberal vs. conservative social values or views of gays/lesbians. I do think it has to do with what one thinks of as the optimal learning environment for young children - not the first name stuff, but the level of structure in the school. GDS is relatively unstructured, Beauvoir quite structured, and Sidwell somewhere in the middle.

[Anonymous]

I do think it has to do with what one thinks of as the optimal learning environment for young children - not the first name stuff, but the level of structure in the school. GDS is relatively unstructured, Beauvoir quite structured, and Sidwell somewhere in the middle.

I agree that this is a big factor, and a it begs another question -- what sorts of people seek a very structured environment for young children? what sorts of people seek a very relaxed environment for young children? generally speaking.

I'm not so sure that the answer to this question rests exclusively on the characteristics of a given child. of course in SOME cases the respondent will be thinking exclusively of the child's learning style and temperament.

however in my anecdotal experience, the question has as much to do with a parent's worldview as anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I do think it has to do with what one thinks of as the optimal learning environment for young children - not the first name stuff, but the level of structure in the school. GDS is relatively unstructured, Beauvoir quite structured, and Sidwell somewhere in the middle.

I agree that this is a big factor, and a it begs another question -- what sorts of people seek a very structured environment for young children? what sorts of people seek a very relaxed environment for young children? generally speaking.

I'm not so sure that the answer to this question rests exclusively on the characteristics of a given child. of course in SOME cases the respondent will be thinking exclusively of the child's learning style and temperament.

however in my anecdotal experience, the question has as much to do with a parent's worldview as anything.

PP here. I absolutely agree that there is a correlation between worldview and how you evaluate educational environments. But, particularly in the relatively liberal DC area, my guess is that the range is from quite liberal to middle-of-the-road, with only a sprinkling of truly conservative parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking in gross generalizations, people who only apply to Beauvior and not to Sidwell or GDS tend to do so because of their politically conservative perspective on social issues. In particular, they are frequently people who are uncomfortable with their children being "exposed" to the reality of the existence of lesbian and gay people in the world.

GDS and Sidwell do active outreach to families headed by lesbian and gay parents and address issues of different family structures and other forms of diversity within their communities.

The discussions about whether or not children call their teachers by their first names or address them as Mr. or Ms. and whether or not curriculum is "traditional" are, imho, coded language for their desire for their children to be in an environment with people who they believe will share their social and political perspective.

However, Beauvior does have politically and socially progressive families - and it even has families headed by lesbian and gay parents.

No disrespect, but that is truly one of the most absurd things I have ever heard on DCUM, which is saying a lot. My closest friend in the world is a lesbian mother, my husband and I have no issues with gay people, but we prefer a school where students don't call teachers by their first names. What in the world does one thing have to do with the other?! Kooky to think they are in any way related, IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking in gross generalizations, people who only apply to Beauvior and not to Sidwell or GDS tend to do so because of their politically conservative perspective on social issues. In particular, they are frequently people who are uncomfortable with their children being "exposed" to the reality of the existence of lesbian and gay people in the world.

GDS and Sidwell do active outreach to families headed by lesbian and gay parents and address issues of different family structures and other forms of diversity within their communities.

The discussions about whether or not children call their teachers by their first names or address them as Mr. or Ms. and whether or not curriculum is "traditional" are, imho, coded language for their desire for their children to be in an environment with people who they believe will share their social and political perspective.

However, Beauvior does have politically and socially progressive families - and it even has families headed by lesbian and gay parents.

I'm an AA single mom, my son is a Beauvoir alum. GDS was suggested as a perfect fit for my son and family. I toured it and met with the AD. I found GDS to be a lovely school, just not for my son. The structure of it just wouldn't work. I witnessed kids running and yelling down hallways, lying on the floor doing their work, etc. I'm by no means traditional/conservative in view or lifestyle. Our family has many Gay and Lesbian friends and we're socially conscious. The other school families that we were closest with had similar views regarding GDS' structure after touring. The school is just not a great fit for all children. My decision to pull my son's app had nothing to do with protecting him from Gays and Lesbians.

Here, here. We did not apply to Beauvoir because the school would probably not be a good fit for our family. We preferred a more holistic progressive environment offered by GDS. But I really have to laugh that B/voir parents have a "...politically conservative perspective on social issues. In particular, they are frequently people who are uncomfortable with their children being "exposed" to the reality of the existence of lesbian and gay people in the world." I know a fair number of Beauvoir parents who do not fit this profile. Some are alums, so they want their kids to attend. Others prefer a more formal learning environment for their kids. If I had my druthers, I would prefer my DC at GDS refer to teachers by Ms/Mr Surname, but I understand the historical antecedents for using first names, so I am fine with that.

I don't think the early poster's comments were gross generalizations; I think they were basically inaccurate.

[Anonymous]

GDS had 15 slots for Pre-K and Sidwell had less than that, if any. Beauvoir had 60 slots for Pre-K. We applied to GDS and Beauvoir. W/l @ GDS and accepted to Beauvoir. We knew going in that our chances @ GDS were slim to none. After touring and meeting some of the staff at GDS, we applied but didn't feel it would be a good fit for our family after really looking at the school. Great school, just not the place for us. My biggest beef is with kids calling teachers by their first name. I have no problems with it for other people but that is just one hurdle that I can not get my old-fashioned self over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GDS had 15 slots for Pre-K and Sidwell had less than that, if any. Beauvoir had 60 slots for Pre-K. We applied to GDS and Beauvoir. W/l @ GDS and accepted to Beauvoir. We knew going in that our chances @ GDS were slim to none. After touring and meeting some of the staff at GDS, we applied but didn't feel it would be a good fit for our family after really looking at the school. Great school, just not the place for us. My biggest beef is with kids calling teachers by their first name. I have no problems with it for other people but that is just one hurdle that I can not get my old-fashioned self over.

Me too: the first name calling, No. Besides my problem with it, my ds wouldn't feel comfortable addressing his teachers as Sue or Paul. Way too informal. Then, my other issue: I was bumped twice during the tour by children who were yelling and running loose through the halls. The faculty who noticed didn't say a word or flinch. My gut reaction was that it wasn't a good fit for us.

[Anonymous]

11:53 here... it seems that kids today are a little less respectful and more entitled. As parents try more reasoning and responsive discipline, it seems that boundaries just don't exist for children and they have a hard time accepting the word NO. What does this have to do with kids calling teachers by their first names? The correlation, at least for me, is that a child should not address an adult in that manner. It just seems disrespectful, to me. As another PP stated, I understand the historic implications of using first names but a child calling Peter Barrett or President Obama or Senator McCain, Peter, Barack or John just doesn't sit well with me. Not passing judgement on others who are ok with it, it's just one of those things that I can't get past.

That said... I don't think my kid would have been worst for the wear at GDS. It is a great, academically rigourous school.