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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Funny, I spoke with a recent Sidwell grad and she said that HS was better than she gave it credit for.  It wasn't as bad as she thought now that she's in college.  Now she complains about college (an Ivy).

It's hard to be a teenager anywhere.  [/quote]

True - but my student found college easier than Sidwell - as did most of their friends at T25 schools. (I'd say "all" except I can't claim to know how every student has done)

My student was surprised how much different the college teachers were, and how different the messaging from college admin was too. They feel it is more caring and supportive and focused on the love of learning (this was not a SLAC). The college teachers were tested material for deep understanding and were genuinely excited for students to dive into their subjects and be excited about the subject...where many of the high school teachers were great in the classroom but had more of a stance to lay down the gauntlet in assessment (trying to make the test as hard as possible) and often valued having a label of "the hardest teacher" (some bragged about it).  I highly doubt that every teacher was like this at Sidwell, but by senior year, for kids in top classes - it is true that teachers are taking pride in wanting that label of hardest class in the school. I did hear one speak of this publicly to parents. For this high achiever group - that's a memory some leave with.  And as a student - both types of approaches can be respected for being rigorous - but the journeys certainly feel different.  It's honestly hard to know how pervasive this is as a parent since the school limits interaction between parents/teachers (not even teacher conferences after 9th). Sadly, this is likely due to prior misbehavior from some parents that is now assumed and projected onto all parents. And for families where the student is a high achiever, there is really no need to ever reach out to a teacher. We do know that our children at a different rigorous HS have teachers that more align with what my Sidwell grad experiences in college.  The kids seem happier there and still work their butts off.[/quote]

This has not been my child’s experience. The  US teachers are, for the most part, accessible. I’ve reached out to one or two teachers each year, and I’ve always received a prompt response—including scheduling a conference call or in-person meeting upon my request (at any grade). [/quote]

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