Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids do not want their parents to watch like they do at Cap Cotillion. They do not want an audience of other parents gawking at them -- trust me. Mrs Simpsons has a few parents sign up to chaperone every dance and has cocktails with them. I know her well, and she is not a racist. Sorry liberal poster.

If she wasn't racist, would this complaint have been necessary?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1993/12/15/at-mrs-simpsons-a-more-modern-dance/f0df45e5-6d4b-4ee7-a216-4dc8f8312c68/

Being accused of "Racism" doesn't mean one is guilty of that.

Just part of the bullying that goes on when people don't get their way.

This

Are you aware that there is a THIRD alternative? Jon D Williams Cotillions instructs in Tyson's Corner and south of Annapolis and is only INCLUSIVE for ALL students, including scholarships!

Where else are you going to send your kids to learn how to dance? Your two options are these and many of us don’t know about Capital Cotillion. I get the sense that most of us are there to expose our kids to dancing, not the cotillion part. I would send my DD but have her drop out before the whole cotillion thing starts.

Anonymous wrote:Capital Cotillion is open to all, including - gasp - public school kids, whereas Mrs Simpsons is invitiation only (and basically just feeds from Holton/Landon).

22207 public schools here solicited to join Mrs Simpson. We laughed and told them to piss off.

My kids have done Mrs. Simpsons for a few years and we're a public school family. They love it and attend with a large group of their school friends. I think they enjoy it because it's different then their usually routine of sports and school.

The first one of the year was two weeks ago. I stayed for the entire time so I observed what was taught. They discussed how to properly shake hands and how to greet someone. They discussed how to ask a partner to dance. The boys had to ask a girl and then vice versa (my 5th grader danced with 3 girls if I recall). At the end they escort their partner to get a cookie and drink and then they sat down.

There was nothing stuck up or debutant about it. Kids seemed to enjoy themselves.

Anonymous wrote:So, what happens at these dances? Kids learn "manners"? They dance the minuet? The cha-cha? Then the girls are "presented"? (To whom?) But not the boys? They all eat petit fours and sip . . . tea? They wear blue blazers and gingham dresses?

That's pretty much the drill, except no, Cotillion does not have anything to do with whether or not the girls will eventually be "presented" as debutantes. And of course boys are not "presented" - who would even ask a question like that?!

Simpsons has an ugly history of discrimination.

So, what happens at these dances? Kids learn "manners"? They dance the minuet? The cha-cha? Then the girls are "presented"? (To whom?) But not the boys? They all eat petit fours and sip . . . tea? They wear blue blazers and gingham dresses?

Before you make any decisions about it, find out if your kids have friends are doing it, and see if your children can get invited as a guest for one of the dances. Then, you get to observe first hand if you think it's worth the price tag. IMHO, Cap Cotillion is fine, and, frankly, opportunities to refine DS's manners and to expose him to different social settings with kids from different schools are welcome on my part.

Anonymous wrote:I consider it a normal and standard rite of childhood. My grandmother did it, my mother did it, both DH and I did it and both DD and DS went to Mrs Simpsons from 4th-8th. For some people its just what you do.

Agree! My daughter loves it

Anonymous wrote:I am so glad that my kids had too much other stuff going on to even consider this pile of nonsense. This is the most anachronistic exchange I have ever seen. Take your kids to swimming practice, robotics, or church instead. Much more helpful to their development and welcoming of all.

+1.

My public school child did not get an invite to Capital Cotillion until she went to a Bethesda Middle School. Apparently our Silver Spring ES was not good enough for them. By then it seemed too late as most girls tend to do it in fourth and fifth grades.

I consider it a normal and standard rite of childhood. My grandmother did it, my mother did it, both DH and I did it and both DD and DS went to Mrs Simpsons from 4th-8th. For some people its just what you do.

To the contrary, my good lady. I ran in the most exclusive of Jersayan circles. I ate in the most exclusive diners. The ones in which the word “cotillion” dare not be uttered.