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Since Dshibes seems to want evidence, I would like to see some too. Specifically, I want to know what the grounds for this sort of statement are:
Very little compared to Breck. Breck is service focused. At Blake service is almost absent.
You can't possibly know this for a fact, since you are not involved with service at Blake in any way. As a Blake parent, I can assure you that the school takes service very seriously and involves all the students from pre-K onwards in service missions. But I get it. You like Breck, you're selling the company line about their service program while ignoring the fact that other schools may well be doing just as much as Breck. Note that I never disparaged Breck's service program in order to make a point about service at Blake.
Claims of racism (and with zero detail) are absolutely absurd!!
How would you know they're absurd unless you experienced it? I mean, I think all assertions of racism are met with this sort of comment. But you can't live another person's experience. As for evidence, I can only describe my anecdotal experiences based on the three visits we made to Breck. For example, on two separate occasions, a Breck administrator made fun of my child's last name. Not a polite "could you please pronounce your last name for us" but rather 'wow, that last name is unpronounceable. Maybe you should consider a name change?" How is this not racism/ethnocentrism?!
Now, I don't think Breck is racist. They're just selective about which racial/cultural/ethnic minorities they embrace. I guess this could be a deliberate strategy to meet their particular diversity mission (i.e. Breck has always been a leader in recruiting and enrolling minority students from underprivileged backgrounds). That may be a laudable goal but it's not less offensive to the person on the receiving end.
For what it's worth, not only did all the people we met at Blake already know how to pronounce my child's last name, nobody made a point of commenting on it either. *shrug*
Moreover, providing a Chinese language curriculum doesn't negate casual racism. Neither does occasionally including a Hindu or Buddhist module in a religion class. I'm vaguely offended by the assertion that I just didn't read the curriculum carefully enough. In my defense, here's a copy-and-paste from Breck's lower school curriculum (emphasis mine):
Quote:
In kindergarten, classroom instruction takes place every other cycle and students attend chapel once or twice a month for 20 minutes. Each year of a three-year curriculum focuses on a different set of stories from the Bible, and religious practices or virtues. Themes are woven throughout the school year that allows us to emphasize various “big ideas” within the stories. Religious seasons, holidays, and feast days are explored and celebrated, so that students can learn about classmate’s faith traditions. Hebrew and Christian scriptures are cornerstones of the Lower School Religion curriculum. We also spend some time each year exploring Native American spirituality. Other faith traditions are explored as we respond to gifts and interests within the community. Kindergarten class sessions are designed to give students room to think about God and their relationship with God. Activities give them different ways of experiencing this relationship.
Anyone reading this would surely come away thinking Judeo-Christian teachings were emphasized over all others, i.e. it says so right on the proverbial box! Blake avoids this problem by not teaching religion at all, except in the broader cultural sense of allowing all students to share their particular cultural/religious beliefs. I think that's preferable to a system that makes one particular belief system the "cornerstone" of the curriculum.
I think that anyone who is serious about these schools will visit both. We did and it was apparent that Blake is very 1980s private school stuffy and not as strong academically.
As indicated earlier, we visited both schools three times, and came away underwhelmed by nearly everything at Breck (except for that new science wing, which is pretty snazzy). I had no sense that Blake was in any way more materialistic than Breck, and I don't think Blake is a dump in any way at all. They're both "rich kid" schools with "rich kid" school problems, but at the margins, Blake seemed like a better fit for my family. Other families will come to a different conclusion.
Also, your point about "not as strong academically" is not borne out by actual data. Based on the profiles provided by each school for 2013, these are the test scores.
This would give Blake a slight (statistically insignificant) edge, if test scores are even a thing prospective parents should care about. Certainly, both schools actively shill this information to prospective parents, so some people probably do care.
For what it's worth, in terms of academics, SPA is probably the winner (I could not find an electronic copy of the school's report on test scores, unfortunately). We considered SPA as well, but the location was a definite deal breaker for us. Getting from the west suburbs to St Paul everyday and back would have killed me!
