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Beauvoir vs Maret academically
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Anonymous
| Could anyone comment on Beauvoir vs Maret academically? How do the teachers at the two schools compare? |
Anonymous
| interested in this one as well. also both vs sidwell. |
Anonymous
| bump. please. i'm so curious. |
Anonymous
| The strongest elementary school academically is GDS. In the upper grades, St Albans, Sidwell, and NCS all attract an amazing cohort and all are academic powerhouses. Not so much Maret though. Sidwell's elementary is famously weak. Its the dirty secret known to everyone in Sidwell. |
Anonymous
I have children at both gds and Beauvoir. I disagree that the strongest elementary is gds. Haven't reached middle or upper so can't comment there. I prefer Beauvoir for elementary. I really comes down to fit for the child. |
Anonymous
| PP with kids at GDS and Beauvoir: interested in your response. Can you elaborate on why you think Beauvoir is a stronger elementary program? Thanks |
Anonymous
How do you know this? Kids at both schools, have you taught at both? Very interested. Thanks. |
Anonymous
I'm also curious to hear your basis for these claims. |
Anonymous
Please recognize that I am supportive of both the GDS and Beauvoir communities, which I feel each have a lot of positives to offer. However, no school is perfect and I don’t claim that Beauvoir is perfect even though I prefer it for elementary. In comparison, Beauvoir’s approach is a lot more direct from a child’s perspective and a lot more transparent from a parent’s perspective. The Beauvoir curriculum appears to be more thoughtful and current and innovative, and its execution/delivery by the faculty appears to be more organized (not at all haphazard) and done with great enthusiasm. Beauvoir is focused on PK-3, and it shows in many tangible and intangible ways. GDS is a huge operation (PK-12) and I don't get the sense that focus is on those early years. I have heard (and I do believe) from many current GDS parents with older children that at grade 6+ is where you really see the value in a GDS education. In the lower school at GDS, the curriculum and its delivery seems more stagnant (same thing done the same way year in and year out) with lack of innovation and resistance to change and not a lot of enthusiasm. I have had to supplement quite a bit to ensure that my child was learning the fundamentals because the nature of the GDS curriculum is such that it jumps all over the place. Perhaps you see the end result at some point down the line and you get that “aha” moment, but in the meantime it’s quite uncomfortable not knowing and readily being able to recognize that your child is developmentally where s/he should be and being able to support the child. I imagine it can be quite uncomfortable for some children not to know if they are “getting it” or not as well. Again it goes back to a lack of transparency and lack of clear communication of the vision/approach/direction along the way grade by grade. I’m sure there is a rhyme and reason why GDS does the things the way they do them, and I’m absolutely sure that way has been successful for most of the children. It comes down to self selection (beyond the obvious initial hurdle of being admitted) for your child and for your family. There are benefits to being at either school depending on what kind of learner you have, what kind of environment s/he would be better suited for, and honestly what kind of parent you are (which can be influenced by your own educational experience). We remain in both communities because the children are getting what they need most from their respective communities, recognizing that there are trade-offs. I’d like to caveat my comments with “this is my and my children’s experience” at these two schools. Other parents will have a different perspective based on their expectations and their individual children’s disposition, personality, learning style. |
Anonymous
| not the OP or PP but that explanation was very helpful. |
Anonymous
| I don't have kids at any of these schools, but it just makes intuitive sense to me that a school that concentrates all of its energies on elementary (like Beauvoir, Primary Day, etc) would do a better job at it. |
Anonymous
| Speaking as a B parent, B is a great school. Great teachers, etc. Many B parents, however, think the school could be more rigorious, without losing its core approach. There is no real homework, and not enough checking to make sure the kids get the material. B gets away with its approach primarily because most of the kids are naturally very bright and have parents who focus on education. |
Anonymous
How much homework is there in 1st or 2nd grade? I know from a friend who has a DC in K, there is very little, if any homework. Wondering how it changes, if at all in 1st. |
Anonymous
| Homework has not been shown to help learning at all. I wouldn't judge a school by the amount of homework. |
Anonymous
|
OP here -- thanks for all the information. 7:25/9:30 poster, you mentioned that the answer somewhat depends on the child. In your experience, what type(s) of child(ren) benefit most from a Beauvoir education? Is it true that Beauvoir is a good place for "all children" as I sometimes hear?
Also would love any insights on Maret's curriculum and teachers, does the school maintain a strong focus on the early years even depite its being a K-12 school? |