Anonymous wrote:When I saw this thread had continued on for several pages, I thought we had gotten back to the ongoing debate as to whether Banneker was suitable for the children of the well-off DCUMers. Surprised at first to see that the focus was on whether this young man deserved his 5 acceptances and the ensuing publicity. But I guess I shouldn't be.

At any rate, I know that Banneker won't suit every child, but isn't it at least conceivable now that it's worth investigating more closely for your own kids instead if rejecting it out of hand?

I wondered this back when I saw that Banneker was the only one on the My Schools list with a CAS score at 100% for math. I also wondered if there's a benefit to being in an environment where you don't have to worry about social bias. I wouldn't advocate for segregation of schools, but it seems to be what parents are thinking about.

And I think this thread is emplary of the rule that people will believe exactly what they want.

Anonymous wrote:
Then you agree that the accomplishment was well-deserved and not surprising, therefore, the media attention was unwarranted.

In my opinion, it is surprising that a student from DC was offered admission to five Ivy League colleges. Having learned more about the young man, it seems definitely well-deserved and perhaps less surprising for this particular individual given his personal history of achievement. The media attention is also deserved. When one of our major cable news networks is broadcasting 24/7 about a plane NOT being found, I find it hard to question the worthiness of any other news story.

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I saw this thread had continued on for several pages, I thought we had gotten back to the ongoing debate as to whether Banneker was suitable for the children of the well-off DCUMers. Surprised at first to see that the focus was on whether this young man deserved his 5 acceptances and the ensuing publicity. But I guess I shouldn't be.

At any rate, I know that Banneker won't suit every child, but isn't it at least conceivable now that it's worth investigating more closely for your own kids instead if rejecting it out of hand?

I think you need to go back to reading comprehension 101. People were discussing the media attention, not the accomplishment. I'll give you the bi-line: white people are shocked that an accomplished African American gets into Ivy colleges.

I disagree with your summation. One poster -- who is not even from DC -- questioned the accomplishment. Another poster applauded the accomplishment, but questioned the media attention. An overwhelming number of posters congratulated the young man and were happy about his achievement. A side debate about legacies was not material to his acceptances. I don't know how anyone could read this thread without seeing it as a broad spectrum of posters interested in DC schools rallying behind this young man's success.

Then you agree that the accomplishment was well-deserved and not surprising, therefore, the media attention was unwarranted.

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should I state the obvious? Before even clicking on the link I said he must be a minority. Sad.

I don't understand your comment. Do you think he's not qualified to attend those colleges?

Also of course you knew he was a minority because the title says Banneker high school.

I don't live in DC proper and have never heard of the high school.

This forum is for discussion of DCPS and DC Public Charter schools. If you don't live in DC, I am not sure why this forum would be of interest to you. But, one thing of which I can assure you is that we are not interested in your racial prejudices. If you find the success of a student "sad" because that student is black, you probably need to find another forum.

I live in the VA suburbs and never heard of the school. Sorry I'm not an expert on DC!

I never sad his accomplishments were sad I sad it's sad that they ONLY reason he makes headlines is because of his race.
FWIW I got into 4 Ivies and made no headlines.

Yeah, sorry, this kid is smarter than you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I saw this thread had continued on for several pages, I thought we had gotten back to the ongoing debate as to whether Banneker was suitable for the children of the well-off DCUMers. Surprised at first to see that the focus was on whether this young man deserved his 5 acceptances and the ensuing publicity. But I guess I shouldn't be.

At any rate, I know that Banneker won't suit every child, but isn't it at least conceivable now that it's worth investigating more closely for your own kids instead if rejecting it out of hand?

I think you need to go back to reading comprehension 101. People were discussing the media attention, not the accomplishment. I'll give you the bi-line: white people are shocked that an accomplished African American gets into Ivy colleges.

I disagree with your summation. One poster -- who is not even from DC -- questioned the accomplishment. Another poster applauded the accomplishment, but questioned the media attention. An overwhelming number of posters congratulated the young man and were happy about his achievement. A side debate about legacies was not material to his acceptances. I don't know how anyone could read this thread without seeing it as a broad spectrum of posters interested in DC schools rallying behind this young man's success.

