What's the Most Obnoxious Thing You've Heard a Parent Say at Your DC's Private School?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question, PP. How do you know that the child is on full FA?

Anonymous wrote:At a parents' dinner, a parent of a student who receives full FA said that her child detests the food in the dining hall. I thught her comment was offensive in the way that looking a gift horse in the mouth is.

Everyone knows her child is on full FA because she tells everyone so. To respond to the negative comments some of you have posted: First, I think it is impolite for anyone who is receiving a gift to criticize it. Second, I think it is also impolite to comment negatively on the food that eveyone at table is sharing, especially, as in this case, when the negative comment is made in response to someone else's praise of the food. Therefore, I would have found her comment annoying even if her son had not been receiving the food by the largesse of the school.

Right - so she was being impolite by criticizing the food in front of someone who had just praised it. That makes her someone with bad manners. The fact that her kid is on full FA has nothing to do with that.

No, her child's receiving the food as a gift from the school has everything to do with its being bad manners to criticize it.

So does it follow from that that the FA family cannot criticize anything about the school since their very presence there is a "gift" and "largesse"? And it further follows - let me make sure I understand - that they have to just accept everything the school provides, without comment, and without objecting to anything, even if they have issues with their child's education there? All because it is a "gift"?

Is that your view?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question, PP. How do you know that the child is on full FA?

Anonymous wrote:At a parents' dinner, a parent of a student who receives full FA said that her child detests the food in the dining hall. I thught her comment was offensive in the way that looking a gift horse in the mouth is.

Everyone knows her child is on full FA because she tells everyone so. To respond to the negative comments some of you have posted: First, I think it is impolite for anyone who is receiving a gift to criticize it. Second, I think it is also impolite to comment negatively on the food that eveyone at table is sharing, especially, as in this case, when the negative comment is made in response to someone else's praise of the food. Therefore, I would have found her comment annoying even if her son had not been receiving the food by the largesse of the school.

You are a loser of the highest order. You think she and her kid are second class citizens. They aren't. They have just as much right to criticize any aspect of the school as you do. Face it. You resent her being there. That's what comes out of your comment. Your jealous for some reason. Her child got there through merit. How'd yours get in? Lemme guess, do you vote GOP?

[Anonymous]

Thought I was doing a fellow parent's son a favor by telling the parent that my son had told me that hers was doing something at school that violated the honor code. The father, a lawyer, called me and I was astonished to find him in full lawyer mode. His first words to me was a question asked as if I were a witness under cross-examination:

"What is your son's exposure in this?"

This and the black squirrel - HILARIOUS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Thought I was doing a fellow parent's son a favor by telling the parent that my son had told me that hers was doing something at school that violated the honor code. The father, a lawyer, called me and I was astonished to find him in full lawyer mode. His first words to me was a question asked as if I were a witness under cross-examination:

"What is your son's exposure in this?"

This and the black squirrel - HILARIOUS!

My favorite is "equestrian opportunities."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Said another father to my husband while peeking at the inner label of his suit. "Two words. Brooks Brothers."

He wasn't joking.

what does that even mean??

[Anonymous]

Yeah I didn't get the Brooks Brothers thing either.

[Anonymous]

On 3rd grade son being rejected at the Potomac school "We would not have gone there anyway - the quality is not there - they let the kids in starting at K before you can tell if they have issues". (this woman's son now attends St. Albans). Yuck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question, PP. How do you know that the child is on full FA?

Anonymous wrote:At a parents' dinner, a parent of a student who receives full FA said that her child detests the food in the dining hall. I thught her comment was offensive in the way that looking a gift horse in the mouth is.

Everyone knows her child is on full FA because she tells everyone so. To respond to the negative comments some of you have posted: First, I think it is impolite for anyone who is receiving a gift to criticize it. Second, I think it is also impolite to comment negatively on the food that eveyone at table is sharing, especially, as in this case, when the negative comment is made in response to someone else's praise of the food. Therefore, I would have found her comment annoying even if her son had not been receiving the food by the largesse of the school.

Neither her or her child is receiving a ``gift.'' You view of the world is harsh and not very generous. I imagine you turning to the person next to you and saying. ``How dare she criticize the food, she's on financial aid.'' I imagine that person thinking you are a horrible little toad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Agree with 12:05 and 12:07.

Mine is pretty minor, but here it is:

My son became good friends with another boy at school, and one day I sent a friendly email to the boy's mother, asking whether he would like to come over for a playdate. I received a brisk, four-sentence response:

Thank you for your kind invitation. Unfortunately, ___ is not available on Friday. Perhaps we can find another time at some point the future. I will be in touch.

Translation: don't call me, I'll call you. Never heard from her again. Too bad - our sons really are great friends.

Wow! I have to say that I am fairly certain that the mom of my DD's first friend in preschool was not initially pleased that I was the counterpart, but she embraced the situation and, moreover, we've ended up becoming good friends over the years. Too bad that the mom of your son's friend is not able to take that risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine was not in a private school setting but at my 3 yr old son's soccer practice. He was taking the orange cones and instead of dribbling around them, placing them on his head and being goofy. Another little boy was watching him and then started to do it too (obviously he thought it was fun). I smiled at his mom and she gave me a curt smile back, but I later I saw her take her son aside and tell him that he shouldn't play with my son. I felt really sorry for her kid - our kids were having fun.

Oh my god! That is too much - they are three!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Giftedness is a diagnosis, it's not a component of ASD (although certainly there can be coexistence). If a child has either diagnosis, I expect that the parent would want to know how/whether the school will be accommodating.

I get the not asking in the group issue, but I'm still perplexed about the assumption that people who assert their children are 'gifted' are just bragging/lying.

Why perplexed? Any teacher, school head, or administrator cannot adequately answer the question in a group setting. Moreover, who defined the giftedness - is the DC a Davidson fellow, have a 99.9 WPPSI score, or just an early reader (which, BTW, is a predictor of nothing)? I attended a lot of open houses over the last couple of years and I just cracked up inside when parents asked such questions, e.g., my DC is reading, so we do not want DC in a K class where others are just learning letters? Both my DCs read before they started K, but I did not fret about whether they would be challenged. There is so much for kids to absorb in the early elementary years: my concern was much more about being overwhelmed, not underwhelmed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I didn't get the Brooks Brothers thing either.

Translation: JC Penney's does not cut it, you need to buy your suits at Brooks Brothers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Said another father to my husband while peeking at the inner label of his suit. "Two words. Brooks Brothers."

He wasn't joking.

what does that even mean??

Obviously was obnoxiously telling the poster's husband where to shop in order to dress better. (The label inside poster's husband's suit did not say, "Brooks Brothers.")

[Anonymous]

Going back to the original post -- it was what was not said. In K, my DS had a simply marvelous and insightful compliment about a somewhat unusual looking child of a DC political operative. When I passed on the compliment -- the mother stared at me blankly and said nothing. Wow. I was trying to be nice by passing on something pleasant about her child. Turned me off of the whole crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Said another father to my husband while peeking at the inner label of his suit. "Two words. Brooks Brothers."

He wasn't joking.

what does that even mean??

Obviously was obnoxiously telling the poster's husband where to shop in order to dress better. (The label inside poster's husband's suit did not say, "Brooks Brothers.")

So Wall Street, 1980's vintage. Oh I forgot. Maybe Wall Street 2008.