Norwood: What do you love? Not Love?

[Anonymous]

We love that Norwood embraces the whole child and puts equal emphasis on the mind (academics), body (sports) and spirit (character). You will find Norwood graduates at some of the top high schools in the area (TJ, Sidwell, St Albans, Holton, NCS etc.) It is a wonderful community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, just wow, 14:57. Do you realize the damage you do to the reputation of the school with your sledgehammer, mean girl ,posture is worse than any legitimate concern over social climate?

I did not make the comment, but I am sure that readers will understand that some people are more extreme in their views than others.

[Anonymous]

OP, I wish the school was more open to the public and less "private". This may be true for all the private schools, but I wish there was a way that the school could do more with public schools like sports meets and so on.

I also wish that there was more interaction from the head of school. He is nice, but as someone pointed out, reclusive.

More diversity. In every way. I wish there were more Hispanics and Asians and African Americans. More international people too.


More buses.

LOVE the arts and music.
Love the teachers.
Love the campus.
Love the positive atmosphere.

[Anonymous]

Not a Norwood parent -- full disclosure here -- but if you have a DD who is shy about being in the top math group just because she is a girl ... well, that goes beyond what the school is teaching and gets into what the parents are buying into. I have an 8-year old DD, and there isn't anyone who is going to stop her from achieving what she wants. Don't buy in to the culture to the extent it assumes that all mathematicians must be male.

[Anonymous]

I am one of the posters who posted about the anti-intellectual climate. I wonder why so many Norwood parents are set off by this comment? Why is it not possible to have a complaint about the school, while also embracing many other aspects of the school and culture?? No school is perfect and while I wish that there was a greater intellectual feel (which I do think are more present at other K-8 schools like St. Pats) there are so many other things that make us very happy with Norwood. IMO it reeks of defensiveness and insincerity when parents cannot honestly discuss the facets they both like and dislike about their child's school.

[Anonymous]

I have posted about what I like (many) and dislike (few) about Norwood and have not said anything yet about the so called "anti-intellectual" environment in Norwood.

But I would like to respond to this latest post. There is nothing defensive or insincere about the parents who disagree with your view of Norwood. Like them, I do not see the Norwood you describe.

For one, we see parents and a school community who are highly committed to their children's education, who encourage creative thinking and who motivate their children to excel. If my daughter were to get into the top Math group, I would be 110% behind her all the way.

Second, like some previous posters had said, you do not have to be an academic to be "intellectual" or to imbue a sense of wonder in your children about nature, science, mathematics, philosophy and the universe. I happen to have a PhD, but so what? Does that make me more intellectual and capable of educating my children than my husband who does not have one? Many leaders of science and commerce in this world came from parents who were not academics. In fact, I find this line of argument bizarre and lacking in logic.

I feel fortunate that we are able to afford the kind of education that Norwood can provide to our children.

[Anonymous]

I raised anti-intellectual first. As I tried to say before, this has nothing to do with what the parents do, whether they use big words, whether they have a PhD, or even what they wear. It is what they seek as high priorities for their kids, e.g., latest cell phones, cutest clothes, best sports teams vs. nurturing learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am one of the posters who posted about the anti-intellectual climate. I wonder why so many Norwood parents are set off by this comment? Why is it not possible to have a complaint about the school, while also embracing many other aspects of the school and culture?? No school is perfect and while I wish that there was a greater intellectual feel (which I do think are more present at other K-8 schools like St. Pats) there are so many other things that make us very happy with Norwood. IMO it reeks of defensiveness and insincerity when parents cannot honestly discuss the facets they both like and dislike about their child's school.

Agree, and I am also a Norwood parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am one of the posters who posted about the anti-intellectual climate. I wonder why so many Norwood parents are set off by this comment? Why is it not possible to have a complaint about the school, while also embracing many other aspects of the school and culture?? No school is perfect and while I wish that there was a greater intellectual feel (which I do think are more present at other K-8 schools like St. Pats) there are so many other things that make us very happy with Norwood. IMO it reeks of defensiveness and insincerity when parents cannot honestly discuss the facets they both like and dislike about their child's school.

I think people have been put off by the reluctance of some posters to entertain the notion that their experience is not *the* experience of the school. Parents have been open about discussing other things that they like and dislike about the school, but in most cases, they have been relatively modest in their claims. The people who have not seen bullying do not maintain that it does not exist. The people who have seen it do not claim that it is everywhere and accuse those whose experience is different with defensiveness or insincerity.

The vagueness of the concept of "intellectual feel" also provokes questions and frustration. You may feel that it's obvious--"you know it when you see it." But what you and I see can be very different while representing equally accurate perceptions of our children's experience. We may also mean very different things by intellectual or anti-intellectual. I am such an intellectual snob I can barely see the rest of the world over the tip of my upturned nose! And yet I feel that Norwood provides a very healthy balance of academics, arts, social development, and even sports. It is true that this is not a school that concentrates on academic subjects to the exclusion of all else. If that is your definition of intellectual, I understand your complaint. But I do not feel, based on my family's experience, that it is a school that denigrates knowledge for the sake of knowledge or regards curiosity as impractical or marginalizes smart students or trims academic standards to promote athletic or other goals.

