Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you with children at Sidwell, what percentage of your child's class would you guess is Jewish? I'm curious whether there are many Jewish families who choose Sidwell over the Cathedral schools in part because of the Cathedral schools' tie to the Episcopalian church. Does that swing a higher percentage of Jewish students to Sidwell?

Are you Jewish? Is that why you are asking this question?

Yes. We'll be applying to private schools next fall for our DC. This thought has crossed our minds, and we wondered whether we are alone or if other Jewish families may be thinking the same way. While we would like for our DC to be in a class that's diverse in all respects -- including religion -- we think it might be tougher on DC to be in an environment where our religious beliefs are considerably different from those of the large majority of the class.

If you mean by competitive driven to succeed and excel, then that would apply to the vast majority of kids at Sidwell. If by competitive you mean kids specifically gunning to do better than their classmates or in some way feeling driven to "beat" others, then no. The US does not do "class rank", have a valedictorian, or "cum laude" society or the equivalent (unlike the cathedral schools) or any prize day other than awarding varsity letters for athletic teams. I believe that the very clear prohibition against rankings/prizes/etc is based on Quaker teachings at least originally. In our experience there was little grading on a curve. My DS's class was one of if not the most academically-strong classes in recent history, and it seemed that there was no particular down side in terms of competition for college spots, with a very large group of really top students based on NMSF status/Presidential scholar finalists/other outside of school academic awards all getting into really top schools. So we were pleasantly surprised at how much the school seemed to try to do in the US to avoid kids competing in any direct way against each other.

Anonymous wrote:Kids who are not competitive will not do well at Sidwell.

Please provide examples of what you mean by competitive.

Anonymous wrote:For those of you with children at Sidwell, what percentage of your child's class would you guess is Jewish? I'm curious whether there are many Jewish families who choose Sidwell over the Cathedral schools in part because of the Cathedral schools' tie to the Episcopalian church. Does that swing a higher percentage of Jewish students to Sidwell?

Are you Jewish? Is that why you are asking this question?

For those of you with children at Sidwell, what percentage of your child's class would you guess is Jewish? I'm curious whether there are many Jewish families who choose Sidwell over the Cathedral schools in part because of the Cathedral schools' tie to the Episcopalian church. Does that swing a higher percentage of Jewish students to Sidwell?

Kids who are not competitive will not do well at Sidwell.

Anonymous wrote:I know about a dozen kids who went to school with my children before moving on to Sidwell. In almost every case the kids were among the less popular awkward kids at the previous school and seem to be more popular now that they are among similar children.

The island of misfit toys may be harsh, but it's not too far off the mark.

Please -It's all about popular!
It's not about aptitude
It's the way you're viewed
So it's very shrewd to be
Very very popular
Like me!

-- Wicked, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwarz

I know about a dozen kids who went to school with my children before moving on to Sidwell. In almost every case the kids were among the less popular awkward kids at the previous school and seem to be more popular now that they are among similar children.

The island of misfit toys may be harsh, but it's not too far off the mark.

The word "nerd" seems to have shifted. Maybe we should thank Gates, Jobs and Zuckerberg for some of this. There will always be kids who don't fit in, but my impression from my kids' schools has been that these are the kids with social issues, rather than merely being studious.

FWIW, I know four kids at Sidwell, and none of them fit the description given above, of humble, cool, happy nerds. Not anything close.

A bully's excuse above. My DC self reports as a nerd but is very social, into musical and other theater, not anxious, wins at sports and academic competitions, and happens to be strongly gifted in math. DC would never try to make anyone feel bad. And if you want to define normal as secure, happy, engaged, hardworking, confident and able to accept rejection (it happens a lot when trying out for community theater plays). friendly, self-motivated, and highly competent, DC meets that. But DC couldn't care less about what the popular crowd is eating, wearing, doing, whether the party evite is coming etc. Just goes with the flow with remarkable grace. We looked at Sidwell but are hoping for TJ.

If the Sidwell kids are happy in their community and the parents are satisfied with their social development, what differnce does it make if they have a reputation as nerdy among kids form other private schools? A great thing about coed schools is that the students don't need to draw interest from students at other schools.

Anonymous wrote:New to this forum, but why does Sidwell seem to have a "for nerdy kids" reputation? Never heard this before?

Well, what do you mean by "nerdy"? My kids and their friends are friendly, good conversationalists and have lovely manners. Many of them are really funny. Quite a few are good athletes and/or dedicated musicians or budding artists. They are very much aware of how fortunate they are and tend to be generous and community-minded with a strong impulse to help others. They're unpretentious and love to learn -- not just for a grade or resume value, but because they're curious and thoughtful. I guess this last part makes them look nerdy to some folks; if so, let your nerd flag fly, Sidwell!

Anonymous wrote:You really disbelieve the existence of a "nerds/lunkhead dichotomy"?

Didn't you go through school yourself? Have you ever watched a John Hughes movie in your life? Sure it can get overplayed and caricatured, but it's a real dichotomy.

I'm reading "The Power of One" right now -- a semi-autobiographical tale about a child growing up in South Africa in the 1930-40s -- and even there the main character talks about having to hide his intelligence from his schoolmates to avoid being labeled and abused.

Yes, I disbelieve it. This isn't the 1940s and nerds are cool. My kids have been in various area private and public schools and have never had problems. Do kids separate out into groups by interest? Of course. Yet the days of the football player beating up the skinny nerd while the teachers look on are over, thank goodness. (And no need to ask if I went to school myself, that was beneath you.)

You really disbelieve the existence of a "nerds/lunkhead dichotomy"?

Didn't you go through school yourself? Have you ever watched a John Hughes movie in your life? Sure it can get overplayed and caricatured, but it's a real dichotomy.

I'm reading "The Power of One" right now -- a semi-autobiographical tale about a child growing up in South Africa in the 1930-40s -- and even there the main character talks about having to hide his intelligence from his schoolmates to avoid being labeled and abused.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Full of very smart and motivated kids. A full spectrum of very socially adept kids, kids focused on sports, arty/theater kids, as well as some but not many stereotypical math/science "nerds". What my DD found really pleasant was that being smart didn't end up labeling one as a nerd, or defining your social group, unlike public school.

Oh, please.

It's all about FIT for your child regardless whether you/parent personally like/dislike the school. Why is this concept so hard to register with DCUM posters?

You missed the point - it was a reaction to the condescending nerd/lunkheads dichotomy, which is totally overstated for any school including, dare I say it, public.