Finally, as I said before, I think which school you select depends largely on subjective criteria, so any comparison is going to be unsatisfying and any statements about each school are going to be anecdotal and based on personal opinion rather than hard facts. I was mostly just trying to correct some very biased misstatements about Blake in my original post.
As for the whole "this is how rich white people argue," I'm not white, I'm not rich, but I'm definitely a person who likes to argue. Thank you for the laugh.
Scribbles2015, it's clear that you like to argue but it's also obvious that you're not too serious. I suspect that you might work at Blake.
Your comments are racism are simply unbelievable. Again, at Breck, the head of the lower school and the head of the entire school are Asian. Please stop with these silly exaggerations of the truth. Suggesting that racism has any place whatsoever at Breck, particularly when you send your own children to a school which allows almost no diversity, is laughable. I suppose that anyone could make a mistake pronouncing someone's name, but isn't that dramatically more likely to happen at a school like Blake that does not embrace diversity? Be serious.
I'm quite familiar with Blake's approach to service as I know two families who send their children there (one switching to Breck next year). The service efforts are simply not comparable. Anyone reading to here will learn about them during the visits.
Bottom line, Blake lacks diversity, nurtures an embarrassingly high level of small-time and debilitating materialism and completely fails to give children the critical understand of religious diversity.
Fortunately no one will decide on one of these schools based on these reviews. That being said, I would encourage anyone who does plan to visit the schools to pay close attention (although it is obvious) to the issues that I have brought up regarding Blake. Again, I do believe that Blake was a pretty strong school 20+ years ago. Social and cultural elitism were more acceptable at that time. Today, however, children who are not taught about the importance of diversity will be at a crippling disadvantage to those who recognize that the world is more diverse than ever and is quickly becoming moreso.
Good luck with your visits and, again, interview the teachers! The decision will be obvious to most.
Scribbles2015, it's clear that you like to argue but it's also obvious that you're not too serious. I suspect that you work at Blake.
You comments are racism are simple unbelievable. Again, at Breck, the head of the lower school and the head of the entire school are Asian. Please stop with these silly exaggerations of the truth. Suggesting that racism has any place whatsoever at Breck, particularly when you send your own children to a school which allows almost no diversity, is laughable.
I'm quite familiar with Blake's approach to service as I know two families who send their children there (one switching to Breck next year). The service efforts are simply not comparable. Anyone reading to here will learn about them during the visits.
Bottom line, Blake lacks diversity, nurtures an embarrassingly high level of small-time and debilitating materialism and completely fails to give children the critical understand of religious diversity.
Fortunately no one will decide on one of these schools based on these reviews. That being said, I would encourage anyone who does plan to visit the schools to pay close attention (although it is obvious) to the issues that I have brought up regarding Blake. Again, I do believe that Blake was a pretty strong school 20+ years ago. Social and cultural elitism were more acceptable at that time. Today, however, children who are not taught about the importance of diversity will be at a crippling disadvantage to those who recognize that the world is more diverse than ever and is quickly becoming moreso.
Good luck with your visits and, again, interview the teachers! The decision will be obvious to most.
Scribbles2015 says that s/he is the parent of a student. On what basis are you calling him/ her a liar?
I'm neutral on the Blake vs. Breck question, but I don't think the tone of the pro-Breck posters is doing much to enhance the image of what really is a fine school.
Scribbles2015 says that s/he is the parent of a student. On what basis are you calling him/ her a liar?
I'm neutral on the Blake vs. Breck question, but I don't think the tone of the pro-Breck posters is doing much to enhance the image of what really is a fine school.
I never said that she wasn't a parent of a student. In any case, while anything is possible, her story about being told to change her last name sounds very unlikely as Breck wouldn't tolerate it for a moment. Further, it seems highly unlikely that Scribbles would be so concerned about racism but then would send her child to a mostly white school. Again, anything is possible of course.
