Is GDS too woke?

[Anonymous]

I'll leave the question at that....

[Anonymous]

Yes.

[Anonymous]

All of the top independent schools (and most top universities) are “too woke” for the parents generation, because they are educating a new generation. If you were to ask my kids and their friends (regardless of where they go to school) the schools are not too woke.

[Anonymous]

Why do you think that OP?

[Anonymous]

I was a bit turned off at the Open House when so much of the emphasis was on explaining their equity/woke positions. I have no problem with those positions per se, but it was a weird pitch to focus on that and never mention the math curriculum. I know that the school teaches math, but it was not a correctly calibrate pitch for what many parents want to hear about in an Open House. We ended up at a different school and are happy. I have friends happy at GDS. I think it’s more of a messaging problem than an actual problem with what the kids are learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of the top independent schools (and most top universities) are “too woke” for the parents generation, because they are educating a new generation. If you were to ask my kids and their friends (regardless of where they go to school) the schools are not too woke.

I’d agree to a point.
There should still be a strong understanding that disagreement within a subgroup that feels strongly about social justice (that whole generation mostly, which is a great thing) is okay and should be encouraged. Discussion and critical thinking have really diminished in the era of cancel culture and I hope that things swing back toward middle in regards to open civil discussion being seen as the way towards progress, instead of all must think the same attitudes that are unfortunately more and more present as a fear based reaction in the Trump and post-Trump era. Is GDS too woke? I don’t know, but I think it is important to ask if a student would feel comfortable raising an alternative argument to reparations at that school, just one example, or if they would feel uneasy doing so in fear of being labeled “bad” rather than someone open to difficult and nuanced discussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a bit turned off at the Open House when so much of the emphasis was on explaining their equity/woke positions. I have no problem with those positions per se, but it was a weird pitch to focus on that and never mention the math curriculum. I know that the school teaches math, but it was not a correctly calibrate pitch for what many parents want to hear about in an Open House. We ended up at a different school and are happy. I have friends happy at GDS. I think it’s more of a messaging problem than an actual problem with what the kids are learning.

I felt the same, and we are already at a very progressive and liberal leaning school. I’d agree it might be a messaging problem, in that most parents want to know about the academic curriculum and approach just as much. Sometimes schools like this feel they have lost the vision and start to see themselves as a social justice non-profit, ministerial in nature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the top independent schools (and most top universities) are “too woke” for the parents generation, because they are educating a new generation. If you were to ask my kids and their friends (regardless of where they go to school) the schools are not too woke.

I’d agree to a point.
There should still be a strong understanding that disagreement within a subgroup that feels strongly about social justice (that whole generation mostly, which is a great thing) is okay and should be encouraged. Discussion and critical thinking have really diminished in the era of cancel culture and I hope that things swing back toward middle in regards to open civil discussion being seen as the way towards progress, instead of all must think the same attitudes that are unfortunately more and more present as a fear based reaction in the Trump and post-Trump era. Is GDS too woke? I don’t know, but I think it is important to ask if a student would feel comfortable raising an alternative argument to reparations at that school, just one example, or if they would feel uneasy doing so in fear of being labeled “bad” rather than someone open to difficult and nuanced discussion.

This last point is critical. I don’t know the answer. But I hope it is a question the GDS leadership considers.

[Anonymous]

For your family? Definitely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a bit turned off at the Open House when so much of the emphasis was on explaining their equity/woke positions. I have no problem with those positions per se, but it was a weird pitch to focus on that and never mention the math curriculum. I know that the school teaches math, but it was not a correctly calibrate pitch for what many parents want to hear about in an Open House. We ended up at a different school and are happy. I have friends happy at GDS. I think it’s more of a messaging problem than an actual problem with what the kids are learning.

the messaging problem would bother me, because it sounds hypocritical. GDS is a school, so it should be discussion how in its function as a school it enacts values of diversity and inclusion. - like solid history curriculums, scholarships, and hiring. Not buzzwords and one-off trainings. Otherwise it's like they're using diversity and inclusion as a marketing tactic, which is gross.

[Anonymous]

+1
If you have to ask...

[Anonymous]

We felt the same way after the open house. Did not apply despite liking the rest of the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

The problem with GDS is not that it is too woke, it's that its existence is in conflict with its values.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a bit turned off at the Open House when so much of the emphasis was on explaining their equity/woke positions. I have no problem with those positions per se, but it was a weird pitch to focus on that and never mention the math curriculum. I know that the school teaches math, but it was not a correctly calibrate pitch for what many parents want to hear about in an Open House. We ended up at a different school and are happy. I have friends happy at GDS. I think it’s more of a messaging problem than an actual problem with what the kids are learning.

the messaging problem would bother me, because it sounds hypocritical. GDS is a school, so it should be discussion how in its function as a school it enacts values of diversity and inclusion. - like solid history curriculums, scholarships, and hiring. Not buzzwords and one-off trainings. Otherwise it's like they're using diversity and inclusion as a marketing tactic, which is gross.

In fairness, they have this. And the school's history is legitimate (it was founded as an integrated school when the public schools were segregated). The question is now that public schools are integrated, why is a highly selective, expensive private school necessary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with GDS is not that it is too woke, it's that its existence is in conflict with its values.

This. How do schools like GDS reconcile their supposed values with the fact that their existence in their present form - exclusive, expensive - is based on and depends on the institutional racism that creates legacy status and generates intergenerational wealth? Do they ever discuss with their students where their tuition money comes from and why their families can afford it?