Reply to Deal, BASIS or Latin for a engineering-minded boy who also loves humanities

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Where is the "common knowledge" allegation about Latin coming from?  The school is 60% AA, more in the upper grades.  The school had a 93% graduation rate last year with its second graduating class (which was probably at least over 85% AA) and an amazing college placement record.  My speculation as a Latin parent is that if certain DC AA families have issues with Latin it is because Latin does not apply the "soft bigotry of low expectations"  customarily seen in the poorer-performing DCPS schools.  Not getting your kid to school on time?  Then Latin is going to want to talk to you.  Is your kid trying to wear his uniform pants hanging below his butt (like I saw one kid going in last week)?  Then Latin is going to tell your kid to pull his pants up and wear a belt.  Your kid being disrespectful in class and talking to classmates when the teacher is trying to teach?  Then Latin is not going to be very patient with any classroom behavior that impedes the ability of other children who DO want to be quiet and listen.  Latin has clear expectations of its students---of any race.  [/quote]

It is obvious that you are not the parent of an AA male from an upperclass background who has attended Latin.  Most of my friends left for private school.  I am talking about parents who have exceedingly high expectations and are not in any of the categories you generalized about.  Just because the quality middle school options are limited doesn't mean people don't know what is going on.  Most parents of AA males from high achieving families are happy at Latin until it happens to them and then they flee and warn the rest of us of the pitfalls.  Cutts assumes they are all from the same background unless you are very visible.  A few of them have been on the Board and report back about their attitude regarding the FARM boys.  One example of many - The part that did it for me was when Martha Cutts wrote off some of the 7th grade boys that were having issues in math.  They even told my friend's son that he didn't have to come to school the day of DC CAS.  When he went anyway; he secretly texted her and told her that they were being assigned to a separate room together, not with their class, to take the DC CAS.  Hmmmm, I wonder why. Could it be that they could conveniently loose that room's tests?  She had to go to the school to insist that he take the DC CAS with his class; she also paid for private tutoring throughout the rest of the year once she realized Latin had written those boys off.  We were both very sad for the parents that didn't realize that their children were not being educated.  It was Martha Cutts doing; she did not give the teacher support with this class (the teacher had a good heart but was very young and inexperienced) because she could care less and didn't want them there.  I'm sure they washed out; my friend's son went to private school.  For the parents I know that are still there; they have their eye peeled and are ever present and have a back-up plan to flee if needed.  Just because they don't go around complaining to you doesn't mean that they don't see what is happening.  In addition, most of us realize that you have to teach your child to deal with unfairness and adversity and to not let it get the best of you because they will deal with it most days of their life once they are close to 6 feet tall and look like a man rather than the teenager that they are.

Although I have an issue with some of the quality at BASIS; it is the type of adversity that I expect and want my AA male exposed too.  If you are late with an assignment you get no credit or half.  ALL the kids learn quickly to rise to the level expected or your grades suffer.  I couldn't ask for a better peer group for him in his class although it is over 2/3 girls.  He and his friends have taken on an IEP child who doesn't do his work and are constantly on him to improve.  This kid made most improved last grading period. You can't pay for that type of experience.  When the kid calls on the weekend, I teach him phone etiquette and have encouraged my child not to spend all his time making chit chat but in order to stay on the phone longer than 20-30 minutes they must be doing work together.  The environment is great and as a native Washingtonian I love that he is going to school on the mall.  When I grew up we went all over the city on the bus and I hung out on the mall a lot.  When you are an adult it is an experience that you remember. I still remember our impromptu picnics on the Capitol gounds - this was way before 9/11.  It is funny, according to the Post the city was 70% AA then yet you could hang out on the Capitol grounds and the Congress people didn't bother you. BASIS is not nirvana but he is learning to be a good person that stives to be high-performing during his formative years. When it is unfair, it is fair unfairness as in applied to ALL. I will reevaluate at high school whether it is still the program for us.  In the meantime, I will supplement with what I think he is missing.  Hope this helps the OP.  Not saying not to go to Latin just be VERY aware and careful or it could cost you a lot of expense  and time on the backend.[/quote]

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