Disappointed in Blair

Prep School Admissions
61

<p>kristinkaye:</p>

<p>Wow. You really don't want to see this discussion change course. </p>

<p>To summarize...</p>

<p>You "hate to fan the flames," but you will. </p>

<p>You "don't want to pick on Blair either," but you will. </p>

<p>You'll gladly make broad, vague and somewhat sinister allegations of racism against a school and its headmaster that you'll discuss further via PM. </p>

<p>Although your repeated attacks on Blair and its headmaster are based on indirect contacts, you think that the parents of students who attend Blair were being curt. </p>

<p>And you think that a few of the responses here -- presumably not including yours -- are very disappointing. </p>

<p>And, finally, you seem to believe that making secondhand disparaging comments about a school and its headmaster -- through backchannel communications -- is the high road.</p>

<p>I have no dog in the fight for Blair's reputation. But I can partly relate to your desire to communicate the things you've heard about Blair because I, too, have had some, well, "disappointing encounters" in my experience with a couple of boarding schools. The thing is this: there are healthy ways to communicate these concerns without making them personal. And there are effective ways to alert people to inquire for themselves and probe deeply before choosing a specific school you would personally avoid. (Let people inquire for themselves instead of insisting that they validate your views.) And there are considerate approaches to making your point while also respecting the people who weigh in who are intimately involved in the school and more knowledgeable than you about it without dismissing their firsthand impressions as being biased because your secondhand views are different.</p>

<p>Your methodology of arguing that your perception is both right and a truth is just too toxic and mean-spirited to others who are stakeholders in the Blair community. If your goal was to help others from falling into what you believe is a mistake, you could do so without impugning yourself in the process. If your goal is to exact some sort of bulletin board vengeance, keep firing anonymous pot shots.</p>

62

<p>I stand firmly by my assertions but what is this obsession with basketball?</p>

63

<p>D'yer- Excellent post. Thank you.</p>

<p>Blair has a strong program for PGs in basketball- develops players for D1 college play. There are only a small number of kids who go this route, but they have been very successful. Occasionally there is some resentment among the "mere mortals" who lose some playing time, but most Blair kids thrive on the competition and learn from the stars.</p>

64

<p>My D is at Blair and I am there every day. I do not know anything about the numbers but I assure you that there are groups of all kinds, at different times, on Campus. I have seen groups of four or five blacks or four or five Asians or mixed groups or whatever. I know they all seem to be having the time of thier lives. My D does not enjoy playing any sports but I can tell you she loves to see the great basketball and football (this year) teams win. </p>

<p>NYC: I would not want to suggest to tell you what is important, but I would highly suggest you and your D go to Blair and check it out for yourself. You just may be doing yourselves a great disservice but not seeing first hand what a great school Blair is. Statisical numbers are no match for first hand experience.</p>

65

<p>There are hundreds of great schs and, and like most families, we will visit only a few of them. The absence of crit mass of black students is one of several factors we look to in determining whether to investig a sch further. </p>

<p>I don't believe that bypassing Blair, where D could be the only black girl in her grade, is doing her a disservice. And even if it is a disservice, it is certainly no more so than a family that decides not visit/consider a sch b/c it's outside their geog comfort zone (too far), doesn't offer a sport the applicant plays or isn't coed. </p>

<p>I am glad that your family is happy w/ Blair, but it isn't right for my family.</p>