Harvard-Westlake Videos

[methodwriter85]

Since it's now a contender, I thought I'd look up some Harvard-Westlake videos.

 

 

It's from 2006, so it's close to the 2000-2004 era for JJ and Will. What I like about this is that it's a bunch of goofy kids having fun, and the fashions don't look all that different from what was going on in the East Cost in the mid-00's. Mark, note how every single kid is wearing baggy pants, even the white kid in the polo. I think I also spyed someone wearing a green trucker hat, which came into fashion around 2002-2003 courtesy of Ashton Kutcher always wearing one on Punked. They would remain in fashion through the mid-2000's, but generally disapeared by the time we got to 2007.

 

I was worried that Harvard-Westlake would be some snobby school like on Gossip Girl or the homophobically oppressive University School, but it doesn't look like that at all. They look like regular kids- just extremely rich. LOL. I could easily see Will dancing around with those guys, trying to do some breakdance moves. Maybe even crump.

 

This video gives you a sense of what the school looks like. Tommy's right, it DOES look like a college campus. I like the courtyard a lot.

 

[PrivateTim]

HW Lacrosse, note the field... artifical turf.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK4aumQK03A

[PrivateTim]

Even more fun, a video that shows a bit of the campus, a bit of LA including the 3rd Promenade, a bit of the kinds of houses HW kids live in and a glimpse at the kind of resources they have available.

 

[methodwriter85]

Thanks Tim. I don't think Will's going to be joining the lacrosse team, though. Anyway, here's another one I found:

 

 

This is 2009, but with the exception of the red top one girl has on, and the grey dress that another girl is wearing, this is extremely close to how Will and his peers would be dressing in 2004. 2000's fashion for guys, especially, doesn't change much. There's no major shift in how the average guy dresses for the 2000's as opposed to the switch from bright late '80's neon to early/mid-90's grunge. The emo and hipster look comes in, but not every guy is doing it. For the most part its basically jeans, t-shirts, tank-tops, hoodies; maybe cargo shorts. Jeans start becoming less baggy around 2006, and in 2007 flannel shirts and bright sneakers come back in, but a guy from 2000 wouldn't look that out of place in 2011. As opposed to if you stuck a guy from 1986 into 1997.

 

 

This is a good video because I think the car the guys are driving is pretty typical for upper-middle class/upper class kids. SUV's were/are big because you could take a whole bunch of friends around and have a lot of tricked out features like DVD players and the like. The clothes are pretty close as well- the only thing off would be the flannel shirts, which were not popular when I and therefore JJ and Will were in high school. And the haircuts are pretty dead-on...guys tend to ditch the sculptured, spiked look around 2003, and go more natural. They don't have guys with feathered hair, though- that look actually does make a comeback around '03.

 

Finally, is there some West Coast tradition about promoting school dances with videos? Gunn High School did these kind of videos, too.

[Matthew k]

 

Ha ha OMG, that is Patrick Newman, son of Randy Newman (Short People, Toy Story, etc) and Michael Karsh, son of Bruce Karsh, who at last glance was a billionaire money manager. Typical of the kids at HW.

 

Mr. O'Malley, who they thank at the end is the grandson of Walter O'Malley who owned the L.A. Dodgers before they sold the franchise to what's his face.

 

Here is another HW video, although mostly not shot at HW, just HW guys.

 

http://wn.com/COMMON_DECENCY-The_Ketchup_Story

 

Jake Lasker actually shot a whole movie called "Senioritis" before his senior year of HS, which he released not too long ago If you Google "Senioritis" and Jake Laster you can find it online.

Edited July 13, 2011 by Matthew k

[methodwriter85]

I just like that they look like real kids. 90210 and The O.C. conditioned me to think that rich kids all looked absolutely perfect with surgically enhanced bodies and red carpet wardrobes. But the boys in that video have acne and all that stuff that regular kids have...makes it seem much less intimidating.

