Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Bailing out of a very fancy girls school

I was expecting to like this widely publicized letter from a father to a fancy girls school, disenrolling his daughter.
She has been at Brearley for seven years, beginning in kindergarten. In short, we no longer believe that Brearley’s administration and Board of Trustees have any of our children’s best interests at heart.
Why did he ever think that they did?

He was paying them $54k a year to educate his daughter. It is a business. That's all.

I object to Brearley’s vacuous, inappropriate, and fanatical use of words such as “equity,” “diversity” and “inclusiveness.” If Brearley’s administration was truly concerned about so-called “equity,” it would be discussing the cessation of admissions preferences for legacies, siblings, and those families with especially deep pockets.
Why does he care about their words, concerns, or admissions policies? Are they educating his daughter, or not?
Lastly, I object, with as strong a sentiment as possible, that Brearley has begun to teach what to think, instead of how to think. I object that the school is now fostering an environment where our daughters, and our daughters’ teachers, are afraid to speak their minds in class for fear of “consequences.” I object that Brearley is trying to usurp the role of parents in teaching morality, and bullying parents to adopt that false morality at home. I object that Brearley is fostering a divisive community
He is probably right, but I would like to see some specifics. Has the school really usurped the role of parents?

What did he really think that he was getting for that $54k? Teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic? I am guessing not, as surely the basics can be learned more cheaply. He wanted the school to impart values, and now he does not agree with the values being taught. And that is a good reason to withdraw from the school, but he does not really explain it.

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