Pssssst. Parents for incoming plebes

Falcon chic: My child would thrive in a school with a lot more diversity, i.e. urban setting with inner city students.

How does your daughter feel about NAPS/USNA? What made her decide to go to NAPS vs a liberal arts school in an Urban setting despite your opinions to the contrary?
 
Will never encourage my child to go to the USNA(hope she will DOR from NAPS).

Wow, so much wrong here....

First, your "child" is no longer a child, she is a young adult. Second, while I am always watchful for undue influence from parents who push their kids to attend USNA when they really don't want to go, I am also concerned when I hear that parents are actively against their DS/DD attending USNA. Your daughter is going to need all the love and support you can give her when she heads out to Plebe Summer.

I have no idea what a "Waldorf Education" is, but the comments suggest that you don't support her decision to attend USNA because you feel that the education at USNA or serving in the military is beneath her. I don't know your daughter, but I can assure you that if your daughter gets through NAPS and accepts an appointment to USNA, she will get a first rate education, and will have the opportunity to work with and lead some of the very best young men and women in this country. Based upon the tenor of some earlier posts, I suspect this experience may be quite different than her upbringing, and it may change her a bit ...but that in itself in not all bad, as our children should be the product of their experiences, not necessarily mirror images of their parents. You should think of the USNA experience as adding diversity and enriching your daughters life, not stifling it.

Finally, I saw an earlier post where you indicated you were posting under daughters account here. If you have doubts, I would encourage you to open your account, anonymously so your DD cannot recognize that it is you. There are some good people here, many of whom may be parents of Classmates next year, and through this forum I trust you will get a better understanding of USNA and be able to support your daughters endeavors.
 
What the H**l is a Waldolf Education? Three kids at Prep Schools. One USNA (Marine Captain}, second now USNR LT, third still working on it for nursing. It was worth every dollar and sacrifice. According to your assumed definition of your "child" she should have gone to a more urban school rather than applying to a SA . I think they only did "DOR" in "Officer and a Gentleman". I think you can just leave NAPS unless you still have some enlisted commitment?
 
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My child had a Waldorf education which inspires one to be creative, ergo, I know my child would perform better at a large liberal arts college in California or on the east coast. That is not negativity, that is reality.

First, I'd never heard of a "Waldorf education," so I looked it up. For others who may be unfamiliar, it has no relation to wealth; rather, it's a type of learning, something analogous to Montessori. You can find more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_education

As for TrackGirl . . . It probably seems more logical for someone from a Waldorf background to attend a liberal arts school. However, in reality, that doesn't always pan out. Under that theory, you (as in someone) would assume that a young woman who attended a small, all-girls' private school would not do well at USNA in the early 1980s (when it was 8% female). You would be wrong. You would assume that someone who attended Bob Jones University would NEVER succeed at Harvard Law School. You would be wrong. There are all sorts of tales of people having different educational experiences -- and that's assuming that Waldorf is significantly different in approach than NAPS/USNA and I don't know enough about Waldorf to say that.

Three thoughts. First, maybe your DD is more suited to a military life style than you or she ever imagined. She might have thrived equally or more in something other than a Waldorf educational setting. Second, your DD obviously thought she would do ok/like/love NAPS and USNA. No one put a gun to her head to force her to attend. So maybe give her some credit. Third, if she changes her mind, she simply leaves NAPS and/or doesn't show up for I-Day (well, she needs to tell USNA . . .). But again, no one is forcing her to attend or stay in either school. If she believes she is better suited for the type of college you envision for her, she can head there at any time for the next 2.5 years without even a backward glance.
 
What the H**l is a Waldolf Education? Three kids at Prep Schools. One USNA (Marine Captain}, second now USNR LT, third still working on it for nursing. It was worth every dollar and sacrifice. According to your assumed definition of your "child" she should have gone to a more urban school rather than applying to a SA . I think they only did "DOR" in "Officer and a Gentleman". I think you can just leave NAPS unless you still have some enlisted commitment?