[methodwriter85]

So I checked out the Harvard-Westlake curriculum guide. I gotta say, I'm impressed with the school's committment to community service and character development. No wonder the kids seem generally down to Earth. It's so different from the closeminded, hedonistic Catholic prep school kids I was seeing when I went to high school. These are the requirements for 9th grade:

 

Requirements

Core

• English—English I (M2200-0)

 

• Foreign Language— Chinese, French, Latin, or Spanish. In most cases, students continue to study the language chosen in seventh grade but have the option to begin a second language if they intend to fulfill the Foreign Language requirement by studying two languages through level two

 

• History and Social Studies—The World and Europe I (M6200-0)

 

• Mathematics—Placement is determined by the department

 

• Science—Biology (M5200-0) or Biology Honors (M5210-0)

 

Arts

• Arts—One semester of either performing or visual arts taken in either eighth or ninth grade

 

Physical Education

• Physical Education—Six trimesters of Physical Education credit earned while in grades 9–12. Students in ninth grade can earn credit by taking Physical Education 9 (M8009-3/4/5) and/or a Dance class and/or by participating on an interscholastic sports team (see the Athletics section for a complete description of the program options)

 

Service

• Campus Service (SQUID) —Three periods during the school day

 

• Community Service—Twelve outreach hours

 

• School Service—One period per cycle for one semester

 

Electives

Students are encouraged to take three or four semesters of elective courses.

 

• Performing Arts—Performing Arts electives are available in choral music, instrumental music, dance, and theater arts

 

• Visual Arts—Visual Arts electives are available in two-dimensional art (mixed media), three-dimensional art (ceramics and glass), and media arts (photography, video art, and web design)

 

• Other—The Communications, English, and Mathematics departments also offer ninth-grade elective courses

 

Hmm, for JJ, I'm thinking English 1, French 1, The World and Europe 1, Alebra I, Biology, Drama Workshop, and Contemporary Dance Workshop I to fufill his physical education requirement.

 

Will, I'm thinking English 1 as well, Latin 1, The World and Europe 1, Geometry Honors(I think Will's gotta be good at math), Biology Honors, Mixed Media II, and Physical Education 9.

 

Damn. These kids will not have any free time during the school week, will they? This is on top of the extracurriculars activities they have, and the community service they're supposed to do. I was reading about the 9th grade retreat trip they're supposed to take in October to the Colorado, and I was just thinking, "Wow, I could really see JJ and his Louis Vuitton purses enjoying a camping trip." LOL.

 

JJ will also enjoy having to sweep and mop floors under the Middle School SQUID programs, which requires 9th graders to clean up the lunch room for three periods in the school year. Basically like a mandatory detention. God, I can see JJ just loving that one. LOL.

Edited July 20, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Matthew k]

H-W takes social responsibility pretty seriously. A lot of the parents are concerned that their kids turnout "normal", not affected by money, Hollywood, and the like. The president, Tom Hudnut is an amazing guy, it would be interesting to hear him and JP discuss Tom's book, L'Algérie, de Gaulle et l'armée: 1954-1962.

[methodwriter85]

I would imagine that the way they have the school set up would retard most major bullying that seems so common at public high schools, and at the mean-spirited Catholic prep schools. I think just having kids who want to be there and are challenged tends to cut down on fights and the like. I went to a high school that was, for the most part, a pretty safe place for kids and we didn't have half of the rigor that HW seems to have. But it was a public high school you had to apply to get into, and if you fell out of line there were hundreds of kids waiting to take your spot, so we had basically what we called the "Annual Cab Calloway Fight" and that was about it.

 

The small classes, the committment to social service, the peer mentoring program- it really does seem like kids who might not normally fit in would find a niche at a place like Harvard-Westlake, and would not be bullied. It'll be good for JJ to start over in a place where he wasn't the weird short kid everyone made fun of.

