Anonymous wrote:9:00 -- I find it hard to keep a straight face when being lectured on establishing notions of privilege by a parent of private school kid ($30K+? per year school). If that is an important value to you there are many many schools in this city which would teach lessons on privilege in a much more experiential way and where your energy (and $30+K a year) would go a long way helping provide opportunities for others.

Ah, the standard response when folks question privilege within the realm of privilege. How do you know the poster is even a parent of private school kid?

Anonymous wrote:Both are great schools. It depends on your child. Based on my friends that have children there, GDS is a great fit for a very artsy liberal type of child. For us it was difficult to know what type of child we had at Pre-K and we were not willing to take that risk, especially for a boy. We chose Beauvoir where we knew pretty much any kind of child can be happy and thrive there as we knew many different kinds of boys that seemed to be doing great there. We figure we can always go to GDS or Sidwell for the upper school if we feel that those are a good fit. Plus the fact that Beauvoir's entire focus is on early education - Pre-K to 3rd grade was really appealing to us. The program is wonderful and there is a lot of diversity at the school - racial, religious, economic, geographic, etc...

GDS also has an extremely strong math and science program. GDS has built its reputation on superb academics with a clear mission of social justice. Athletics, not so much--but this also means that anyone who wants to play can, unlike at schools with far more competitive athletic programs (St. Albans) where you won't necessarily be able to play unless you're pretty darn good.

Anonymous wrote:Also I heard from a friend who sends her sons there, there are special bathrooms for transgender children. Is there any truth to this??

There are boys bathrooms and girls bathrooms (multi-stall in both cases) and single-person restrooms that aren't gender-specific. Just like restaurants, airports, etc.

Both are great schools. It depends on your child. Based on my friends that have children there, GDS is a great fit for a very artsy liberal type of child. For us it was difficult to know what type of child we had at Pre-K and we were not willing to take that risk, especially for a boy. We chose Beauvoir where we knew pretty much any kind of child can be happy and thrive there as we knew many different kinds of boys that seemed to be doing great there. We figure we can always go to GDS or Sidwell for the upper school if we feel that those are a good fit. Plus the fact that Beauvoir's entire focus is on early education - Pre-K to 3rd grade was really appealing to us. The program is wonderful and there is a lot of diversity at the school - racial, religious, economic, geographic, etc...

I am all for open minds about sexual orientation. But from what I heard GDS takes it to a different level in the lower school and that out of respect for sexual orientation, children read stories where there are two princes who fall in love. I'm not sure I want my child learning about sexual orientation like this.

Also I heard from a friend who sends her sons there, there are special bathrooms for transgender children. Is there any truth to this??

9:00 -- I find it hard to keep a straight face when being lectured on establishing notions of privilege by a parent of private school kid ($30K+? per year school). If that is an important value to you there are many many schools in this city which would teach lessons on privilege in a much more experiential way and where your energy (and $30+K a year) would go a long way helping provide opportunities for others.

I could not have been more proud when my 5 year old, on the way to GDS this morning, asked me if I was born during the Jim Crow laws. And then we discussed how lucky we are that we weren't born at that time. How cool is that?

Then again, you can always pop in your Wheels on the Bus CD.

Here's a link to the conference description:

https://www.gds.org/podium/default.aspx?t=204&nid=600186

Or, 8:44, your DC can skip all that "ideological" shaping until his/her own notions of privilege are firmly established. Alas, some folks don't have the luxury of waiting till they are mature enough to understand the legacy of discrimination and oppression in the United States as their ancestors lived it and they must still contend with it.

The conference on white privilege isn't for PreK-3 kids. It's for parents, educators, and high school students. I don't know whether it's curricular or extracurricular (I'm 7:37 and as I mentioned, my DC is in MS).

Anonymous wrote:Great post! I had been curious about GDS in the past and you gave some good concrete examples about what makes the school unique.

PP -- I think that this is overstated. My kid went to Beauvoir and the discussion of math instruction and early spelling sounds very familiar. I do not think that the differences between the approaches in these subjects between the two schools are very significant at all. At Beauvoir there is a lot of discussion of different traditions --- for Jewish, Muslim and Hindu holidays, parents come to class and talk about how their families celebrate the holidays and something about their beliefs, bearing in mind that the kids are PK-3 so these visits do not generate very profound discussions. Differences in family structures etc. are taken as given and mutual respect is expected.

The one part of the GDS description that did sound unfamiliar is the discussion of white privilege and a school conference devoted to that. And I have to say that this is something I am happy to skip for PK-3s. It sounds too much like ideological shaping ---- something that I do not want from a school. I would much rather have the school provide a broad mainstream education that stresses inquisitiveness and tolerance, and give my kid freedom to chart his own path when old enough to appreciate the issues in a mature way.

7:37 FINALLY. A specific and cogent discussion about a school from someone who is there. Thank you for taking the time.

Wouldn't it be so great if you could get that for all schools discussed here? The conversations always swing wildly from the cliche and the whisper rumors to the bitter and sometimes strange, with some positives thrown in.

Anyone around who could do this for Sidwell too?

Oops--I was referring to poster 07:37.

Anonymous wrote:Great post! I had been curious about GDS in the past and you gave some good concrete examples about what makes the school unique.

Great post! I had been curious about GDS in the past and you gave some good concrete examples about what makes the school unique.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either are fine schools. It really depends on the kid. GDS really doesn't have very good sports even in the higher grades...the Cathedral Schools have great sports. But if your kid isn't into sports -- then choose either school.

Not clear how you would even tell whether your 4-year-old is "into" sports, much less whether that will be a major consideration when the kid is, say, 8, much less 15.

GDS since you are DONE 4vr until college. If DC is a boy and wants to play sports like football [none at GDS] or is really good at lacrosse or baseball then MOVE him later. How would GDS not give good recs if it does not have a program for the older DS?