Over the years, we’ve sponsored 2 mids from Waldorf Schools, along with New England boarding schools, small rural high schools, home-schoolers, Catholic and Christian schools, military prep schools, and regular public high schools in urban and suburban settings.

One of the Waldorf mids played the cello, sang in the Glee Club, majored in math (that music-math connection), participated in all the USNA Masqueraders musicals, plays and concerts, went on to be a happy helo pilot. She is creative, funny, insightful, and was also called to a life of service and discipline with like-minded folks.

Our two Waldorf mids didn’t wither away; they thrived. I think thriving at an SA has more to do with a fundamental alignment with serving as part of a team, exercising leadership and being part of a larger purpose. Those for whom it is not a good fit leave somewhere along the way, and are still not teetering on the edge of the grave when they do, with plenty of time to explore other paths.

The diversity of home states, high school educations, affluence (several of our sponsor mids have come from below the poverty line, being able to come to USNA with just what they were wearing was a blessing, and a playing field leveler, and most of their classmates had no idea), faith community, along with gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and other factors, makes the SAs a relatively rich group of young minds, and each year, more so.

I am sure Trackgirl’s DD has been given a wonderful start to life, and if she is called to serve, she has her shot at USNA via NAPS. If it is not her path, there will always be other options.
 
@Trackgirl1999 (parent): We really need to distinguish your view from your daughter’s. You have not come back to tell us what your daughter thinks because that is really all that matters.

I am a parent who continues to check in here even though DH and I were not on board with our son’s decision to attend USMA. Our son, too, had a unique high school education, and we thought he had much better (non-military) college options. But, you know what, we were wrong and not because those other options don’t still seem better to us but rather because our son still does not think they are. He is a junior at USMA right now and believes he is right where he should be. USMA is satisfying whatever it was/is that drove him to the military, and he is thriving. We may never understand it, but our view is irrelevant. Instead, we love him, support him, pray for him, and are proud of the man of character and integrity he continues to be at the academy. USMA has not made him into anything he wasn’t already before he got there, but it is providing a path to his goals, foreign as those are to us. He is getting where he wants to go in an environment he values. I can’t think of anything more I’d want for my son.

If your daughter shares your views, then it is a simple matter for her to change course, and you will both be happy. However, if your daughter is committed to continuing along her current path, then it will be a lot easier on you and better for your relationship with your daughter to let your preconceptions and personal biases go and embrace her choice, the sooner, the better. One of you will be happy from the get-go, the other will learn to be. ;)
 
^^ I agree.

I thought trackgirl was a NAPS student, not a parent. Am I reading this wrong?

It is confusing when a parent and their child BOTH use the same account on here. Glancing back at some of their prior posts, the daughter is apparently currently at NAPS and the mom is the one now doing the recent postings. The discussion would be easier to follow if each person had their own account.

Wherever someone goes to college, they will likely interact with a wide variety of people, most of whom are away from home for the first time. I think it is a mistake to make sweeping generalization about EVERYONE at a particular college just based on a few months of experience.
 
Dear all: For those not in the pedagogical world, Waldorf is an international school, where love for one another exudes from the teachers and the students are very well rounded from milking a cow to writing a sonata. Anyway, my child started something and believes she has to finish what she has started. To the original poster, I did not intend to take over your thread, sorry :(
 
Academies are not the place for kids that need and want special or individual attention. It is a place where all must fit into a system.

They are not milking cows, raising chickens or exuding love. They are in the business of creating problem solving patriots and warriors to serve and defend.

The prep schools are about as diverse as you can get. The kids there did not qualify for direct admission, and although skewed a bit toward athletic excellence, the alumni represent all economic levels.
 
Dear all: For those not in the pedagogical world, Waldorf is an international school, where love for one another exudes from the teachers and the students are very well rounded from milking a cow to writing a sonata. Anyway, my child started something and believes she has to finish what she has started. To the original poster, I did not intend to take over your thread, sorry :(
that is nice your DD found out that is not for her sooner than later. NAPS was a great experience that helped her to choose the right path in life. for other parents is a good lesson not to take over your children's accounts. don't complain about your kids or on behalf of your kids, theyy complain to your in private, don't make it public. these posts can cause trouble for your dear ones.
 