Edited August 4, 2011 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

Since Will is apparently fluent in French and Italian, would Harvard-Westlake basically exempt Will from needing to take a foreign language? *looks at Tommy, Tim, and Matt K for the answer*

[Matthew k]

I would imagine that the way they have the school set up would retard most major bullying that seems so common at public high schools, and at the mean-spirited Catholic prep schools. I think just having kids who want to be there and are challenged tends to cut down on fights and the like. I went to a high school that was, for the most part, a pretty safe place for kids and we didn't have half of the rigor that HW seems to have. But it was a public high school you had to apply to get into, and if you fell out of line there were hundreds of kids waiting to take your spot, so we had basically what we called the "Annual Cab Calloway Fight" and that was about it.

 

The small classes, the committment to social service, the peer mentoring program- it really does seem like kids who might not normally fit in would find a niche at a place like Harvard-Westlake, and would not be bullied. It'll be good for JJ to start over in a place where he wasn't the weird short kid everyone made fun of.

 

Not sure your experience with Catholic prep schools, but I know of two in L.A. that go out of their way to integrate students into a true feeling of brotherhood (both all male schools) and there is no hazing, no bullying, no messing around. Their take very seriously their Christian duty of fellowship.

 

Since Will is apparently fluent in French and Italian, would Harvard-Westlake basically exempt Will from needing to take a foreign language? *looks at Tommy, Tim, and Matt K for the answer*

 

No, he wouldn't be exempt at all. He might be given a chance to take the advanced classes or made to take a new one like Latin or Spanish.

 

It is one thing to speak a language, but it is quite another to read it and do well writing in it. The advanced French class would have him reading French authors in French and writing reports/reviews. They would do the same with French magazines, films and newspapers.

 

To give you an idea, the Chinese kids at HW struggle in Chinese IV.

[methodwriter85]

Not sure your experience with Catholic prep schools, but I know of two in L.A. that go out of their way to integrate students into a true feeling of brotherhood (both all male schools) and there is no hazing, no bullying, no messing around. Their take very seriously their Christian duty of fellowship.

We had two very prominent Catholic schools in our area, Sallies and St. Mark's. Sallies was an all-boys school known for its snobbery, arrogance, and homophobic treatment of people. We HATED their sports teams. St. Mark's was the co-educational school that was basically known for the fact that you could roll a joint in class and teachers didn't give a crap. You don't get much in the way of Christian fellowship there.

 

 

 

No, he wouldn't be exempt at all. He might be given a chance to take the advanced classes or made to take a new one like Latin or Spanish.

 

It is one thing to speak a language, but it is quite another to read it and do well writing in it. The advanced French class would have him reading French authors in French and writing reports/reviews. They would do the same with French magazines, films and newspapers.

 

To give you an idea, the Chinese kids at HW struggle in Chinese IV.

 

I don't know, that doesn't really make sense. What would be the point in making Will take a foreign language if he already knows 3?

[Mark Arbour]

We had two very prominent Catholic schools in our area, Sallies and St. Mark's. Sallies was an all-boys school known for its snobbery, arrogance, and homophobic treatment of people. We HATED their sports teams. St. Mark's was the co-educational school that was basically known for the fact that you could roll a joint in class and teachers didn't give a crap. You don't get much in the way of Christian fellowship there.

In St. Louis, there are a plethora of private schools. The biggest player in that game are the Catholic schools. Their best schools are single-sex, while those that are more run-of-the-mill are co-ed. This is completely different than the non-Catholic prep schools. The two 'best' (that being subjective) are Burroughs and MICDS ( which resulted from a merger of the boy's school (Country Day) and the girls (St. Mary's)). Those latter two would probably be the most similar thing to H-W that we have here. Regardless, they are different than the Catholic schools. My experiences (anecdotal) was that the Catholic schools are more focused on cultural education (read: making sure you grow up with the right Catholic people) while the others are more focused on success (how to run Daddy's company someday).

 

 

 

I don't know, that doesn't really make sense. What would be the point in making Will take a foreign language if he already knows 3?

And there's the issue. It's not about just taking classes, it's about achieving learning goals. In an institution where they're worried about priming their students for admission to the best colleges, they want them to have as many diverse experiences as possible. Simply taking a language because it's required, to check off a box, is something that you'd find in a systematized public school, not in the more custom-tailored environment of a top-notch private school.

