Landon article from 7/1/10 Washington Post

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Instead of everyone continuing to bash Landon, why don't you demonstrate your intelligence and offer some rational thoughts to provide a solution. Landon def. has some problems, kids make stupid mistakes, and yes the Landon school tends to make the front page news more than other schools. This past Winter, several Georgetown Prep juniors were caught smoking pot on campus in the dorms, some were lacrosse players - why wasn't that in the Post.

The solution to Landon’s problems are not that difficult solve.

1. Admit that they have a problem.

2. Commit to correcting their institutional problems.

3. Require all teachers to be licensed to teach. Untrained teachers generally do not understand developmental childhood psychology and development. Innately, some will, but most will not. Without broad spectrum professional standards a small cadre of administrators and board members are able to dictate professional norms that don’t exist in the real world. The result is that too much power is concentrated in the hands of too few individuals. At present the administrators and the board are able to change the position of the goal posts on any whim to serve their own purposes.

4. Be honest, equal, and fair.

5. The adults have to take control and institute a zero tolerance policy on any level of abuse.

6. Eliminate the concept of intolerance from the honor code. It is fine to have an honor code, but the idea of empowering children to
enforce such a code is wholly impractical. Landon students are children and they are not mature enough to enforce these rules in a
fair and balanced way. The honor code at present is abused an ineffective. It is used to target certain students while popular students
always seem to get a pass. On a daily basis the students use it to berate and humiliate weaker and vulnerable students. Also, on an
institutional level administrators are able to use it to harass individuals using the “big lie” claiming that it is the will of the students.

7. Stop procrastinating and making excuses. The current situation can’t be good for anyone.

[Anonymous]

Great post!

[Anonymous]

11:59 is off base on #3 and #6

#3 some of my son's best education and developmental experiences were with teachers with non-traditional teaching backgrounds. His most important transformative experience was with a relative young female teacher.

#6 if an honor system is student run with no adminsitrative controls, you might be right. Indeed, the same charges could be made of UVA's honor system which is entirely student run. However, the administration provides checks and balances.

[Anonymous]

#3 is dumb. Our school has great teachers that are not certified. The rest of 11:59's post is on target.

[Anonymous]

I agree with a lot of what is being said however all Landon students (or cars with stickers) should not be blamed. Landon folks need to stop blaming the Wash Post, Washingtonian Mag, NYT, upset parents, minorities, Santa and Elvis for all of the problems at the school. There are real problems that need to be adressed and the time for excuses is over. The article could have been a lot worse especially when it comes to race relations at the school. Landon is run by stubborn men from the 1950's. The current head was brought in to bring the school back to the glory years of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. The previous head was removed because he promoted the value of students of color, the arts and strong academics. The Good Old Boy network came back into power with the current head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't it interesting that the girls can be evaluated in a sexual way and listed on a website, but the slampigs can't be outted by name??

Please, introduce yourself...

[Anonymous]

16:22 the previous head was removed because he ran the school financially into the ground. He took very little interest in the students and rarely knew that many by name. DA knows every single child by name at the school. He regularly brings groups of boys in for lunch and ping pong to get to know them on a personal level. This was never done by the previous head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:18:02 The article clearly states that the chairman recused himself from the decision making process with respect to the issues raised around his son's conduct. Conflicts of interest are pervasive in life. It is not the existence of them but how individuals and institutions deal with this. It seems clear to me that Landon has elected to have a single authorized spokesman on these issues.

Apparently he wasn't the only Board member with a conflict of interest!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bottom line: their governance structure is a joke. No board should be that involved in day to day school affairs, far less a board that is overwhelmingly male and stacked with alums.

How about a Board with boys currently in school? That is the reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Is anyone else reading these posts reminded about teachings of the atmosphere in Germany towards another group of people? The actions of many related to the school are and have been horrible however, to use a broad brush is...bigotry. No? PP, what makes you think the parents of those three boys want their children to be associated with a bigot? Maybe if you get the chance to know one another better you may find they do not like you nor your daughter because of your intolerance and bigotry. Good luck with that.


My daughter has been friends with three Landon boys for the last year. I didn't give it much thought but it's just so hard to ignore all the issues around the school. I completely realize I can't try to set limits on her friendships, but still, I find that my view of those boys is deeply affected by all I hear. The truth is I don' trust them and don't want them around but there is nothing I can do but keep smiling and hope that they are friendly as they appear.