Anyway, my child started something and believes she has to finish what she has started

Trackgirl, I know and understand the motivation of "finishing what you started." My parents preached it to me as a kid...and for the most part, it has served me well. That being said, it is not a good reason to stay at NAPS or start at USNA. NAPS and USNA are hard enough when you really want to be there, and anyone who doesn't want to be there will be miserable. There is no dishonor in leaving NAPS, or not accepting an Appointment to USNA, but it should be DD's decision, for her own reasons, not because of your educational philosophy. The mission of USNA is pretty straightforward, and if SHE is not on board with it, the decision easy.

As an aside, for all those that are Appointee's and hopefuls, portions of this discussion are important and instructive. You will likely encounter times when you think being at the Naval Academy really sucks, and you will be right -there are times that it does ! However, never lose track of the reason you applied and accepted the Appointment in the first place. If you are true to yourself, and really want to be there --you will get through the tough times, and 30+ years later, when you are sitting on front deck of Middleton Tavern watching Midshipman walk by, you will have forgotten most of the bad !
 
Dear all: For those not in the pedagogical world, Waldorf is an international school, where love for one another exudes from the teachers and the students are very well rounded from milking a cow to writing a sonata. Anyway, my child started something and believes she has to finish what she has started. To the original poster, I did not intend to take over your thread, sorry :(
Bravo to her for wanting to finish what she started. I hope that she will soon be able to make the decision to continue down this path or move on and feel good about her choice.
 
Dear all: You are clueless... Caring and concerned, yet clueless. Race and money has nothing to do with thriving at a liberal arts school in a large city. It has to do with being around worldly people who will not go up to my DD and touch her hair without asking because they are curious. Telling her they never had a person that looked like her in their h.s./town and asking does she like watermelon, friend chicken, is her father in the home, or in jail, etc. Then the kids are surprised she is not loud and wild like the girls on TV. Please expose your children to others that may not look like you, before they get to USNA. Thank you
 
Sounds like a teachable moment for those whom your daughter encountered at NAPS. But please, don’t let anyone stop you from pre-judging people based on that sliver of experience. I’m sure there is plenty of room on that bus!
o_O
 
Caring and concerned, yet clueless. Race and money has nothing to do with thriving at a liberal arts school in a large city. It has to do with being around worldly people who will not go up to my DD and touch her hair without asking because they are curious.

Put that way, its an issue of race, not educational philosophy. Yes, DD may encounter other Midshipmen who have not experienced much diversity at USNA, we get candidates from all walks of life, but isn't that an opportunity for DD to broaden her horizons and meet others who may be different than her ?
 
Dear all: You are clueless... Caring and concerned, yet clueless. Race and money has nothing to do with thriving at a liberal arts school in a large city. It has to do with being around worldly people who will not go up to my DD and touch her hair without asking because they are curious. Telling her they never had a person that looked like her in their h.s./town and asking does she like watermelon, friend chicken, is her father in the home, or in jail, etc. Then the kids are surprised she is not loud and wild like the girls on TV. Please expose your children to others that may not look like you, before they get to USNA. Thank you
I can tell you right now, hands down, that this is not how officer candidates at the service academies act. I have never, ever seen anyone do the things/ask the questions that you are putting forward. Doing these things would be a great way to get an EO hit.
 
I can tell you right now, hands down, that this is not how officer candidates at the service academies act. I have never, ever seen anyone do the things/ask the questions that you are putting forward. Doing these things would be a great way to get an EO hit.

I agree. Either something wildly bizarre is happening that's totally out of the norm for NAPS this year, or (what I think is more likely) is things are being blown way out of proportion. If this stuff really is happening, it should be reported. If it is reported it will definitely be taken care of.
 
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