Why do people dislike the Big Three?

[Anonymous]

OP So where is your daughter?

[Anonymous]

NCS, I believe.

[Anonymous]

Maybe the answer to why people "dislike" these schools is that what is portrayed as information on this board is just unchallenged stereotyping, uninformed impressionistic opinion, and either/or, zero sum thinking.

One small example: 8:08 said: "So what if I don't want the big white mansion on the hill or a smallish school with middle-of-the-road athletics (Maret)." Maret's main building has a long history and is the subject of a recently published book, much of which was researched by the high school students themselves. And the school's athletics are competive with and often superior to GDS and Sidwell. Sure, maybe not what you want, but there IS good there!

Here's a subversive thought: maybe they're ALL good!

[Anonymous]

Obviious but true: This are lots of first-impressionistic, never mind inaccurate, posts in these threads. And a lot of opinion. So we're bound to disagree, whether that opinion is based in fact or something else!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the answer to why people "dislike" these schools is that what is portrayed as information on this board is just unchallenged stereotyping, uninformed impressionistic opinion, and either/or, zero sum thinking.

One small example: 8:08 said: "So what if I don't want the big white mansion on the hill or a smallish school with middle-of-the-road athletics (Maret)." Maret's main building has a long history and is the subject of a recently published book, much of which was researched by the high school students themselves. And the school's athletics are competive with and often superior to GDS and Sidwell. Sure, maybe not what you want, but there IS good there!

Here's a subversive thought: maybe they're ALL good!

Did you miss the point of the rest of the post? No one said Maret wasn't a good school. The point was that regardless of how superior anyone thinks a particular school is, it may not be "good" for every student. Who cares about the history of Maret's building.

[Anonymous]

So is the bottom line that we hate the TERM "Big Three", we don't hate the SCHOOLS themselves?

* Big -- a loaded word that implies that everybody else is smaller (and worse, smaller in some way that nobody here can even identify, because it doesn't seem to be academic and most posters seem to agree that few if any of these schools are even known outside of DC)
* Three -- there are more than three terrific schools in the area, as even the admittedly obscure post about Maret seems to be saying.

So let's use something else.

[Anonymous]

The people using the term hate/resent the schools. There's no reason to have a collective term anyway -- the three (actually 5) schools in question don't have anything in common that is exclusive to that limited group anyway.

Refer to particular schools by name. Refer to categories of schools by category (e.g. hard-to-get-into, affluent, progressive, single-sex, networky, secular, academically rigorous depending on the point you're making) and provide examples if need be (schools like X) and then let people construct the rest of the list in whatever way makes sense to them.

[Anonymous]

I got curious and ran a search on DCUM for all posts that use the phrase "big 3" or "big three". After reviewing several of them, I noticed that most of the posts using those terms are NOT from parents with children at those schools. Some posts are, but pretty clearly a minority. In fact, most of the posts using "big 3" seem to come from ...

(1) people complaining about the term itself and others responding,

(2) people asking admissions questions ("what WISC score does my child need to get into a big 3 school?"), and

(3) people talking about other good schools but noting where their children were offered admission ("my DD got accepted at a big 3 school, but we turned it down to go to WIS").

It seems like those who claim that "big 3 parents" are the ones who push the term are off-base -- it's other people who are using the term. (BTW, I do NOT have a child at any of those schools, so don't bother accusing me of bias.) I think 09:02 has the best idea -- just use the particular school names to avoid confusion. Also, avoiding the term "big 3" will prevent all those people who hate the term from re-hashing this same tired discussion that has appeared on DCUM over a dozen times.

In case anyone is interested, here is a link to the search results:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=&as_epq=&as_oq=%22big+3%22+%22big+three%22&as_eq=&num=100&lr=&as_filetype=&ft=i&as_sitesearch=dcurbanmom.com&as_qdr=all&as_rights=&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&safe=images

[Anonymous]

The Big three as some of you seem to refer to these schools as are the best schools in DC. They not only offer the best overall education but they also offer a prestige that is invaluable to the child and the parent during the child's education and beyond. Schools like STA and Sidwell give your child a leg up in the world because of their reputation and alumni networks. Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Big three as some of you seem to refer to these schools as are the best schools in DC. They not only offer the best overall education but they also offer a prestige that is invaluable to the child and the parent during the child's education and beyond. Schools like STA and Sidwell give your child a leg up in the world because of their reputation and alumni networks. Thanks

One of two things regarding this post:

1-You wanted to full the fire under this forum again by saying something so utterly ridiculous, or

2-You are so pathetic to believe something so ridiculous.

As you put it, the "best education overall" is subjective. While Sidwell may be the best for you, it may not be the best for someone else's child. You can't tell me that a child that barely passes at Sidwell is going to be so much better off than someone, who say, went to WIS and graduates w/full honors, just because they went to Sidwell. That's a load of crap. And, are you so pathetic that you must seek pretige through what school your child goes to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Big three as some of you seem to refer to these schools as are the best schools in DC. They not only offer the best overall education but they also offer a prestige that is invaluable to the child and the parent during the child's education and beyond. Schools like STA and Sidwell give your child a leg up in the world because of their reputation and alumni networks. Thanks

One of two things regarding this post:

1-You wanted to full the fire under this forum again by saying something so utterly ridiculous, or

2-You are so pathetic to believe something so ridiculous.

As you put it, the "best education overall" is subjective. While Sidwell may be the best for you, it may not be the best for someone else's child. You can't tell me that a child that barely passes at Sidwell is going to be so much better off than someone, who say, went to WIS and graduates w/full honors, just because they went to Sidwell. That's a load of crap. And, are you so pathetic that you must seek pretige through what school your child goes to?

Sorry, I meant to say "fuel the fire", not "full the fire".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Big three as some of you seem to refer to these schools as are the best schools in DC.

Put down the martini, sister. You've had enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[

As you put it, the "best education overall" is subjective. While Sidwell may be the best for you, it may not be the best for someone else's child. You can't tell me that a child that barely passes at Sidwell is going to be so much better off than someone, who say, went to WIS and graduates w/full honors, just because they went to Sidwell. That's a load of crap. And, are you so pathetic that you must seek pretige through what school your child goes to?

I think that in your WIS v Sidwell analogy there is some confusion here about what is meant by "best education." Look, if your kid is struggling, he might do better by going to Montgomery College and doing relatively well then going to Harvard and being unable to keep up. But very few people would argue that Montgomery College is a better university than Harvard, or that Montgomery College is the place to go for people who can handle the pace at Harvard. So sure, schools like Sidwell are not for everyone --- kids get counseled out of schools like that for lack of fit --- but they are the places to aspire to for many. (And before you ask, my kids don't go Sidwell.)

[Anonymous]

I can't imagine why anyone would compare WIS to Sidwell, implying that somehow the child at Sidwell is receiving a superior education. Both schools have a reputation, deserved or not, for being academically intense. And as far as I can tell, WIS offers all of the important things that Sidwell does, but WIS kids learn/accomplish these things in 2-4 languages instead of just 1.

[Anonymous]

20:52, why do you assume that the PP is a Sidwell parent? I'd be very surprised if he/she is; most of the Sidwell parents I know, including DH and myself, like the school very much for our own children, but don't believe it's some golden ticket as PP does. Nor do we believe it's an educational nirvana -- just what works best for our kids. My guess is that a lot of the overblown rhetoric about "the Big 3" on this board comes from wanna-bees.