Expanded High school electives at TJ

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

By making TJ like any other high school?

+1
I like the guy (and I liked Dr B too) but this is my sr TJ kid's complaint. They've been stripping out some of the things that makes it different.

Like what?

The entire culture at TJ has become very negative and toxic and this all a result of Mukai's lack of leadership. He doesn't respect his teachers and has shut them out and even the division leaders out of actual collaboration. Instead of coming in and getting to know the staff and the students first, he has dictated everything without any clear vision or justification. He flip-flops constantly to the point that teachers cannot trust anything he says and he bullies any teachers who question anything he says or does.

Any specific examples?
Because Mukai has held more useful parent zoom calls in the first year than Bonitatibus did her entire tenure.
He seems significantly more engaged with the parents. I can't comment on his dynamic with the teachers but I have heard good things from the teachers at his old high school. Why would his management style have changed so drastically for the worse?

If the info shared here is to be believed:

1. He is courting the parents, but ignoring the students and faculty. A good leader collects input from ALL stakeholders.
2. He's withholding climate survey data, which I think is meant to be public, so that seems problematic without knowing the reason for this.
3. He's making curricular changes that are more in line with a base school than a unique, magnet school. I can see how WSHS folks might've been pleased with this kind of decision-making, but attending TJ is a choice. Families select it because they like the vision or the class choices or whatever reason. If the classes now offered at TJ are essentially the same on paper as my kid's base school, and they can take those courses without a longer day and terrible commute, PLUS possibly get better college outcomes, why the heck would they choose TJ?

He's not Courting parents so much as he is including them (or at least keeping them informed). Parents used to be excluded except for the woke DEI parents.
The kids are generally very happy with the curriculum changes because nothing is actually changing except for AP credit (the AP seminar change is a real change but improving writing seems pretty important).
The families are generally very happy with the changes.
The faculty is generally happy with the changes.
The woke crowd is very unhappy.

I can guarantee that the faculty is not happy with the changes. You have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe he is including parents more while shutting teachers out of any actual conversations or collaboration. He treats teachers as if they are easily irreplaceable and seems more interested in being a figurehead that actually leading the school. He has zero presence in the school. I can't recall a single time that I have seen him during the school day. He actively avoids interacting with staff and will make up a million excuses why he can't meet with divisions or one-on-one with staff.

I've met more toxic teachers at TJ than my child's entire life in schools up to that point. So maybe he wants those folks to leave.

There is definitely a group of TJ teachers that think that teaching at TJ makes them special and the students are there for them.
And there is definitely a handful of teachers that fall into this category but they are not the ones that are acting like they are spoecial or that kids are lucky to be in their class.
For the most part what makes TJ special is the students. It attracts good teachers but it attracts ALL teachers and a good principal will keep the good ones. A bad principal (like Bonitatibus) will keep the ones that are ideologically aligned with them.

I wouldn't say that's the kind of toxic we've experienced. The kind of toxic we've seen is teachers who don't believe in teaching. The math department, in particular, doesn't teach. Then when the kids struggle they don't step in or do anything at all. They continue to double down that the kids should teach each other.

Yep. TJ’s math dept largely expects the kids to teach themselves. This was DD’s experience in multiple classes at least.

Genuinely asking as confused-what do the teachers do during class period if not lecture or provide assistance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

By making TJ like any other high school?

+1
I like the guy (and I liked Dr B too) but this is my sr TJ kid's complaint. They've been stripping out some of the things that makes it different.

Like what?

The entire culture at TJ has become very negative and toxic and this all a result of Mukai's lack of leadership. He doesn't respect his teachers and has shut them out and even the division leaders out of actual collaboration. Instead of coming in and getting to know the staff and the students first, he has dictated everything without any clear vision or justification. He flip-flops constantly to the point that teachers cannot trust anything he says and he bullies any teachers who question anything he says or does.

Any specific examples?
Because Mukai has held more useful parent zoom calls in the first year than Bonitatibus did her entire tenure.
He seems significantly more engaged with the parents. I can't comment on his dynamic with the teachers but I have heard good things from the teachers at his old high school. Why would his management style have changed so drastically for the worse?

If the info shared here is to be believed:

1. He is courting the parents, but ignoring the students and faculty. A good leader collects input from ALL stakeholders.
2. He's withholding climate survey data, which I think is meant to be public, so that seems problematic without knowing the reason for this.
3. He's making curricular changes that are more in line with a base school than a unique, magnet school. I can see how WSHS folks might've been pleased with this kind of decision-making, but attending TJ is a choice. Families select it because they like the vision or the class choices or whatever reason. If the classes now offered at TJ are essentially the same on paper as my kid's base school, and they can take those courses without a longer day and terrible commute, PLUS possibly get better college outcomes, why the heck would they choose TJ?

