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Letter to the Editor: Heidi Dawidoff

Heidi Dawidoff
The Letter to the Editor excerpted below was written by Heidi Dawidoff, a retired Hopkins English teacher, in response to Mira Krichavsky’s story in the December 2023 issue of The Razor about the merger of the all-boys Hopkins Grammar School and all-girls Day Prospect Hill (DPH) (“Looking Back on a Thorny Path to Coeducation”).
The Letter to the Editor excerpted below was written by Heidi Dawidoff, a retired Hopkins English teacher, in response to Mira Krichavsky’s story in the December 2023 issue of The Razor about the merger of the all-boys Hopkins Grammar School and all-girls Day Prospect Hill (DPH) (“Looking Back on a Thorny Path to Coeducation”). Dawidoff, whose long career as a teacher included time at both DPH and Hopkins, including the year of the merger, offered a few of her own memories to contrast with the “purely negative” recollections presented in Krichavsky’s story.

The first [year of the merger] was a hard year, painful in some respects. The year was hardest on both boys and girls in eighth grade and on the seniors. The eighth graders, having recently adjusted to one new school, were now thrown into yet another with little preparation or guidance. The seniors resented the disturbance to
what they had expected would be a year of fulfillment and farewell to high school. The boys had been led to believe that the DPH would lower Hopkins’ academic standards. It didn’t take any time at all for the boys to see that the intellectually rich girls’ school actually raised academic standards — it didn’t take long for their parents to agree, either.

The new Hilltoppers were ... [victims of] the common misogyny of our time. For example... One teacher memorably wrote in a term comment that a girl presented quite a challenge for the top rank in his class, but “male superiority won out in the end.” It hurt, to be sure, but she was able to laugh at the absurdity of a grown man stooping so low. The students were able to overcome the apparent sexism through finding (as students will) comfort, and even joy, in friendship. One 11th grade girl who had wept her way through two years of anxiety over her grades at DPH, suddenly found herself at Hopkins surrounded by friends at barbecues, all happiness and smiles.

Sincerely yours,
Heidi Dawidoff
(retired teacher of English)
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The Razor's Edge reflects the opinion of 4/5 of the editorial board and will not be signed. The Razor welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to decide which letters to publish, and to edit letters for space reasons. Unsigned letters will not be published, but names may be withheld on request. Letters are subject to the same libel laws as articles. The views expressed in letters are not necessarily those of the editorial board.
     
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