
If one Googles "John Huber head of school" links come up which immediately identify the school. No disrespect and I am certain it is a lovely, fine school, but it does not appear to be as competitive as the ones usually discussed on this board. Mr. Huber's perspective is of course helpful and welcome, but I doubt there are that many parallels between his school and the ones in DC. No disrespect to Mr. Huber or his school intended at all!
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Well gee, pp, thank you so much for your impolite observations. If I were Mr. Huber, I believe I would now be done with posting on this site. |
Seriously. Mr. Huber, thanks for venturing into this...cesspool of frustrated uber-parents mapping out their childrens' death march to Harvard. |
Thank you so much for openly offering your opinions on matters that interest many of us. You will get the occasional (frequent?) snarky comment; we all do. Just ignore it, and welcome!! |
To the rude poster of 19:16,
When you're addressing a person on this forum who doesn't hide behind anonymous posts, why not pretend that you're speaking to that person IN person? Would you have dared to tell this man to his face that his (very high caliber) school is inferior to those we are discussing? You're the kind of person that needs to get outside the DC bubble to realize that the rest of the world doesn't put such a great value on the things that we obsess over here. You make the rest of us on this forum look ridiculous. |
Heavens, what a ruckus can be stirred up from 6 pm to 8 am! I'm not easily dissuaded, though. It should be noted that the frequency of my posting will obviously depend upon time availability - it is summer, after all, so come late August, posts will be fewer and farther between.
A few thoughts on two prior posts. 1. Regarding the 17:42 author with multiple questions about admissions - there's enough material here for many posts! I will say that no one measure should ever be the determiner of admission. For example, I can imagine a scenario of an applicant with remarkably high test scores or WISC results who struggles in other areas. In my mind, a 99% percentile score is demonstrative of a very talented, intelligent young person - but it's only one measure to determine if that candidate is extremely qualified. Teacher recommendations and classroom visits help immensely to flesh out the full picture of the child. Regarding parent connections and/or wealth - schools should fellow best admission practices listed by NAIS and AISGW. If it's not about the fit between the prospective student & family and the mission of the school, then it's not best practice. Personally, I don't want to have a parent conversation about exiting a child, if that child was previously admitted less on his/her fit and more on the parent's standing. 2. Regarding caliber - I am not so easily offended, no worries. Being more geographically removed from the inner DC area, it is joyful and serene, something I greatly appreciate for me and my family. I have great confidence in the caliber of my faculty, program, and school. This poster is correct to note, though, that questions about the hothouse of more "known" inner DC schools are less up my alley than others topics. |
John, it seems to me that one of the things that is so frustrating about pre-K/K admissions is that basically all of the applicants are smart, nice children who are largely indistinguishable as far as academic potential goes. Is this true? Does it get easier to figure out who will be a good fit for a particular school as the applicants get older? Thanks. |
I don't think that it's ever easy - for years I've been wishing for a Harry Potter "Sorting Hat" to take all the uncertainty and guessing out of it. I think it's especially delicate for parents of young children. Sometimes it's the first time that parents are told by an outside institution (the prospective school) that the fit between school and child isn't a match, and that can easily sound like "there's a problem" (even when there isn't). For schools, especially PS-8th and PS-12th schools, an admission in the early years is a very long range hope that the decision will stand the test of time for up to 14 years - and how many of us are working in the same places of employment that we were 14 years ago? Admission has science as well as craft. One of the better books I've read on it is "The Gatekeepers", a gripping read about college admissions, and the struggles that officers and committees have searching for best fit. I think they'd argue that it's hardest at the top. |
I am the PP of the earlier comment that offended many--clearly I did not articulate properly. My deepest apologies for that and mea culpa; I will try to clarify. (BTW, my school-aged child is going to public school, so actually, I am removed from the private-school/"DC bubble" angst and people who pegged me otherwise should be leery of snap judgments based on one post, LOL; I simply find the private school topic interesting and obviously have too much time on my hands! ![]() When I said the school in question seems less competitive than schools here in DC, I meant literally that: less competitive, in the sense of fewer applicants per slot. I was not using the word as code for inferior, and thought I had made it clear that no disrespect was intended. All I meant was that, since it seems that admissions practices for a more competitive school--again, just that: competitive to enter, in no way did I mean superior--will by definition be different than for a school with fewer applicants to reject, that people looking for answers about admissions might be frustrated because the situations don't compare. It is apples and oranges, and that is simply all I meant to say. Again, my apologies for what must have been poor wording. And now I am going to stop reading this thread and get back to reading vicariously about other topics like disappearing nannies and bugaboo strollers. ![]() |
Nice post, PP. |
I would like to know what kind of problems you generally have at private schools.
I know of one teacher who took early retirement because she could no longer handle the parents! Would you describe the parents as 'helicopter' parents who obsess about their average kid, believing that he/she has the ability of a super-human. Are the children generally used to being pampered. Please advice, I am seriously considering private schoo. But I do not want her to be in a learning environment where the teachers are always bending over backwards for the kids. I do not think that is good for type of kid I have. |
ONE BIG QUESTION:
Why don't independent schools concentrate on curricula that are evidenced based, and maintain best practices from a pedagogical standpoint? |
PP: Are you referring to all independent schools? Or just the usual DCUM suspects...? |
All independent schools. We pay tuition, they should give us more than the publics. |
No. We pay tuition, therefore the curriculum should be MORE WIDELY based on reliable, time-tested educational and psychological research. You act as if the publics have it all right. |