I'll be glad if my comments (or hers) lead people to visit the schools to see for themselves. Both schools have changed significantly over the years and it's important that people visit the schools rather than going on what they have heard from those who attended them in the past.
I never said that she wasn't a parent of a student. In any case, while anything is possible, her story about being told to change her last name sounds very unlikely as Breck wouldn't tolerate it for a moment. Further, it seems highly unlikely that Scribbles would be so concerned about racism but then would send her child to a mostly white school. Again, anything is possible of course.
I'll be glad if my comments (or hers) lead people to visit the schools to see for themselves. Both schools have changed significantly over the years and it's important that people visit the schools rather than going on what they have heard from those who attended them in the past.
As a private school parent, I know of no one who has chosen a private school without at least one visit. It's also customary for the prospective student to attend for a day or more so they can see what it's like first hand. So I think your advice to visit is not bad but is quite unnecessary.
My larger point is that the recent pro-Breck posters have come off as quite mean spirited. You may doubt her story, but since you have no basis for those doubts other than your own feelings, you would have done Breck a greater service by keeping those doubts to yourself.
I would think that as many people would be turned off to Breck by these nasty posts as would be concerned about Blake, if not more. I would reassure people that, in my experience, people like these pro-Breck posters are not representative of the Breck community as a whole, though we now understand that they are there.
Nothing mean spirited whatever. I spent a great deal of time comparing the schools and meeting with the staff and am simply presenting my perspective.
Your opinion is that my advice about visiting the schools is unnecessary. Perhaps this is true from your perspective but perhaps you should leave such opinions to yourself. We're comparing the schools here, no? Maybe some people are not quite as knowledgeable as you are about the process.
Also, I hear your opinion about what would do Breck the greatest service. That being said, suggesting that there is "casual racism" at either school is not based in reality and deserves to be addressed.
Your passive-aggressive reassurance is transparent. The bottom line here is that these schools are extremely different. Those who do the research will see these differences. Clearly, Glenfield, you have lots of time to post here (thousands of posts). As I do not, I'll let you have the last word. Please stay on topic.
Nothing mean spirited whatever. I spent a great deal of time comparing the schools and meeting with the staff and am simply presenting my perspective.
Your opinion is that my advice about visiting the schools is unnecessary. Perhaps this is true from your perspective but perhaps you should leave such opinions to yourself. We're comparing the schools here, no? Maybe some people are not quite as knowledgeable as you are about the process.
Also, I hear your opinion about what would do Breck the greatest service. That being said, suggesting that there is "casual racism" at either school is not based in reality and deserves to be addressed.
Your passive-aggressive reassurance is transparent. The bottom line here is that these schools are extremely different. Those who do the research will see these differences. Clearly, Glenfield, you have lots of time to post here (thousands of posts). As I do not, I'll let you have the last word. Please stay on topic.
Yes, I have posted here for many years and you are new. So thank you for the reminder to stay on topic; it's so important that someone fulfill the role of forum policeman.
I realize that you are very important and must be very busy, so I'll be brief and try to stay on topic! I am happy to let your word be the last between us, so this comment is addressed to prospective parents and not you. You may stop reading now and go on with your very important business.
Prospective parents can evaluate for themselves whether or not it's significant that parents at a particular school seem to feel the need to tear others down. It's just not the kind of environment I would want for my kids. I would want a place where they had examples of how to be good people.
Last edited by Glenfield; 06-27-2015 at 01:18 PM..
We looked at both schools and chose neither. Socially, both schools are notorious for bullying and shallow pecking orders, though so are Edina and Minnetonka public schools. The social environments in these schools has been a nightmare for a number of parents we know. In the end, we chose a charter school supplemented with in-home, one-on-one tutoring in multiple subjects. Placing your faith for education in a single institution is a mistake. No school can single-handedly provide a comprehensive education. Yet, people tend to approach schools like church, with the idea that the institution will "deliver" them. Ironically, perhaps, not a very sophisticated approach to getting educated.
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Scribbles scribbles....
