Clueless kids on bus

[Anonymous]

So my DS came home today and said that he had the distinct pleasure (not) of sitting behind two AAP 3rd grade girls who were crowing about the fact that they were in the "smart" classes at their center school. Apparently they were arguing with another girl, saying they were smarter than her because she is not in AAP.

Because my son is a 6th grader at this school (Gen Ed), he has heard these kinds of remarks countless times and knows just to roll his eyes at the ridiculous kids who blather on like this. But he's a patrol and he felt bad for the girl they were arguing with, so he stuck up for her and told the other two to pipe down, and that they were wrong.

Parents of AAP kids: please stop telling your kids they are "smarter" than the others. They will parrot this BS back, even if you think they won't, making them even more insufferable than usual.

School counselors: if you happen to be reading this, please sit down with the AAP classes at your school and make sure these kids know that they aren't any better, smarter, or more special than the Gen Ed kids. Please ask the administration to stop treating them as such.

FCPS: please do away with centers and drastically cut back AAP admittance, or else open it up to all. You are doing our communities a disservice by dividing up kids in this way.

I'm posting this on both the AAP and VA School forums because it's an issue that affects all kids in this area. Unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So my DS came home today and said that he had the distinct pleasure (not) of sitting behind two AAP 3rd grade girls who were crowing about the fact that they were in the "smart" classes at their center school. Apparently they were arguing with another girl, saying they were smarter than her because she is not in AAP.

Because my son is a 6th grader at this school (Gen Ed), he has heard these kinds of remarks countless times and knows just to roll his eyes at the ridiculous kids who blather on like this. But he's a patrol and he felt bad for the girl they were arguing with, so he stuck up for her and told the other two to pipe down, and that they were wrong.

Parents of AAP kids: please stop telling your kids they are "smarter" than the others. They will parrot this BS back, even if you think they won't, making them even more insufferable than usual.

School counselors: if you happen to be reading this, please sit down with the AAP classes at your school and make sure these kids know that they aren't any better, smarter, or more special than the Gen Ed kids. Please ask the administration to stop treating them as such.

FCPS: please do away with centers and drastically cut back AAP admittance, or else open it up to all. You are doing our communities a disservice by dividing up kids in this way.

I'm posting this on both the AAP and VA School forums because it's an issue that affects all kids in this area. Unfortunately.

That's where you lost me.

[Anonymous]

-yawn-

[Anonymous]

But they are smarter than the other kids.

Sorry.

(and I don't have a kid in FCPS or AAP and never will)

[Anonymous]

in our neighborhood there are separate busses for AAP center and the gen ed. school. The kids seem to get along fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But they are smarter than the other kids.

Sorry.

(and I don't have a kid in FCPS or AAP and never will)

The contrast between this and the thread in VA General Schools is Amazing. Well done, OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:in our neighborhood there are separate busses for AAP center and the gen ed. school. The kids seem to get along fine.

You do know that gen ed students attend the AAP center as well, right? Those are the students we're talking about - they ride the same bus and attend the same school. At our center, the gen ed students are now outnumbered by AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my DS came home today and said that he had the distinct pleasure (not) of sitting behind two AAP 3rd grade girls who were crowing about the fact that they were in the "smart" classes at their center school. Apparently they were arguing with another girl, saying they were smarter than her because she is not in AAP.

Because my son is a 6th grader at this school (Gen Ed), he has heard these kinds of remarks countless times and knows just to roll his eyes at the ridiculous kids who blather on like this. But he's a patrol and he felt bad for the girl they were arguing with, so he stuck up for her and told the other two to pipe down, and that they were wrong.

Parents of AAP kids: please stop telling your kids they are "smarter" than the others. They will parrot this BS back, even if you think they won't, making them even more insufferable than usual.

School counselors: if you happen to be reading this, please sit down with the AAP classes at your school and make sure these kids know that they aren't any better, smarter, or more special than the Gen Ed kids. Please ask the administration to stop treating them as such.

FCPS: please do away with centers and drastically cut back AAP admittance, or else open it up to all. You are doing our communities a disservice by dividing up kids in this way.

I'm posting this on both the AAP and VA School forums because it's an issue that affects all kids in this area. Unfortunately.

That's where you lost me.

Bolded part shows how she feels, however the incident was wrong and I'm sorry it happened for all involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in our neighborhood there are separate busses for AAP center and the gen ed. school. The kids seem to get along fine.

You do know that gen ed students attend the AAP center as well, right? Those are the students we're talking about - they ride the same bus and attend the same school. At our center, the gen ed students are now outnumbered by AAP.

I live in DC so have no dog in this fight. But if the AAP enrollment is larger, how much "smarter" can those kids be? This seems like a weird program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in our neighborhood there are separate busses for AAP center and the gen ed. school. The kids seem to get along fine.

You do know that gen ed students attend the AAP center as well, right? Those are the students we're talking about - they ride the same bus and attend the same school. At our center, the gen ed students are now outnumbered by AAP.

I live in DC so have no dog in this fight. But if the AAP enrollment is larger, how much "smarter" can those kids be? This seems like a weird program.

And you have hit the nail on the head. This is exactly the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in our neighborhood there are separate busses for AAP center and the gen ed. school. The kids seem to get along fine.

You do know that gen ed students attend the AAP center as well, right? Those are the students we're talking about - they ride the same bus and attend the same school. At our center, the gen ed students are now outnumbered by AAP.

I live in DC so have no dog in this fight. But if the AAP enrollment is larger, how much "smarter" can those kids be? This seems like a weird program.

And you have hit the nail on the head. This is exactly the problem.

In some AAP centers, but not a majority of AAP centers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in our neighborhood there are separate busses for AAP center and the gen ed. school. The kids seem to get along fine.

You do know that gen ed students attend the AAP center as well, right? Those are the students we're talking about - they ride the same bus and attend the same school. At our center, the gen ed students are now outnumbered by AAP.

I live in DC so have no dog in this fight. But if the AAP enrollment is larger, how much "smarter" can those kids be? This seems like a weird program.

And you have hit the nail on the head. This is exactly the problem.

Because the gen ed kids come from just one neighborhood, whereas the aap center includes kids from up to five different elementary schools. The proper statistic would be to look at the aap kids in the center as a percentage of the students from all the feeder schools. Of course, I completely understand the negative ramifications of one particular school, which happens to be a center school, having more aap kids than gen ed. I agree this is a problem for that school. But don't fault the program in its entirety when using wrong statistics.

[Anonymous]

Pp here. Just wanted to add that, while I support the aap program entirely, your son's experience on the bus is completely unacceptable. Kids being mean about being smart, pretty, thin, popular, athletic, whatever... It is unacceptable. But recognize that kids will find ways to be mean no matter what the circumstance. We need to focus on teaching correct, respectful behavior, not blame the circumstance. They will just find yet another thing to be mean about unless we address the underlying issue of why they are mean in the first place. For example, my son is in the aap program at a center school. His bus is exclusively aap kids because the gen ed kids go to the neighborhood school. And yet, multiple times last year,he got off the bus crying because one kid in particular, with his little entourage of buddies, decided to make my son the target of bullying. They are all aap kids, so "smartness" never became the issue. But these boys were able to find plenty of other differences to turn into negatives and prey upon.

[Anonymous]

OP is one of those parents who'll probably spend the whole year whining about AAP. Only question is why she waited until October to get started. Yawn.

[Anonymous]

Two different threads on this? really?