So, what is wrong with Hardy?

[Anonymous]

@ 1525: the last few comments about social insecurity and IB parents' reticence to send their kids to Hardy deserve to be in the conversation about "what is wrong with Hardy." Ironically, the best practical answer here is that there's NOTHING wrong with Hardy; rather, it is the frail self-image of social climbing parents that taints Ward 3's ability to have a fair conversation about the place.

[Anonymous]

so, i have no stake in hardy, but why call people social climbers because they try to get the best education that they can for their children.

this website never ceases to amaze.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:so, i have no stake in hardy, but why call people social climbers because they try to get the best education that they can for their children.

this website never ceases to amaze.

PP did not say social climbers. He/she said "frail self-image of social climbing parents" . Very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who think that the IB parent population shuns Hardy because there are too many OOB (code for AA) kids---I think the reality is more complicated. Hardy appears to me--a high SES EOTP parent with kids at a charter---to have an OOB population of AA kids from middle class homes who clearly cared enough about their children's education to seek out the next best middle school in DC. It has also been my observation that the largest demographic group at the highly regarded charters such as Latin and Basis are also middle class AA kids. Yet white IB families who shun Hardy will happily send their kids to Basis or Latin-------so it would seem that IB families are not shunning Hardy solely because of racial discomfort. My guess is that those parents believe that the administration and faculty culture at Basis and Latin are more receptive to parental input and less DCPS bureaucratic than Hardy, which is a regular DCPS school.

But that is just my guess.

My experience with Ward 3 parents is that they don't "happily" send their kids to Basis, Latin, or even Hardy -- kids go to those schools because it's the best their parents can do, considering the options. With respect to Latin, and even moreso Basis, the most common complaint is that those schools have too much homework, but the kids can't get in anywhere else with a kinder curriculum. These are parents that compare their options with the 'burbs and they take what they can get -- Basis, Latin, or even (ugh!) Hardy - because for one reason or another they are invested in D.C.

What every Ward 3 parent wants, who can't get into Deal, is Deal. Deal for All is what they want -- surprised? And, those who are in Deal, want better than Deal, too, but they mortgages don't let them pay for private. You shouldn't be surprised that Deal parents want better than Deal, either. These are the most self-impressed parents in the United States. At some point, we all gotta settle for what we can get. "What? Toby only went to Duke and not Williams?! He better be happy you settled for HIM!"

I think what is so intriguing about Hardy is that many IB parents see Hardy as potentially being so much better than it currently is. So they gripe. Back to the Hardy thread!

Williams? Seriously? Your analogy just went off the rails.

Deal is no big deal, it's just the best DCPS can do. That's what you should have said.

And tell your alumni office that your son's lacrosse team would rather go to Duke, he personally would rather go to Bryn Mawr, but your dog is interested in Williams.

Respectfully, you have NO IDEA what you are talking about. Williams College is the NUMBER ONE liberal arts college in the united states. That's like, first, missy. Better than (snicker) Bryn Mawr, better than "Vandy," even better than lilly-white, southern snob, pretend-I'm-of-Ivy-quality Duke. Duke can't get over the fact that it's just trying to be as good as Cornell, but it can't because it's in the south and isn't even as good as a state school. Heck, even UVA is better than Duke.

Hee hee hee! And now we're getting a read on the chip on your shoulder! Did Duke beat you in lacrosse, or did your neighbor who went to private school get accepted and you didn't?

Hardy parents. (Sigh.) It's hard to believe everyone isn't lining up to join you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Respectfully I think PPPP was joking and why are you so pompous PP?

I'm not pompous, I'm a Hardy supporter! Duke graduates and those of their ilk are the ones always picking on Hardy.

Mmm not really. We have MIT, Yale, Univ. of Chicago, Stanford graduates among Hardy parents. I doubt parents with high human capital are picking on Hardy. It's more the more mediocre ones, the wanna be.

Exactly. Social-climbing Dookies and their ilk: Vandy; UVA; Penn State. MIT, Yale, Chicago graduates et al., are confident enough in their social status to send their kids to Hardy and not sweat it. Proud to be Hardy, REPRESENT!!

Guys, guys, stop it! I'm sure there are nice, down-to-earth, confident Duke grads out there. We don't like the way people are stereotyping Hardy - let's not stereotype Duke. That's in case you're really being serious and don't have your tongue firmly in your cheek. (Georgetown alum and former Hardy mom here)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:@ 1525: the last few comments about social insecurity and IB parents' reticence to send their kids to Hardy deserve to be in the conversation about "what is wrong with Hardy." Ironically, the best practical answer here is that there's NOTHING wrong with Hardy; rather, it is the frail self-image of social climbing parents that taints Ward 3's ability to have a fair conversation about the place.

