Does anyone know if the administration got comments about the article? I take it the "feature" hasn't continued?

OP here. The Sidwell paper with this feature was distributed at an admissions event, presumably to provide a window on student activities. Those of us who are applying to and researching schools that might be a good fit for our children probably place added import on the pieces of information we can gather from the "outside." After we saw this article, our hope was that the newspaper's advisor had decided to let the students publish it, experience blowback from parents, and use that as a teachable moment about what sexual objectification is (of either gender) and whether or not it has a place in a Friends community. We had hoped that the administration and faculty found it as inappropriate as we did.

For those comparing it to yearbooks which bestow similar titles - I find those extremely inappropriate, too. This is not Sidwell-bashing. It's just that we don't all need to be lemmings.

Anonymous



Anonymous wrote:
This is gross for so many reasons. It's not about fun and loosening up. It's judgmental and snotty. I am sure not every girl/guy is featured so it becomes a popularity contest based on looks and "coolness." How do you think the other kids feel who aren't featured as bachelorettes and bachelors? It's so alpha-kid obnoxious, I am surprised the school doesn't stop it.


I wonder how many posters here have actually spoken to any Sidwell students about this. As a parent with children in the school, I'd say that the kids see it as a harmless fun. My son's best friend was a "bachelor of the month" and my son was not; they both had a good laugh about it. As an earlier poster said, it's pretty similar to the yearbook "honors" that many schools have (e.g., "cutest", "biggest flirt", etc.).

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PP I assure you that MANY Sidwell parents find the bachelor/bachelorette features as an inappropriate way to distinguish their peers at a Friends school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is gross for so many reasons. It's not about fun and loosening up. It's judgmental and snotty. I am sure not every girl/guy is featured so it becomes a popularity contest based on looks and "coolness." How do you think the other kids feel who aren't featured as bachelorettes and bachelors? It's so alpha-kid obnoxious, I am surprised the school doesn't stop it.

I wonder how many posters here have actually spoken to any Sidwell students about this. As a parent with children in the school, I'd say that the kids see it as a harmless fun. My son's best friend was a "bachelor of the month" and my son was not; they both had a good laugh about it. As an earlier poster said, it's pretty similar to the yearbook "honors" that many schools have (e.g., "cutest", "biggest flirt", etc.).

What schools still have yearbooks like that? Not any I know, thankfully.

Thomas Jefferson for one. See link on earlier page. I'd bet almost every high school in the DC area does too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is gross for so many reasons. It's not about fun and loosening up. It's judgmental and snotty. I am sure not every girl/guy is featured so it becomes a popularity contest based on looks and "coolness." How do you think the other kids feel who aren't featured as bachelorettes and bachelors? It's so alpha-kid obnoxious, I am surprised the school doesn't stop it.

I wonder how many posters here have actually spoken to any Sidwell students about this. As a parent with children in the school, I'd say that the kids see it as a harmless fun. My son's best friend was a "bachelor of the month" and my son was not; they both had a good laugh about it. As an earlier poster said, it's pretty similar to the yearbook "honors" that many schools have (e.g., "cutest", "biggest flirt", etc.).

You and your kid and that whole community are living in some sort of bubble. Who cares what the sidwell kids think...it is still gross. If you and your kid and that school can't see it I feel sorry for you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is gross for so many reasons. It's not about fun and loosening up. It's judgmental and snotty. I am sure not every girl/guy is featured so it becomes a popularity contest based on looks and "coolness." How do you think the other kids feel who aren't featured as bachelorettes and bachelors? It's so alpha-kid obnoxious, I am surprised the school doesn't stop it.

I wonder how many posters here have actually spoken to any Sidwell students about this. As a parent with children in the school, I'd say that the kids see it as a harmless fun. My son's best friend was a "bachelor of the month" and my son was not; they both had a good laugh about it. As an earlier poster said, it's pretty similar to the yearbook "honors" that many schools have (e.g., "cutest", "biggest flirt", etc.).

What schools still have yearbooks like that? Not any I know, thankfully.

Anonymous wrote:This is gross for so many reasons. It's not about fun and loosening up. It's judgmental and snotty. I am sure not every girl/guy is featured so it becomes a popularity contest based on looks and "coolness." How do you think the other kids feel who aren't featured as bachelorettes and bachelors? It's so alpha-kid obnoxious, I am surprised the school doesn't stop it.

I wonder how many posters here have actually spoken to any Sidwell students about this. As a parent with children in the school, I'd say that the kids see it as a harmless fun. My son's best friend was a "bachelor of the month" and my son was not; they both had a good laugh about it. As an earlier poster said, it's pretty similar to the yearbook "honors" that many schools have (e.g., "cutest", "biggest flirt", etc.).

Anonymous wrote:This is gross for so many reasons. It's not about fun and loosening up. It's judgmental and snotty. I am sure not every girl/guy is featured so it becomes a popularity contest based on looks and "coolness." How do you think the other kids feel who aren't featured as bachelorettes and bachelors? It's so alpha-kid obnoxious, I am surprised the school doesn't stop it.

+1,000,000
I'm truly astonished It is disgusting. And yes I was a teenager and yes I remember (amazingly) how obsessed I was about the other sex, etc., etc. Honestly, difficult to believe that this would be condoned in a Friends' school. What about community, simplicity - or is that no longer what Friends strive for?

Anonymous wrote:So if we are picking from Sidwell and TJ, we should choose neither?

Not at all. Great schools, just saying the bachelorette thing is stupid. No school is without it's weak points and this is minor and will go away I am guessing.

Anonymous wrote:Sure I will tell my girls to just laugh it off when they are sexually objectified, no one will take them seriously if they complain anyway. Why not just go with the flow? It is probably their fault for wearing makeup and short skirts. When they get date raped I will tell them to think about how they probably teased the guy and led him on.

And people wonder why sexual assault us so prevalent in college! You defenders of this stuff should be seriously ashamed of yourselves.

All Sidwell 9th-graders participate in a guidance program that includes extensive discussion of sexuality, including issues related to date rape and consent. The school takes this quite seriously and it makes a strong impression on the kids. What the school doesn't do, though, is shame the students for having feelings or thoughts related to sexuality. Just as it's absurdly prudish to think that girls who wear makeup and short skirts deserve to get raped, it's also absurdly prudish to think that boys who see a girl as sexy are going to turn into rapists.

So if we are picking from Sidwell and TJ, we should choose neither?

This is gross for so many reasons. It's not about fun and loosening up. It's judgmental and snotty. I am sure not every girl/guy is featured so it becomes a popularity contest based on looks and "coolness." How do you think the other kids feel who aren't featured as bachelorettes and bachelors? It's so alpha-kid obnoxious, I am surprised the school doesn't stop it.

I am not a Sidwell hater, although my kids do not go there. But I have heard from friends whose kids do that there has been some weird social stuff lately.

Sure I will tell my girls to just laugh it off when they are sexually objectified, no one will take them seriously if they complain anyway. Why not just go with the flow? It is probably their fault for wearing makeup and short skirts. When they get date raped I will tell them to think about how they probably teased the guy and led him on.

And people wonder why sexual assault us so prevalent in college! You defenders of this stuff should be seriously ashamed of yourselves.