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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Gds is super liberal and talked about different family structure every year since pre-K. Is Sidwell similar or less liberal?[/quote]

Not sure I understand your question or accept your premise(s).  Are you asking about same-sex families?  If so, then yes.  My kid has been at Sidwell for several years, and the topic of same-sex families and gets raised often in books or assemblies or other discussions.  But at least as far as I've noticed, it's raised in just a passing way - for example one of the characters will have two moms.

I don't recall an assembly or intentional discussion in the younger grades that is focused on explicitly forcing children to acknowledge that same-sex relations are just as valid as others (and quite frankly, I think that would be a pretty awkward and ineffective teaching approach).  Is that the comparison point you're trying to drive ... whether there are elementary school assemblies designed to preach a particular viewpoint on same-sex relationships?

I'm not sure I follow whee you're going, so forgive me if I've missed your point.

Also, as an IMHO aside, if you think young children growing up in this area need education about the validity and normalcy of same-sex relationships, then I think you're maybe missing what's going on around us.  My kids and their friend seem to accept same-sex relations with a shrug and a "whatever," as just another crayon in the box.  I think our generation as parents imbues them with a lot more context and significance (both positive and negative) than our kids do.[/quote]

Thanks for the information.  I don't think young children growing up in this area need education about the validity and normalcy of same-sex relationships. so I think maybe sidwell's approach is pretty good, just mention it. [b] For GDS, there used to be a transgender student who went to Harvard and GDS made him a big star by inviting him to talk to current students.  I think that is not appropriate as little children might think transgender is a good way to become a star.  I am not against transgender and can accept it, but I don't think the approach GDS took is good for little kids[/b].[/quote]

So, you're not anti-transgender, but you raise this student as a way to take a crack at GDS, and make up some facts along the way.  The GDS graduate transitioned while at Harvard, and made the Harvard men's swim team, thereby becoming the first openly transgender college varsity athlete.  He was interviewed for 60 Minutes, and covered by national media for his courageous life story.  He also is an extraordinarily articulate, principled, and engaging person.  GDS didn't "make him a star," but GDS is certainly proud of the integrity that he has shown in how he has discussed challenging issues in college (with acceptance and support from both GDS and Harvard, including from his teammates).  GDS invited him to speak at the high school last year (hardly "little children" or "little kids").  The high school has guest speakers on at least a weekly basis, and this graduate (fresh off of 60 Minutes) was a great choice.

It's also ludicrous to think that anyone's gender is so fragile that anyone would transition to another gender to make a varsity swim team.  That's just crazy. Instead, the high school students had a chance to hear from someone who carried out his transition to a male varsity athlete with integrity, courage, and grace.[/quote]

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