What a good student and Mother. Kudos!

Anonymous wrote:When I saw this thread had continued on for several pages, I thought we had gotten back to the ongoing debate as to whether Banneker was suitable for the children of the well-off DCUMers. Surprised at first to see that the focus was on whether this young man deserved his 5 acceptances and the ensuing publicity. But I guess I shouldn't be.

At any rate, I know that Banneker won't suit every child, but isn't it at least conceivable now that it's worth investigating more closely for your own kids instead if rejecting it out of hand?

I think you need to go back to reading comprehension 101. People were discussing the media attention, not the accomplishment. I'll give you the bi-line: white people are shocked that an accomplished African American gets into Ivy colleges.

When I saw this thread had continued on for several pages, I thought we had gotten back to the ongoing debate as to whether Banneker was suitable for the children of the well-off DCUMers. Surprised at first to see that the focus was on whether this young man deserved his 5 acceptances and the ensuing publicity. But I guess I shouldn't be.

At any rate, I know that Banneker won't suit every child, but isn't it at least conceivable now that it's worth investigating more closely for your own kids instead if rejecting it out of hand?

Anonymous wrote:

AA kids from low SES, single family homes are criticized if they become criminals OR if they get into Ivy colleges?

What do they need to do to win approval?

- Asian parent.

Exactly.

If you ever do see this thread,

Please seriously consider Princeton. There is a tight bonded AA community there who come from impoverished backgrounds and at least when I was there there was a lot of interaction between them and Latinos from places like East LA, because everyone feels kind of like a fish out of water for a while.

There is an incredible amount of diversity in general because admissions are need blind. It is a small school, which means you will have contact with professors without having to be aggressive or pushy about it, and many kids go straight from there to GS or other investment banks to cut their teeth. It is also not that far from DC, so you will be able to come home fairly often.

If you ever feel like you need academic help, there is no shame in it. Something like 1/3 of first years went to the writing center this year to get help on term papers and it is a useful thing to do although I guess you won't need help with spelling. Most Ivy League schools do not have "finance" majors - just like they do not have "business" - just take econ and the classes that are known prerequisites for business school if you ever decide you want to go. You might need those credentials if you want to run a company, but most of our friends did so well straight out they never looked back. And a whole bunch went to Goldman together.

I went back for my 25th and ran into a bunch and solved a mystery - one of my old friends from East LA had established a scholarship and I thought he did it in a bequest but he is alive and well in London, just giving something back.

Do well, have fun, and know that you will find a place you are comfortable and also learn a lot from people who are not like you.

Good luck,
mom who married fellow Princeton grad who came from your kind of background. Our kids will be double legacies, minorities, and smart. And we want them to go there as well!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

AA kids from low SES, single family homes are criticized if they become criminals OR if they get into Ivy colleges?

What do they need to do to win approval?

- Asian parent.

Thank you! The fact that anyone would even question this young man's achievement is ridiculous!

...and disgusting.

This. I hope this young man never sees this thread.

Bravo to this brilliant, young man and his mother!

Anonymous wrote:"And as a group they are high achieving since they are the children of Ivy educated parents with all the advantages."

That's my point. A high achieving student (regardless of color) with Ivy-league educated parents SHOULD be a high academic achiever. Generally, a student with this background has received every conceivable academic benefit to ensure his/her success. This young man is receiving media coverage because he comes from a low-SES, single parent home. He is graduating from a school that's 61% FARMs (Banneker)! His road to Ivy-league admissions has been much longer, and no doubt harder than many of his future classmates. Off the top of my head, I can name 5 black kids who were accepted to multiple Ivies last year (they're all currently freshman at either Harvard, Yale, Princeton or Penn). All of them come from high-SES two-parent homes. They also attended Holton, St. Albans, Maret and Sidwell. As far as I know, not one of these kids received any media coverage...because their success is expected (and in some respects, unexceptional). This young man's success should be celebrated and applauded. If you have anything to say about his achievement, besides "congratulations," you should be ashamed!