It takes a big dose of privilege to dismiss other parents' desire for traditionally good schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wasn't raised in a suburb, I don't like suburbs, I don't want to raise children in a suburb. My children are all smart, and will succeed no matter what--in fact, I would prefer them not to be in an environment chock full of kumon, travel sports, and AP classes for the sake of "rigor." Life is rigor. Living it should be interesting. Being ferried by school bus or suv from one subdivision to another, with the occasional meal at le pain quotidien or the cheesecake factory, sounds like hell.

That's fine. You don't prioritize education in the same way OP does.

NP with a similar philosophy to the don't like suburbs poster.

My child is at a charter that is majority AA (my son is the only white student, there are a handful of asian and hispanic students), and his education in the early years has exceeded my expectations by a lot. He's been at this school for several years now, and we have no plans to move before 5th grade, and probably won't move then.

I do prioritize my son's education - I just prioritize different things. I don't care if he gets into an ivy league college, I do care that he grows up to treat people with kindness no matter what they look like or where they work or how much education they have. I also care that he lives a full life, and isn't only exposed to people "just like him" which tends to happen more often in the suburbs.

There are many different ways to educate a child and make sure that they get a solid start in school. Straight A's in the suburbs is only one of them.

Anonymous wrote:

whatever dude. if you were as cool as you seem to think you are, you would be unschooling your kids in a yurt somewhere. OP is clearly interested in a more traditional kind of education.

No, sadness. I work within my community, because it's mine. My kids don't "suffer" for that. And wow, the thing is, you're even lecturing me about how righteous and liberal your "friends" are. I would seriously find it easier to swallow if you just told me you moved to arlington to avoid the blacks.

If quality of education is your only priority, your kids are bright and hard working and you can swing 35K per child per year for high school, you do very well in DC, the city with a number of the country's top-performing private schools. The rest of us live under a dark cloud of mediocrity, charter lottery stress, dead end middle school feeds, increasing crowding in the Deal feeders and at Wilson and Deal. I always get bummed out when I check Metro area lists of National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists in the early spring. Wilson produces one, two or three, and so does Walls, and that's it from public schools, year in and year out. Meanwhile, many a suburban high school produces 10, 15, 20, even dozens at TJ and the Blair Montgomery magnets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wasn't raised in a suburb, I don't like suburbs, I don't want to raise children in a suburb. My children are all smart, and will succeed no matter what--in fact, I would prefer them not to be in an environment chock full of kumon, travel sports, and AP classes for the sake of "rigor." Life is rigor. Living it should be interesting. Being ferried by school bus or suv from one subdivision to another, with the occasional meal at le pain quotidien or the cheesecake factory, sounds like hell.

That's fine. You don't prioritize education in the same way OP does.

... ok, where are all those schools in DC focused on "the true life of the mind"?

whatever dude. if you were as cool as you seem to think you are, you would be unschooling your kids in a yurt somewhere. OP is clearly interested in a more traditional kind of education.

Yes, all my friends working their asses off in public policy, global health, disability rights, gender rights ... so pedantic and rule following!

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, all my friends working their asses off in public policy, global health, disability rights, gender rights ... so pedantic and rule following! And yet many of them moved out of DC for schools!

Extremely pedantic and rule following. Also, humorless and without nuance. Trust me, I shop at the TP coop too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I wasn't raised in a suburb, I don't like suburbs, I don't want to raise children in a suburb. My children are all smart, and will succeed no matter what--in fact, I would prefer them not to be in an environment chock full of kumon, travel sports, and AP classes for the sake of "rigor." Life is rigor. Living it should be interesting. Being ferried by school bus or suv from one subdivision to another, with the occasional meal at le pain quotidien or the cheesecake factory, sounds like hell.


That's fine. You don't prioritize education in the same way OP does.

Yes, because nothing says prioritizing education like a rich suburban public school, where sports are a mere aside to the true focus of the life of the mind.

Yes, all my friends working their asses off in public policy, global health, disability rights, gender rights ... so pedantic and rule following! And yet many of them moved out of DC for schools!

Anonymous wrote:
I wasn't raised in a suburb, I don't like suburbs, I don't want to raise children in a suburb. My children are all smart, and will succeed no matter what--in fact, I would prefer them not to be in an environment chock full of kumon, travel sports, and AP classes for the sake of "rigor." Life is rigor. Living it should be interesting. Being ferried by school bus or suv from one subdivision to another, with the occasional meal at le pain quotidien or the cheesecake factory, sounds like hell.


That's fine. You don't prioritize education in the same way OP does.

Anonymous wrote:

This isn't to say you can't get an adequate education, especially for the very little ones, but if it is your #1 priority ... yeah, you probably aren't staying in DC.

I would say this is definitely true if you are the type of pedantic rule following type a personality that DC seems to attract. You'd think a town full of these types could accomplish so much, wouldn't you?