[PrivateTim]

I don't know, that doesn't really make sense. What would be the point in making Will take a foreign language if he already knows 3?

 

He doesn't "know" three languages, he "speaks" them.

 

I already knew English when I entered high school and those bastards made me take English every damn year

 

I think you missed two crucial points, one, the Chinese speaking kids have to work their tails off to get A's in Chinese IV and that in the highest French classes, they don't do grammar, they read French authors, see films in French, read French newspapers and magazines and do reports and reviews IN French back.

 

I don't think Will would even start at that level, we don't know how good he is in French syntax, grammar, spelling, etc. Even though I spoke English like a native, I still had to take English grammar, et al in high school.

[methodwriter85]

He doesn't "know" three languages, he "speaks" them.

 

I already knew English when I entered high school and those bastards made me take English every damn year

 

I think you missed two crucial points, one, the Chinese speaking kids have to work their tails off to get A's in Chinese IV and that in the highest French classes, they don't do grammar, they read French authors, see films in French, read French newspapers and magazines and do reports and reviews IN French back.

 

I don't think Will would even start at that level, we don't know how good he is in French syntax, grammar, spelling, etc. Even though I spoke English like a native, I still had to take English grammar, et al in high school.

 

Mark? Response? Please?

[B1ue]

From what my friends have told me, Tim has it correct. Just because you speak a language doesn't mean you're done. Also, that seems to have been the philosophy of my college classes. I could (and can) understand Spanish with a fair amount of fluency, but I could not write or read Spanish very well. So I got stuck in the second level of Spanish, despite growing up with half my family speaking English as a second language.

 

Will might be farther along, in French at least, than we're giving him credit for. I've noticed that people tend to know grammar syntax pretty well, better than they think, without knowing the exact linguistic terms like present participle. So if he can speak French well enough to keep up with Stefen, JP, and Brad, he could probably figure out French television. I also wouldn't be surprised to learn he was taught Italian more formally than he was French, so he may very well be even farther along there.

 

None of that would point towards exemption, though. I also don't think he'd try for one. Language study seems fairly important to Will, and I think he'd take the opportunity to either improve his French or learn Spanish.

[methodwriter85]

Well, Mark, it looks like you're getting some pretty solid answers here, with pretty good reasoning. What's your take now?

 

In any event, it IS pretty cool that you're written characters people care enough about that we're debating over their fictional class schedules.

 

I'm glad that people seem to agree on the schedule I picked out for JJ. LOL.Contemporary dance should be fun. I wonder if he'll get to learn hip-hop. "Save the Last Dance" was out at about this time. And without a doubt he'd take French- I think there's a very good chance JJ will become an ex-pat and move there. JJ would fit in well there- his attitude would just be taken as him being French. LOL.

Edited September 6, 2011 by methodwriter85

[JCashell]

From what my friends have told me, Tim has it correct. Just because you speak a language doesn't mean you're done. Also, that seems to have been the philosophy of my college classes. I could (and can) understand Spanish with a fair amount of fluency, but I could not write or read Spanish very well. So I got stuck in the second level of Spanish, despite growing up with half my family speaking English as a second language.

 

HW grad here, I can confirm that he would probably be required to take at least two years of language.

Sorry I haven't spoken up before, but feel free to ask me anything. I graduated very recently so my knowledge of campus et c. is up to date.

[JCashell]

And there's the issue. It's not about just taking classes, it's about achieving learning goals. In an institution where they're worried about priming their students for admission to the best colleges, they want them to have as many diverse experiences as possible. Simply taking a language because it's required, to check off a box, is something that you'd find in a systematized public school, not in the more custom-tailored environment of a top-notch private school.

 

That's a nice thought, but HW still has plenty of requirements. You can only really take two electives at most every year until you start getting requirements out of the way. Plus, the focus on getting into college requires that counselors advise students to "check off as many boxes" as possible–and then do more.