07/01/2010 20:06 Subject: Landon article from 7/1/10 Washington Post
Anonymous



What a sad post. You would really judge 700 kids based on the actions of a few? What about the hundreds of great kids that go there that are now having the endure this nonsense? None of which they created or deserved. Not fair to THEM.

``Fair to THEM''? What about being fair to the girls who got dragged through the mud - or worse - by Landon and their alumni. I couldn't think of a bigger warning sign about character than a boy wearing a Landon School shirt or seeing a Landon Bears sticker on a car. I think the school should be closed

[Anonymous]

Wow, really? People who want their daughters to avoid Landon boys are now tantamount to the NAZIS? Good grief. I don't agree that all Landon boys should be seen as suspect, but PP's metaphor is breathtaking (in the Seinfeldian sense, for those who remember the episode).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11:59 is off base on #3 and #6

#3 some of my son's best education and developmental experiences were with teachers with non-traditional teaching backgrounds. His most important transformative experience was with a relative young female teacher.

#6 if an honor system is student run with no adminsitrative controls, you might be right. Indeed, the same charges could be made of UVA's honor system which is entirely student run. However, the administration provides checks and balances.

Okay, then fine maintain the status quo if you feel it is working so well. However, # 3 is a commentary on the isolated nature of how Landon is operated and how its faculty, staff, students and parents can so easily be manipulated by a tiny cadre of leaders. The reason being that there are no national standards and all of their employees are hired and fired at will making them all vulnerable to intimidation and dismissal. Sure, there are many fine teachers at Landon, but the system is still fatally flawed and will remain so until it is changed.

#6 The honor code is a colossal failure because twelve and thirteen year olds are being taught not to tolerate their peers for real or imagined offenses. This is an unfair and destructive burden to place on such young children. It creates witch hunts like those written about in the Crucible or or brutal power structures like those written about in the Lord or the Flies.

If you think the present day policies at Landon are fine and of you are comfortable with twelve and thirteen year old boys patrolling the school for what they perceive as honor code violations, then fine. But please, encourage the boys to be prudent with their witch hunts. Also, let them know that popularity can be a very fickle and fleeting thing and that karma is a very powerful force.

Ironically, the victims of Landon's brutal policies in the long run will be fine. They will move on to schools where they will be accepted and in all likelihood they will thrive. Not only will they thrive, but they will also be better people for having had a Landon experience. After being ridiculed day after day at Landon and feeling hated and desperate those individuals will never again in their lives think of kindness and grace as an entitlement. After being denied kindness and grace for such a long period of time at Landon, these young men appreciate kindness and gentility more than they ever would have imagined before their Landon experiences.

Hopefully, the same will be true for the boys who are able to develop the skills required to survive those long years at Landon and eventually graduate.

BTW, the comparison to the UVA honor code is a red herring and it is completely erroneous. This discussion is about Landon and not about UVA and the students at UVA are legally adults not tweens and early teens facing the most confusing years in any person's life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/30/AR2010063005210.html?wprss=rss_education

and now to the comment section on the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/30/AR2010063005210_Comments.html


My statement is WHO had the courage to challenge Huguely and others of his ilk? Who and how many broke the BRO code and actually did something to stop the negative behavior? I have a DD and am proud to announce that some did/do have the courage and strength to break from the pack. Why didn't the cowardly pieces of dirt at UVA help her?


"landon08 wrote:


..... your individual choices...."

[Anonymous]

Wanted to chime in as well. Agree with others some of the best teachers your kids will have will be people who took a nontraditional path to the classroom and aren't licensed, but believe me ARE qualified. I say this from my own experience with outstanding teachers and from the experience of my children.

I do think Landon has a history of not admiting problems and hopefully that will change so they can make changes and move forward.

[Anonymous]

Landon may not be perfect, but the media is focusing on anything that leads into the assumption that landon is linked to privilege, and privilege is linked to entitlement and that landon kids are just a bunch of rich kids leading entitled lives.

I probably would have thought that too if I were not on the outside.

Landon is full of compassionate, giving, caring families and kids. Not all of them are rich and/or entitled.
Landon lacrosse kids and families are not monsters, there are a lot of