If the focus of your (and others’) complaints is not the school but the parent community, then I am in somewhat greater agreement. We have not met all that many geek parents, and I suspect that I would feel more at home in MCPS. But the fault here lies in my own social limitations. In any case, I see this as a relatively unimportant aspect of the school.

[Anonymous]

I love the school, but I am fully aware that it is not the place to discuss the development of communist parties in pre war Eastern Europe. That I save for another crowd. However, it is not as if the school will not take on tough academic subjects, they don't care what the parents know or don't know.
WRT academics at the school, I am not overly impressed with the people in charge of academic development and curriculum. They sometimes seem afraid of pushing kids too hard, maybe they have their reasons. I wish that some of them would get out more and take a tour of other schools. (Likewise, other schools might want to take a peek at Norwood to see how the school does so many things so well).
The school also needs to do some more assessment of their graduates, maybe 3 years out to find out how they are doing. I have a feeling that few private schools do THOROUGH follow-ups. They might hear back from the enthusiastic families which may be biased. BTW, I am not sure whether Norwood does these follow-ups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also wish that there was more interaction from the head of school. He is nice, but as someone pointed out, reclusive.

Walk up to him at any school event, introduce yourself, and start talking! It can feel difficult at times because he's not the kind of person who immediately puts you at ease by taking charge of the conversation, but he is very nice and I think he does want to hear from parents.

Anonymous wrote:More diversity. In every way. I wish there were more Hispanics and Asians and African Americans. More international people too.

It's my impression that the school has become more successful at attracting African-American famlies in the last few years, at least in the lower grades. At one of the opening day workshops this year, we were told that 29% of the student body is "diverse." (Sorry, I know it's a terrible use of the word, but I can't remember the exact language used.) However, as at all schools I suspect there is some reaching involved in the counting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am one of the posters who posted about the anti-intellectual climate. I wonder why so many Norwood parents are set off by this comment? Why is it not possible to have a complaint about the school, while also embracing many other aspects of the school and culture?? No school is perfect and while I wish that there was a greater intellectual feel (which I do think are more present at other K-8 schools like St. Pats) there are so many other things that make us very happy with Norwood. IMO it reeks of defensiveness and insincerity when parents cannot honestly discuss the facets they both like and dislike about their child's school.

I think people have been put off by the reluctance of some posters to entertain the notion that their experience is not *the* experience of the school. Parents have been open about discussing other things that they like and dislike about the school, but in most cases, they have been relatively modest in their claims. The people who have not seen bullying do not maintain that it does not exist. The people who have seen it do not claim that it is everywhere and accuse those whose experience is different with defensiveness or insincerity.

The vagueness of the concept of "intellectual feel" also provokes questions and frustration. You may feel that it's obvious--"you know it when you see it." But what you and I see can be very different while representing equally accurate perceptions of our children's experience. We may also mean very different things by intellectual or anti-intellectual. I am such an intellectual snob I can barely see the rest of the world over the tip of my upturned nose! And yet I feel that Norwood provides a very healthy balance of academics, arts, social development, and even sports. It is true that this is not a school that concentrates on academic subjects to the exclusion of all else. If that is your definition of intellectual, I understand your complaint. But I do not feel, based on my family's experience, that it is a school that denigrates knowledge for the sake of knowledge or regards curiosity as impractical or marginalizes smart students or trims academic standards to promote athletic or other goals.

If the focus of your (and others’) complaints is not the school but the parent community, then I am in somewhat greater agreement. We have not met all that many geek parents, and I suspect that I would feel more at home in MCPS. But the fault here lies in my own social limitations. In any case, I see this as a relatively unimportant aspect of the school.

I agree fully here. Keep in mind that these are children, and balance matters. They NEED to run and play, they NEED to paint and scribble, they NEED to sing.
Childhood is way too short. It is best to savor it.
We can read War and Peace later.
The bottom line is that the mothers can look like an academy awards parade. They spend the time (and money) on the details, and they look good, but that is not where my priorities are. I am at an age where I am comfortable with myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I wish the school was more open to the public and less "private". This may be true for all the private schools, but I wish there was a way that the school could do more with public schools like sports meets and so on.

Norwood recently joined Maret and St Patrick's in the Horizons Greater Washington program, which creates partnerships between private and public schools: http://www.horizonsgreaterwashington.org/

However, since it's a summer program, I'm not sure how visible it will be to the school community at large.

[Anonymous]

One more try at the anti-intellectual thing - I am a pp on this. The discussion is actually going well! Yes, balance does matter, and yes there are some great things that happen in the classroom, esp. in 7-8 grade, that are really moving kid to think. My view is that it is largely the parents. But parents can have a big impact on the culture of the school. A hypothetical example (not too far from some childrens' experience, as I understand it): parent A doesn't her kid X to play with kid Q because they are worried their kid X will feel badly. Parent A makes some remarks about how their kid Q will grow up to own kid X because smarts aren't all that matter; rather, well roundedness skills are more important (could be true, or not true). Kid Q then goes aftter kid X, feeling support from the parents that s/he should not value smart kid X. Etc., etc. It creates an atmostphere in the classroom that teachers may try to combat, but is prttty tough to combat in fact.

[Anonymous]

Sorry - the previous was not very clear, written in haste. "My view is that it is largely the parents." should read "my view is that the anti-intellectualism comes largely from the parents."