[methodwriter85]

That's a nice thought, but HW still has plenty of requirements. You can only really take two electives at most every year until you start getting requirements out of the way. Plus, the focus on getting into college requires that counselors advise students to "check off as many boxes" as possible–and then do more.

 

Which makes me wonder- how would someone like JJ fit into the academic environment at HW? He's in a sport that requires him to take a week off here or there to travel and compete, and would make it pretty hard to do any other extracurriculars or volunteer work. And I'm not sure JJ would be gunning to go to college- I think it's more likely that he'd graduate in 2004 and then spend the next year and half training for the Olympics rather than hitting up college. Would JJ get a lot of flack for putting figure skating ahead of school?

 

One thing that Mark hasn't really done yet is depict how insane the college admissions process gets as the 2000's wear on. So far it kinda seems like they all just rolled into college and got into these top schools without all that much effort aside from good grades. That doesn't really jibe with the culture I saw at a competitive high school that was upstairs- these kids were doing National Honor Society, volunteer work, extracurriculars up the wazoo, and were basically mainling either coffee or adderall into their systems to get through it all.

 

Anyway, I'm glad you decided to speak up in this thread!

Edited September 16, 2011 by methodwriter85

[JCashell]

Which makes me wonder- how would someone like JJ fit into the academic environment at HW? He's in a sport that requires him to take a week off here or there to travel and compete, and would make it pretty hard to do any other extracurriculars or volunteer work. And I'm not sure JJ would be gunning to go to college- I think it's more likely that he'd graduate in 2004 and then spend the next year and half training for the Olympics rather than hitting up college. Would JJ get a lot of flack for putting figure skating ahead of school?

 

Simply put, yes. HW is pretty strict when it comes to letting students take time off, for any reason. I know for a fact that they do not allow students to pursue acting et c. professionally—one of my friends attempted to do it and it was an uphill battle—but I'm not sure how that would apply to sports. HW is very proud of the education they give their students, and anything getting in the way of that is an issue. That said, for someone who is recognized as being a gifted athlete / artist like JJ, they might make an exception. They did have an equestrian team, which was a way of allowing kids who rode semi-professionally to continue to do so while affiliated with the school (don't think that we all went to equestrian matches or anything, football and basketball were much bigger deals). Maybe they would start a figure-skating team just for him?

 

One thing that Mark hasn't really done yet is depict how insane the college admissions process gets as the 2000's wear on. So far it kinda seems like they all just rolled into college and got into these top schools without all that much effort aside from good grades. That doesn't really jibe with the culture I saw at a competitive high school that was upstairs- these kids were doing National Honor Society, volunteer work, extracurriculars up the wazoo, and were basically mainling either coffee or adderall into their systems to get through it all.

 

And don't forget the demanding academics. A lot of the kids at HW are academic superstars, and would be valedictorian at any other school. That's not to say that there weren't dunces, but kids at HW tended to be smarter and more mature than the average breed.

 

Anyway, I'm glad you decided to speak up in this thread!

 

Thanks!

 

One last note—I noticed someone somewhere in the thread postulating that there would be a lot less bullying at HW. That is undoubtedly true. I don't know what it was like from 2000-2004 specifically, but while I was there, kids may have said "gay" or "faggot," but there was never any outright or tacit bullying of me as a gay teen. Everyone was extremely respectful to me as a human being, and any bulls**t bullying would simply not have been tolerated by the school.

 

Also, when Will gets to be a senior (2004) there will be a rather,ahem, interesting, event that takes place at semiformal after party. Ask me about it if we get there.

[methodwriter85]

 

HW is very proud of the education they give their students, and anything getting in the way of that is an issue. That said, for someone who is recognized as being a gifted athlete / artist like JJ, they might make an exception. They did have an equestrian team, which was a way of allowing kids who rode semi-professionally to continue to do so while affiliated with the school (don't think that we all went to equestrian matches or anything, football and basketball were much bigger deals). Maybe they would start a figure-skating team just for him? And don't forget the demanding academics. A lot of the kids at HW are academic superstars, and would be valedictorian at any other school. That's not to say that there weren't dunces, but kids at HW tended to be smarter and more mature than the average breed.

