Anonymous wrote:WIS. My theory is that because the students and their families come from all over the world, and the school's population is very socioeconomically diverse, there is no one standard for what is cool, or popular, where one should live, or vacation, how one should dress, or look, how much money one should have, etc. The teachers in the Primary School are very kind and loving, and they do foster confidence and comfort among the students.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'd look for schools that are diverse, selective, and co-ed for the ones with the nicest kids. These are all generalizations but this whole topic is a semi-subjective, semi-vague topic.
Diverse schools are more likely to encourage inclusiveness and to take a strong stand against excluding or discriminatory behavior.
Selective schools are more likely to weed out at least some kids who, in lower school admissions play dates or interviews, don't display "nice" behavior.
Co-ed schools -- at least in lower school, girls are nicer and less competitive than boys. Not sure about this one but it makes sense to me.
And finally, niceness begets niceness. Good manners lead to others having good/better manners. "Warmth" begets warmth. Starts at the top, with the head of school and the school's mission/values statement(s). I'm a believer in the need for kids to be exposed to both good and bad, mean kids and nice kids, as part of growing up. But some schools seem less likely to have bad kid daily distractions than others and those are the ones I'd be looking to for my lower schoolers.
That's hilarious! -- Sidwell parent
Anonymous wrote:I'd look for schools that are diverse, selective, and co-ed for the ones with the nicest kids. These are all generalizations but this whole topic is a semi-subjective, semi-vague topic.
Diverse schools are more likely to encourage inclusiveness and to take a strong stand against excluding or discriminatory behavior.
Selective schools are more likely to weed out at least some kids who, in lower school admissions play dates or interviews, don't display "nice" behavior.
Co-ed schools -- at least in lower school, girls are nicer and less competitive than boys. Not sure about this one but it makes sense to me.
And finally, niceness begets niceness. Good manners lead to others having good/better manners. "Warmth" begets warmth. Starts at the top, with the head of school and the school's mission/values statement(s). I'm a believer in the need for kids to be exposed to both good and bad, mean kids and nice kids, as part of growing up. But some schools seem less likely to have bad kid daily distractions than others and those are the ones I'd be looking to for my lower schoolers.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I went to one and the kids were pretty mean oh so long ago ... is there one with a reputation for kids who are just nicer and less social climbing? I'm totally fine if that means they are nerdier/geekier or something - I recognize this may.m be a true fantasy...
Nerdier/geekier does not translate to kinder/nicer. I wouldn't use that as your barometer.
It usually does, in my experience!
That was my own experience too and it is what I see with my DC's and friends!
Anonymous wrote:I teach at a private school. Each graduating class has its own character. Most kids are nice. Some years have more than their share of entitled kids. And, yes, you can sometimes see them coming years in advance. Lower school teachers will tell us when a class is full of challenging kids.
Anonymous wrote:I teach at a private school. Each graduating class has its own character. Most kids are nice. Some years have more than their share of entitled kids. And, yes, you can sometimes see them coming years in advance. Lower school teachers will tell us when a class is full of challenging kids.
Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry to say kindness and entitlement rarely go together. In my experience children at one school mentioned so far here tend to be so wealthy that their parents appear never to have said no to any request. This does not work well with classmates.
Anonymous wrote:I teach at a private school. Each graduating class has its own character. Most kids are nice. Some years have more than their share of entitled kids. And, yes, you can sometimes see them coming years in advance. Lower school teachers will tell us when a class is full of challenging kids.