Can't decide whether to stay in Einstein/downcounty zoning or move

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Do you think girls in Bethesda and Potomac don't get pregnant?

Of course not, PP. They go to "boarding school" for 9 months.

No, they don't - they get abortions. Because they weren't trying to get pregnant in the first place. The trying to get pregnant part of those girls' story was the saddest part to me. If Blair is an environment where some girls, no matter where they come from, don't think they can do any better than trying to get pregnant at 14 to keep their 9th grade boyfriend around forever so they can live happily ever after - wow.

This story should not paint all of Blair with the same brush any more than the lacrosse murder should paint all of Landon with the same brush. Kids (and families) with poor judgement exist at all high schools. The consequences of their poor judgement are just different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do you think girls in Bethesda and Potomac don't get pregnant?

Of course not, PP. They go to "boarding school" for 9 months.

No, they don't - they get abortions. Because they weren't trying to get pregnant in the first place. The trying to get pregnant part of those girls' story was the saddest part to me. If Blair is an environment where some girls, no matter where they come from, don't think they can do any better than trying to get pregnant at 14 to keep their 9th grade boyfriend around forever so they can live happily ever after - wow.

This story should not paint all of Blair with the same brush any more than the lacrosse murder should paint all of Landon with the same brush. Kids (and families) with poor judgement exist at all high schools. The consequences of their poor judgement are just different.

Yes, this. If I spent my life trying to keep my kids out of environments where people make stupid choices, and bad stuff happens, I'd have to homeschool and never go anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Mom from the Einstein district ... my kid is still young, but I have met many of the Sligo MS and Einstein kids in our neighborhood...all very lovely, involved, interesting kids. The one girl plays three seasons of sports, another kid does the Einstein theater. When my daughter is their age, I want her to hang out with kids like them.

We too share some concerns about Einstein's safety because of the gun incident last year, but are not sure if it is merely rumors/snobbery. I would actually like to hear from Sligo and Einstein parents about the safety of those schools.

At least my kid won't be in school with kids whose parents are trying to force them to read at age one so they won't get behind.

[Anonymous]

Same situation as original poster here - we are zoned for Oakland Terrance / Sligo MS / Einstein and have two young ones 3 & 1. I think you need to take many variables into consideration when making a move - I will say for us if it was more financially viable right now we would be moving - although there are so many things we absolutely love about our house in 4 corners we would love to have something bigger and move into a area where the schools are not such a topic of conversation (probably Olney). Given our current situation I think we have come to the conclusion that we are very comfortable up until Middle School - as we move closer to that time we will reevaluate the middle school situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the post, PP. It's a great reminder that we can all get caught up in amorphous fears. And you're right -- I know lots of kids in my neighborhood who've done really well and gone on to good colleges, etc.

I love Silver Spring too, and every time I think about leaving it, I realize how much I would miss.

(Contrast this with a neighbor who moved to Somerset ES area from SS when his girls were 7 and 9. I've recently found out that one fell into a bad crowd, did poorly in school and is now at Montgomery College. The other one went to Towson. So all that money and effort and no Ivy League school!)

OMG the shame! Imagine going to local community college and University. What Losers? is that what you are saying?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the post, PP. It's a great reminder that we can all get caught up in amorphous fears. And you're right -- I know lots of kids in my neighborhood who've done really well and gone on to good colleges, etc.

I love Silver Spring too, and every time I think about leaving it, I realize how much I would miss.

(Contrast this with a neighbor who moved to Somerset ES area from SS when his girls were 7 and 9. I've recently found out that one fell into a bad crowd, did poorly in school and is now at Montgomery College. The other one went to Towson. So all that money and effort and no Ivy League school!)

OMG the shame! Imagine going to local community college and University. What Losers? is that what you are saying?

I think her point is that moving to a "good" school district doesn't guarantee that your kids will get into top schools.

[Anonymous]

Compare:

Anonymous wrote:What about the emotional and psychological stress of being an average student in an academic pressure cooker like Whitman or Churchill? ( silly assumption that there are any average students in Bethesda or Potomac, I know). What about the social pressures of not having the $300 jeans, car on your 16th birthday, fancy vacations and private pool membership because your parents spend every cent on the mortgage on the shoebox they could afford in the fancy school districts? What about the life skills you don't learn when you grow up in an environment where everyone is from the same ethnic and socioeconomic background?

With:

"I know enough Einstein families not to be concerned about safety. RE: motivated/qualified peers, my kids have plenty now (as do my neighbors' kids). I understand there is a demographic of unmotivated kids at many Downcounty schools who come from families with social and other issues which make it difficult for those kids to learn. It does not bother me that my kids are exposed to those kids - in fact, I think it is a good thing, because throughout their lives they will need to learn to get along with people who are vastly different from them. As my friend whose children graduated from Blair (and who went on to top-20 schools - all three of them) said, "my kids can talk to, and get along with ANYONE."

Do I worry that my kids will be dragged down by that demographic (is that what you are asking?)? No, I don't. They travel in their own demographic, and are motivated by what they live at home, and by their like-minded peers at school."

I think I fall more in the camp of sending my child to a school where the majority of his peers are expected to go to college. Perhaps there is peer pressure at "the Ws", but there is peer pressure at the other end of the spectrum as well. If your kids "travel in their own demographic" and are motivated by home life and like-minded peers, great! But then your child would do just fine in either setting. I am concerned that my child will not want to "stand out from the crowd" and will dumb himself down so as not to be picked on. And yes my kid attends elementary school downcounty. Personally, I think it is better not to be the smartest kid in the class. Learning how to deal with challenge and answering questions when you are not 100% certain of the answers is an important skill to learn as well.