See, that's where I kinda wonder where JJ fits into all of this, because right now I can't see JJ as the kind of guy that would buckle down and get this kind of work done because everything is about figure skating. He could change, but whereas I can see Will really getting into the academic challenge here, I can't see that for JJ. It'd be interesting if JJ wound up flunking out and going back to Malibu, or just straight up getting a tutor. It actually might be good to have that distance, but I guess we'll see how that goes.

 

It'd be interesting if, especially when JJ's career starts to heat up and he's getting more travel invites, the school pushes back on him for missing school and the like. And for not doing the volunteer work he's supposed to be doing.

 

Also, when Will gets to be a senior (2004) there will be a rather,ahem, interesting, event that takes place at semiformal after party. Ask me about it if we get there.

 

Going by age, you look like you were the class of 2007. So you would have been a freshman when JJ and Will hit senior year. Great! (I knew a good deal of '07 people. You guys really got off on doing the James Bond 007 thing. '05 had nothing but rhyming the "five" with "alive". Damn it.)

Edited September 21, 2011 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

That's a nice thought, but HW still has plenty of requirements. You can only really take two electives at most every year until you start getting requirements out of the way. Plus, the focus on getting into college requires that counselors advise students to "check off as many boxes" as possible–and then do more.

 

I'm going to emphasize this quote again, because this absolutely nails the mindset of the Trophy Kids I knew from Charter School of Wilmington. They did what their counselor told them to do to get into college. There was this sense of cynicism to them- like you know they were just checking off the boxes instead of thinking outside the box.

Edited September 22, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Matthew k]

Part of the point of going to HW is to get into the best colleges. It is the counselors jobs to help facilitate that. The "thinking outside the box" schools are Crossroads, the Oakwood School and maybe Campbell Hall a little, but those are not the schools you would go to for your best shot at the Ivy League and none of the others offers a better education than HW nor turns out any more well rounded students. HW does a great job in keeping the kids grounded and real.

[methodwriter85]

Right. I'm not saying that they're not grounded and real. I'm just saying that there is this cynical air to a lot of high-achieving kids I knew, where everything was about checking off the right boxes to get into the schools of their choice. JCashell's quote about the counselors absolutely nailed the mindset of the kids I knew. Like, to the point where I felt like I was in high school in 2004 and talking to one of the Honor Society kids and/or Charter School of Wilmington kids about their aspirations to get into Yale and the like.

 

It's not like a public school where everything is about teaching to the standardized test, but it's also not like the kind of school that I think Mark envisioned where students could opt out of certain requirements if they had a compelling reason not to take the class. I had a friend who went to the "New School", where the children could pick their own curriculum. Yeah. Dude never graduated.

 

I was going over a timeline with Daisy, and it looks like JJ would miss, at a minimum, at least three weeks of school spread out over the school year because of figure skating competition, most likely in November and late Feburary/early March. It looks like they'd have to work something out here. God knows JJ could afford an expensive tutor and overnight express for assignments, but from what JCashell was saying, HW isn't that flexible in that regard. I do think if anyone could argue a school into making an exception, it would be a Crampton/Schluter. LOL. JJ would also have to do most his community work during the early summer, it seems like, unless he could get away with saying that he's coaching little kids at the rink in El Segundo as his community service work.

 

It does feel a little early for online classes, but that could be another solution for the weeks where JJ is traveling.

 

It WOULD be interesting if JJ winds up flunking out of Harvard-Westlake and either just going back to Malibu or dropping out of school entirely, and getting his GED at 15. That would ensure his status as the black sheep of the family. LOL.

 

In any event, it should be an interesting conflict for JJ to deal with. It's hard to maintain high school friendships with people if you're going off for entire weeks at a time.

Edited September 23, 2011 by methodwriter85