If only she'd been accepted to Duke instead of Williams, everything would be different! And she'd probably be IB for Deal, but even if she weren't, you'd all understand HOW WONDERFUL HARDY IS, and she wouldn't need another Xanax right now.

[Anonymous]

Wow, I'm impressed. There are probably the same percentage of nice, down-to-earth Duke grads as there are Georgetown (undergraduate) grads: meaning, like diamonds in a coal mine. I am so glad there are parents like you at Hardy, it gives me hope for our future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Respectfully I think PPPP was joking and why are you so pompous PP?

I'm not pompous, I'm a Hardy supporter! Duke graduates and those of their ilk are the ones always picking on Hardy.

Mmm not really. We have MIT, Yale, Univ. of Chicago, Stanford graduates among Hardy parents. I doubt parents with high human capital are picking on Hardy. It's more the more mediocre ones, the wanna be.

Exactly. Social-climbing Dookies and their ilk: Vandy; UVA; Penn State. MIT, Yale, Chicago graduates et al., are confident enough in their social status to send their kids to Hardy and not sweat it. Proud to be Hardy, REPRESENT!!

Guys, guys, stop it! I'm sure there are nice, down-to-earth, confident Duke grads out there. We don't like the way people are stereotyping Hardy - let's not stereotype Duke. That's in case you're really being serious and don't have your tongue firmly in your cheek. (Georgetown alum and former Hardy mom here)

No doubt. But apparently no nice, down-to-earth, confident Williams grads - they seem wound pretty tight. Where is Williams again? Ohio? Pennsyltucky?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Respectfully I think PPPP was joking and why are you so pompous PP?

I'm not pompous, I'm a Hardy supporter! Duke graduates and those of their ilk are the ones always picking on Hardy.

Mmm not really. We have MIT, Yale, Univ. of Chicago, Stanford graduates among Hardy parents. I doubt parents with high human capital are picking on Hardy. It's more the more mediocre ones, the wanna be.

Exactly. Social-climbing Dookies and their ilk: Vandy; UVA; Penn State. MIT, Yale, Chicago graduates et al., are confident enough in their social status to send their kids to Hardy and not sweat it. Proud to be Hardy, REPRESENT!!

Guys, guys, stop it! I'm sure there are nice, down-to-earth, confident Duke grads out there. We don't like the way people are stereotyping Hardy - let's not stereotype Duke. That's in case you're really being serious and don't have your tongue firmly in your cheek. (Georgetown alum and former Hardy mom here)

No doubt. But apparently no nice, down-to-earth, confident Williams grads - they seem wound pretty tight. Where is Williams again? Ohio? Pennsyltucky?

Certainly not in 'Bama, which is more familiar territory for many in the Hardy community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, I'm impressed. There are probably the same percentage of nice, down-to-earth Duke grads as there are Georgetown (undergraduate) grads: meaning, like diamonds in a coal mine. I am so glad there are parents like you at Hardy, it gives me hope for our future.

Aw shucks, thanks! You know, I used to feel that way about GU and I was determined never to come back to DC and never to let my kid attend GU but when dd looked at GU I realized that there are actually a few nice people doing good things there and that I shouldn't stereotype everyone associated with it. So the kid is a Hoya. By now she's been going to school in the same neighborhood most of her damn life. Life is what happens while you're making other plans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Respectfully I think PPPP was joking and why are you so pompous PP?

I'm not pompous, I'm a Hardy supporter! Duke graduates and those of their ilk are the ones always picking on Hardy.

Mmm not really. We have MIT, Yale, Univ. of Chicago, Stanford graduates among Hardy parents. I doubt parents with high human capital are picking on Hardy. It's more the more mediocre ones, the wanna be.

Exactly. Social-climbing Dookies and their ilk: Vandy; UVA; Penn State. MIT, Yale, Chicago graduates et al., are confident enough in their social status to send their kids to Hardy and not sweat it. Proud to be Hardy, REPRESENT!!

Guys, guys, stop it! I'm sure there are nice, down-to-earth, confident Duke grads out there. We don't like the way people are stereotyping Hardy - let's not stereotype Duke. That's in case you're really being serious and don't have your tongue firmly in your cheek. (Georgetown alum and former Hardy mom here)

No doubt. But apparently no nice, down-to-earth, confident Williams grads - they seem wound pretty tight. Where is Williams again? Ohio? Pennsyltucky?

