@teniz22 the problem is that when you ask (not in that particular school, anywhere in MA) they all are for debate and diversity when in reality everyone has a very set number of opinions that are accepted nowadays.
My kid was a Republican at a MA progressive school. He was definitely an outlier, and although he was sometimes exasperated by the “other side” (aren’t we all?) it didn’t seem to be a big issue for him at school. Has your child done a revisit? I imagine they’d learn a lot by talking with kids at the school.
I think how your child would experience the political climate at CSW may depend on where they’re coming from. If you’re already from a liberal place I don’t think there would be much culture shock, even if they consider themselves a conservative. I think a Bill Weld/Charlie Baker Republican (loosely, fiscally conservative but more socially liberal) would be fine. I’m not so sure about a Tom Cotton/ Pat Robertson style social conservative. If you’re a family from the Bible Belt you may find that the assumptions about what “everybody thinks” are different.
Just my personal opinion. I don’t have a kid at CSW so current parents may have a different take on this.
We did do the revisit and loved the school and will be attending next year… I just want to be prepared and prepare my child for what’s next. Our current school is definitely very liberal (or should I say became very liberal in the past two or so years)… My child is not an active republican or active catholic or active whatever…just a regular child… we just don’t like extremes in any forms… We grew up in a country where we were told exactly what to think, what opinion is right and what opinion is wrong. I don’t want that for my child.
What I witnessed, at both mine and my daughter’s schools, was an increasingly aggressive and hostile reaction to honest questions. I became very concerned that teaching, learning, and critical thinking had been replaced by indoctrination. I was also very concerned about the amount of time spent discussing politics and opinions in each class and the lack of time spent on actual history, literature, etc. The humanities courses in general were becoming a social justice discussion forum. FWIW: I have no issue with liberal opinions. I agree with some, others not so much. I married my political opposite, so it’s not much an issue for me when I disagree with someone- it doesn’t make them a demon or me a saint. At best, it should make for a sincere and respectful debate.
Yes!! Thank you so much for that opinion! (I wonder if you are a teacher in our current school or if your daughter attends it)…
@yuor28 I’ve had children in progressive schools their entire lives. Our progressive is one of the oldest in the country and I love it. The classes are very discussion based, experiential learning…great for visual learners (since it’s a lot of hands on learning). If you can imagine how the Harkeness method it…it’s similar to that. The kids in our school go on to HS as very confident learners and have confidence interacting with adults. These same kids went on to progressive HS and this year they are attending colleges that include a few IVY league schools and other highly sought after schools. I’ve loved it and it was a different way for me to get used to since I went to a catholic school my entire live…but I love how progressive schools understand that not all children learn the same. They really have an insight into learning in a way that I had never thought of. I’ve loved it. Many of the progressive HS give grades but also narrative reports
belated Congratulations, yuor22 - I hope your daughter (and you!) will be happy with CSW
In many ways, progressive schools are more like real life. When was the last time your boss gave you a graded test?
Progressive School triva time: The first time I heard about a “Progressive School” was in the movie “Miracle On 34th Street”. In the original version of the film, Kris Kringle asks Susan what grade she is in and she explains that she attends a progressive school…then Kris says “Oh, a Progressive School” …in what I always thought was a complimentary way, acknowledging that she is smart and independent.
=D>
I know that reference too! I actually think he was a bit skeptical since the little girl did not believe in Santa and he attributed that to her education and worldly upbringing.
That was my reading too. Those skeptical Progressives!
MMM…this sounds like a projective measure…I took it as a positive comment… interesting! FWIW - I think it is great that a) progressive education has been evolving for so many decades and b) that there are other people on CC who know that movie well enough to recall the scene! <:-P
While I have no connection to this school, I do think it gives an accurate history of the growth of progressive education and why the movie was somewhat reactionary against progressive education (since it was so new at the time that the movie came out). A possible, more contemporary, label for this might be “disruptive education”. Of course, as a student ages and academic demands increase, parents paying exorbitant tuition expect their children to attend prestigious universities, so traditional academics tend to kick in a bit more (more of the plug and chug/memorization). https://miquon.org/about/progressive-education/history-of-progressive-education/