Sidwell parents — is your child happy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are headed to Sidwell, just be prepared for hearing about social justice issues, over and over, all the time. It’s relentless. Everything has to have a message.

This is true and to my DC, frankly, it's annoying. But take heart -- it's nowhere near as bad as it is at GDS.

Serious question: We had good friends pull their kids out of GDS not b/c they have a social justice bent, but b/c on just about every social justice issue, they had a SPECIFIC bent. Instead of encouraging openness, it seemed to channel the students into one set of ways of talking about issues. I know Sidwell won’t have such a pronounced social justice bent as GDS, but whatever bent it has, is it specific? I’m actually quite supportive of being socially conscious and aware, and we are thinking of applying our DC to Sidwell next year. However, given that we were turned off by our friend’s experience at GDS w/r/t social justice thought-channeling, I thought I’d ask this about Sidwell. How much freedom is there to think about issues of social justice in a variety of (non-jerk) ways? And are students mostly happy, to take it back to OP, because they are given some freedom? Or is it not quite that way?

That's an interesting question, and it probably depends on the grade. Our experience is only up through middle school. There is a Quaker tradition of queries, where people silently reflect on an open-ended question, and those are often relating to community. That tends to work against any kind of force-fed attitudes. It explicitly makes room for each student to develop their own ideas about an issue. I would say that they also present some realities of the world to the kids without sugarcoating them, and together with the sense of fairness they try to cultivate, kids may tend to end up in a certain place on things. I have never felt like my kid was told what to think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone even the smartest of the bunch have tutors to give them an edge. It’s a ridiculous environment to put a kid in. Even worse is it’s not so Quaker encouragement of rampant competition and self righteousness.

Absolutely not true. My dc has never had a tutor- except for me, occasionally- and does quite well.

+ My kid never has a tutor in Sidwell. Besides, we have not seen any competition among students or parents. Verh often, my kid tells us like " I am so glad a friend had a good score, or feel sorry for another friend who did not do well in a test". They do help each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone even the smartest of the bunch have tutors to give them an edge. It’s a ridiculous environment to put a kid in. Even worse is it’s not so Quaker encouragement of rampant competition and self righteousness.

Absolutely not true. My dc has never had a tutor- except for me, occasionally- and does quite well.

+ My kid never has a tutor in Sidwell. Besides, we have not seen any competition among students or parents. Verh often, my kid tells us like " I am so glad a friend had a good score, or feel sorry for another friend who did not do well in a test". They do help each other.

+1

[Anonymous]

NP-I am trying to get an idea of the social climate at Sidwell also. My DS shadowed at a different school in DC known for being socially and academically progressive-came home with tales of “White Privilege” and LGBQT posters on the walls. Also, in one of the classes the students were told they didn’t have to read a particular part of a book if they might find the Content offensive. We consider ourselves to pretty moderate and open minded politically but I was put off by the avoidance of subjects that might make people uncomfortable. Are we really encouraging our kids to do this? If so, I find that the wrong attitude to take. Is Sidwell similar because if so I’d probably think it wasn’t the best choice for my DS or family.

[Anonymous]

No that was GDS

[Anonymous]

You were upset because the school had LGBQT posters on the walls?

[Anonymous]

^^^No-but I don’t want my DC in an environment where being PC all day long is more valued than being themselves-having to watch everything you say and do 100% of the time is not the experience I want for them. And the book censoring was over the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^No-but I don’t want my DC in an environment where being PC all day long is more valued than being themselves-having to watch everything you say and do 100% of the time is not the experience I want for them. And the book censoring was over the top.

Agreed. From a super liberal member of the "intellectual elite." (qualification: I'm interpreting PC to mean "must have a certain view and a certain vernacular to express that certain view." That's not PC; that's chilling. That said, I do not interpret PC in the way it is interpreted, say, on Fox News, who think that anyone who is opposed to folks being assholes about sensitive issues is the PC police. No, there's still a "don't be an asshole" rule).

[Anonymous]

I agree. I saw this more at GDS but dunno, maybe it's Sidwell too. Basically it's just a very rigid, humorless approach to every issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree. I saw this more at GDS but dunno, maybe it's Sidwell too. Basically it's just a very rigid, humorless approach to every issue.

GDS classrooms are joyful places though, so perhaps it's more that your family just isn't a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree. I saw this more at GDS but dunno, maybe it's Sidwell too. Basically it's just a very rigid, humorless approach to every issue.

I saw signs like this posted at Maret that were very off-putting. DC now at Sidwell and have never seen anything like this but that doesn't mean it isn't there, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You were upset because the school had LGBQT posters on the walls?

NP. Frankly, I wouldn't like it at all.

[Anonymous]

Are the Sidwell kids happy?

Ask them in a few years. But don’t ask these people.

Is the jockey whipping the horse urging him to the finish line aware of or concerned about the horse’s current state of happiness?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. I saw this more at GDS but dunno, maybe it's Sidwell too. Basically it's just a very rigid, humorless approach to every issue.

I saw signs like this posted at Maret that were very off-putting. DC now at Sidwell and have never seen anything like this but that doesn't mean it isn't there, of course.

It's more a reflection of where things are in 2018, especially with the younger generations. Go look at the signs kids made for International Women's Day at NCS and you'll see the same themes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. I saw this more at GDS but dunno, maybe it's Sidwell too. Basically it's just a very rigid, humorless approach to every issue.

I saw signs like this posted at Maret that were very off-putting. DC now at Sidwell and have never seen anything like this but that doesn't mean it isn't there, of course.

It's more a reflection of where things are in 2018, especially with the younger generations. Go look at the signs kids made for International Women's Day at NCS and you'll see the same themes.

Wonderful. Nothing like pampered, inside-the-beltway kids who wouldn't know discrimination or injustice if it walked into their living room -- and who have never had to work a day in their lives for anything meaningful - expressing themselves on social issues of the day.