Certainly not in 'Bama, which is more familiar territory for many in the Hardy community.

Ha ha you just make me laugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Respectfully I think PPPP was joking and why are you so pompous PP?

I'm not pompous, I'm a Hardy supporter! Duke graduates and those of their ilk are the ones always picking on Hardy.

Mmm not really. We have MIT, Yale, Univ. of Chicago, Stanford graduates among Hardy parents. I doubt parents with high human capital are picking on Hardy. It's more the more mediocre ones, the wanna be.

Exactly. Social-climbing Dookies and their ilk: Vandy; UVA; Penn State. MIT, Yale, Chicago graduates et al., are confident enough in their social status to send their kids to Hardy and not sweat it. Proud to be Hardy, REPRESENT!!

Guys, guys, stop it! I'm sure there are nice, down-to-earth, confident Duke grads out there. We don't like the way people are stereotyping Hardy - let's not stereotype Duke. That's in case you're really being serious and don't have your tongue firmly in your cheek. (Georgetown alum and former Hardy mom here)

I hope you don't realize that calling the Hardy community 'Bamma could be interpreted as kind of racist.


No doubt. But apparently no nice, down-to-earth, confident Williams grads - they seem wound pretty tight. Where is Williams again? Ohio? Pennsyltucky?

Certainly not in 'Bama, which is more familiar territory for many in the Hardy community.

Ha ha you just make me laugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:@ 1525: the last few comments about social insecurity and IB parents' reticence to send their kids to Hardy deserve to be in the conversation about "what is wrong with Hardy." Ironically, the best practical answer here is that there's NOTHING wrong with Hardy; rather, it is the frail self-image of social climbing parents that taints Ward 3's ability to have a fair conversation about the place.

How about its 55% FARMs rate:

Research establishes that most successful schools are those in which the middle class is
the majority. Success starts turning to failure, it is generally agreed, when the school
becomes 50% minority or low income. See All Together Now at 39. The Prospects
studies found that when half a student body is poor, then all students' achievement will be
depressed, and that when 75% is poor, then all students' achievement will be "seriously"
depressed. Prospects II at 12. Another expert has concluded that a district with over 60%
poor children "can no longer rely solely on its own internal efforts" to avoid failure.
Concentration of Poverty at 133. By comparison, RCSD's 90% poverty configuration
puts it well beyond even these ominous figures, into a level identified as "extreme
poverty." Id. at 134.9

http://www.prrac.org/pdf/annotated_bibliography_on...hool_poverty_concentration.pdf

[Anonymous]

Continuing:

Experts have called students themselves the "hidden curriculum," meaning that students
learn as much from peers as from textbooks, homework, class projects and other
pedagogical services provided by the school. All Together Now at 48. Indeed, studies
have found that peers exert a stronger influence on students than do teachers and parents.
Id. at 48; The Coleman Report at 302 (highlighting the importance of this finding). In
low-poverty schools, this high degree of influence is educationally advantageous, as peer
interaction between different socio-economic groups and achievement levels generally
has a positive effect on outcomes because students testing below grade-level "are
distinctly helped by being in school with more high-achieving students." All Together
Now at 50. In high-poverty schools, however, where the myriad socio-economic
problems of impoverished neighborhoods are dominant, peer influence can be a
dangerous thing, seriously interfering with a student's ability and motivation to learn and
achieve. See Quality Counts, School Climate at 1…10

Peer influence in high-poverty schools will not only diminish a student's ability to learn,
but his or her motivation to learn. Whether rich, poor or middle class, a student placed in
a high-poverty school will encounter an atmosphere that can be hostile to hard work and
high achievement. Impoverished students lack the life experience to see the value of hard
work in school, and may regard academic success as a capitulation to the values of a
middle class they have been excluded from. All Together Now at 51-2. In high-poverty
schools, students who work hard may be mocked for their efforts, and academic success
is regarded with suspicion, or hostility. Impoverished students also lack the experiential
foundation to share their middle class peers' desire to succeed or appreciate the
connection between success in school and success in life. See Concentrated Poverty and
Educational Achievement at 6 (describing how "general isolation from mainstream
experiences and opportunities," "limited life chances," "prior negative experiences," and
"experiences of exclusion from mainstream institutions" all work against educational
achievement).11

http://www.prrac.org/pdf/annotated_bibliography_on...hool_poverty_concentration.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:so, i have no stake in hardy, but why call people social climbers because they try to get the best education that they can for their children.

this website never ceases to amaze.

Versus those who feel that "not that bad" and good enough" is good enough