How is to not be Jewish at GDS?

[Anonymous]

Good teachers are strategic. They tend to push POVs they think aren't being well-articulated by the students so that alternative perspectives get taken into consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Individual accommodations rather than generalized reprieve.

Oh, yeah! Exams on December 25th sound good to me.

[Anonymous]

You're quoting out of context. That statement was a response to a question about how you handle religious holidays celebrated by only 1 or 2 kids in a class.

[Anonymous]

The school I was in was sensitive to religious holidays, but it was the duty of the students to keep track of it. I know one teacher who scheduled one-on-one presentations, and she did say that those who wanted the Jewish holidays could make an appointment for another time. One girl who celebrated it still had to come in on her holiday. She had not booked a time in advance and had left it till the last minute. There is an incredible number of religious holidays, and the teachers can only do so much.

[Anonymous]

The Jewish count at Sidwell is about the same as at GDS. But GDS requires Bar Mitzvahs of all incoming freshmen.

[Anonymous]

So, 14:51, GDS is all male?

[Anonymous]

The freshmen are men
The women are ladies

[Anonymous]

14:51 You are an idiot.

[Anonymous]

We are becoming more and more uncomfortable by the day. Today, our newish Head of School sent out his usual column, but this time with an explanation about the actual title of the column. There were some salient points which would resonate with any member of the GDS community. He could have stopped there. However he took the liberty of sharing a story about his rabbi grandfather’s life, complete with details about the grandfather’s Hebrew Union College diploma and temple newsletter column name…yes, now the name of the GDS column. The story would have best been told in person in a 1:1 dialogue. But, the context and forum in which it was told reminded me of just how Jewish GDS is becoming both in population and in thought. I wish he would leave his religion at the door. Unfortunately, we are thinking he was selected because of his religion. The Yiddish he spoke during the town hall meeting with the community held as part of the new head selection process was just a prelude.

[Anonymous]

Not Jewish, but loooooooove Russell. His religious upbringing clearly instilled him with a passion for social justice, which is what GDS is all about.

The GDS community is supposed to embrace diversity, not expect people to leave their differences "at the door." Russell was responding to that.

The Christian school he left to come to GDS was broken-hearted to lose him.

[Anonymous]

18:45, sorry you feel that way. I'm not Jewish, but appreciate how Russell really respects GDS' mission, even the parts that make folks flinch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are becoming more and more uncomfortable by the day. Today, our newish Head of School sent out his usual column, but this time with an explanation about the actual title of the column. There were some salient points which would resonate with any member of the GDS community. He could have stopped there. However he took the liberty of sharing a story about his rabbi grandfather’s life, complete with details about the grandfather’s Hebrew Union College diploma and temple newsletter column name…yes, now the name of the GDS column. The story would have best been told in person in a 1:1 dialogue. But, the context and forum in which it was told reminded me of just how Jewish GDS is becoming both in population and in thought. I wish he would leave his religion at the door. Unfortunately, we are thinking he was selected because of his religion. The Yiddish he spoke during the town hall meeting with the community held as part of the new head selection process was just a prelude.

Wow! I had thought this was sarcastic bc of the strong anti-semetic undercurrents but it seems this is a legit post. Thats really sad. Imagine if this was the same statement about an african-american...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:18:45, sorry you feel that way. I'm not Jewish, but appreciate how Russell really respects GDS' mission, even the parts that make folks flinch.

ITA. I'm also a GDS parent, I like that Russ walks the walk. He's not hiding where he's from, and neither should the children. The tone of the newsletter was very open and respectful. This is why we chose GDS, btw. We appreciate the school's approach to diversity.

[Anonymous]

I wish I could quote from the letter, but I'm not sure that would be ethical. RS talks about his grandfather as a leader, an early activist, who was involved in the Civil Rights and marched with Martin Luther King. There's nothing about Judaism in there.

But while I strongly disagree 18:45, I don't agree with 9:35 either. I don't think you can know that the poster is anti-semitic. Maybe she just doesn't like the idea of being a minority, or maybe she is a die-hard secularist who doesn't like religion creeping into her child's school. There are parents who feel this way about religion at Norwood, and they aren't anti-Christian.

[Anonymous]

PP here. I meant there was no religious content, not that he didn't refer to his grandfather's faith.