Reply to How was the meeting with the admin meeting last week at BASIS?

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[quote=Anonymous]I heard that at BASIS they shove little old ladies into traffic, spit on babies and set kittens on fire!  Worst school EVER!

</sarcasm>  Again, so much of what keeps getting posted here just keeps coming across as incredibly narrowly focused, shrill, and overcritical, and really doesn't provide full perspective, or pros and cons from a big picture standpoint.  It's nothing that any outsider could ever use for making a sound and reasoned decision whether to send their kid there or not since it's lacking balance.  And it also doesn't particularly help current families or staff, since most I know have been turned away by the tone of it and just tune the listserv and discussions like these out and ignore them.  While some of the posters may be trying to be earnest, helpful and productive, they need to realize that pushing this hard ends up being counterproductive.

So how about some balance?

Hey, just like EVERY OTHER school in DC, not everyone is going to agree with how they do things, and it's not going to be a perfect fit for every child.

So it begs the question that I'd put out to all the apparent detractors and bashers, if you seemingly hate it so much, but are still there, then why?  Obviously part of you must still think the pros outweigh the cons if you haven't left.  How about laying those out?   And if you aren't a current BASIS family or otherwise involved, then why are you so fixated on it, to the point of joining in on the bashing and detracting?  Likewise, obviously there's some degree of fascination there, some pros or other considerations that haven't been expressed?

Also, do we all view it the same?

Is it all just memorization and standardized testing?  I'd disagree, from our experience.  Does it make kids work really hard and expect a lot of them?  Yes, I'd definitely agree there.  Could a kid burn out?  Maybe.  Are there still some rough edges and kinks to work out?  Sure - but remember, they only have two years under their belt and are just a tiny way into their third.  No fun or creativity?  There's no less creative stuff than what I had in school as a kid, DC's done a lot of really great writing so far, along with some really interesting Art projects and fun extracurriculars.

So, it all has to be taken in perspective, and in comparison to the alternatives.

Again, while yes, there is obviously a small but very vocal handful of people who are bashing it, consider that it does draw and retain a lot of families, that while we have dozens and dozens of charters and public schools to pick from, BASIS has become the second largest charter middle school in DC, and that there are hundreds of kids and families there who are not joining in this online fray because they are happy with the school and are fine with how it is, and are confident that the rough spots will be worked out, and who signed up for this, eyes wide open - and who would be far more upset if the school were to be watered down, or to have diminished expectations, whether academic or behavior, or in any other way changed to be just like any other school in DC.  [/quote]

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