Reply to Where do BCC kids hang out after school? (And how does Whitman compare?)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The OP's post and subsequent thread are really problematic in many ways already pointed out.

The hour after school is just a tiny variable in characterizing a school's students, and even then, you can't really characterize a school's students as a whole. The hour after school is a matter of logistics and location. Whitman is surrounded by houses. The kids DO hang out, but you can't see it so directly - it would be more obvious at BCC and then even more obvious at J-R simply due to their location. Whitman kids take the bus to Bethesda, for instance. They then likely blend into BCC. They're also more likely to hang out at friends' houses, which is not always a good thing. I suspect with more parents, especially in that district, working from home, the dangers of teens being at home alone for long periods after school has lessened somewhat.

As for alcohol and drug use, do not fool yourselves. It is happening at all 3, but certainly not by all kids. At Whitman, it is clearly a problem at weekend parties, and the principal even acknowledged such in a recent letter to parents. I have kids at Whitman, and I worry. We talk a lot. It is not true that "overachieving" kids don't partake. I know some who do - and we're talking about achievers in academics and athletics. ECs are not the silver bullet for preventing substances abuse they used to be.

On a final note, to the PP who said that you won't see the "responsible" kids due to them being involved in ECs, etc. The use of the word "responsible" is problematic there, because for outside ECs at least, it's really a matter of affluence and parental involvement (ability to pay for and drive their kids to ECs). So be careful. A kid who leaves J-R at 2.30, gets some Chik-Fil-A and then picks his younger sibling up at middle school or elementary school isn't necessarily irresponsible.

I was a lot more judgmental of teens and parents of teens before I was a parent of teens myself. Do be careful and know that you cannot completely shape/control the environment. Rather, you need to learn about it (which OP appears to want to do, albeit in a somewhat creepy way) and then help your teens manage it.[/quote]

I don’t think anyone is judging a kid who makes a quick Chik Fil A run. It’s more the groups of kids smoking in ski masks, hassling other kids. I haven’t personally checked out JR after school, but I did visit our IB MS and HS at dismissal to check out the scene. And yes, the kids hassling other kids, smoking weed, and the crew beefs requiring a Safe Passage guard at dismissal … all make an impression. [/quote]

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