He's not Courting parents so much as he is including them (or at least keeping them informed). Parents used to be excluded except for the woke DEI parents.
The kids are generally very happy with the curriculum changes because nothing is actually changing except for AP credit (the AP seminar change is a real change but improving writing seems pretty important).
The families are generally very happy with the changes.
The faculty is generally happy with the changes.
The woke crowd is very unhappy.

I can guarantee that the faculty is not happy with the changes. You have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe he is including parents more while shutting teachers out of any actual conversations or collaboration. He treats teachers as if they are easily irreplaceable and seems more interested in being a figurehead that actually leading the school. He has zero presence in the school. I can't recall a single time that I have seen him during the school day. He actively avoids interacting with staff and will make up a million excuses why he can't meet with divisions or one-on-one with staff.

I've met more toxic teachers at TJ than my child's entire life in schools up to that point. So maybe he wants those folks to leave.

There is definitely a group of TJ teachers that think that teaching at TJ makes them special and the students are there for them.
And there is definitely a handful of teachers that fall into this category but they are not the ones that are acting like they are spoecial or that kids are lucky to be in their class.
For the most part what makes TJ special is the students. It attracts good teachers but it attracts ALL teachers and a good principal will keep the good ones. A bad principal (like Bonitatibus) will keep the ones that are ideologically aligned with them.

I wouldn't say that's the kind of toxic we've experienced. The kind of toxic we've seen is teachers who don't believe in teaching. The math department, in particular, doesn't teach. Then when the kids struggle they don't step in or do anything at all. They continue to double down that the kids should teach each other.

I would argue that some of them also just assume kids should automatically know and understand everything after briefly explaining it on the board. Think deep sighs/annoyance when someone asks for clarification. (Yes, I understand that some kids will have no problem with this but being a TJ kid doesn’t automatically mean you have immediate comprehension of content.) This does force kids to be resourceful in learning content outside of class which will help them long term but it definitely has some drawbacks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ math department is truly outstanding. The parents complaining are those whose kids are not a good fit for TJ.

No. That’s not it. And to be fair I guess half of DD’s teachers were good. Freshman and junior year though were definitely not.

DD is a straight A TJ kid who did the normal track of Alg 2 in 9th and BC Calc junior year. She has had As in math the whole way through (now a senior) but the ones in 9th and 11th were due to her figuring out how to self teach the content outside of class mainly. Maybe your kid got lucky and had different teachers from the math dept. There definitely are issues with a few of the TJ math teachers though - I’m surprised you aren’t aware of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Students who are used to Curie style learning are those who are complaining. This happens every single year.

This would be a good point if the curie kids were the ones that struggled the most in those classes where the teachers don't teach, but they don't because the curie kids learn the math at curie so it doesn't bother them that their teachers don't teach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

By making TJ like any other high school?

+1
I like the guy (and I liked Dr B too) but this is my sr TJ kid's complaint. They've been stripping out some of the things that makes it different.

Like what?

The entire culture at TJ has become very negative and toxic and this all a result of Mukai's lack of leadership. He doesn't respect his teachers and has shut them out and even the division leaders out of actual collaboration. Instead of coming in and getting to know the staff and the students first, he has dictated everything without any clear vision or justification. He flip-flops constantly to the point that teachers cannot trust anything he says and he bullies any teachers who question anything he says or does.

Any specific examples?
Because Mukai has held more useful parent zoom calls in the first year than Bonitatibus did her entire tenure.
He seems significantly more engaged with the parents. I can't comment on his dynamic with the teachers but I have heard good things from the teachers at his old high school. Why would his management style have changed so drastically for the worse?

If the info shared here is to be believed:

1. He is courting the parents, but ignoring the students and faculty. A good leader collects input from ALL stakeholders.
2. He's withholding climate survey data, which I think is meant to be public, so that seems problematic without knowing the reason for this.
3. He's making curricular changes that are more in line with a base school than a unique, magnet school. I can see how WSHS folks might've been pleased with this kind of decision-making, but attending TJ is a choice. Families select it because they like the vision or the class choices or whatever reason. If the classes now offered at TJ are essentially the same on paper as my kid's base school, and they can take those courses without a longer day and terrible commute, PLUS possibly get better college outcomes, why the heck would they choose TJ?

He's not Courting parents so much as he is including them (or at least keeping them informed). Parents used to be excluded except for the woke DEI parents.
The kids are generally very happy with the curriculum changes because nothing is actually changing except for AP credit (the AP seminar change is a real change but improving writing seems pretty important).
The families are generally very happy with the changes.
The faculty is generally happy with the changes.
The woke crowd is very unhappy.

I can guarantee that the faculty is not happy with the changes. You have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe he is including parents more while shutting teachers out of any actual conversations or collaboration. He treats teachers as if they are easily irreplaceable and seems more interested in being a figurehead that actually leading the school. He has zero presence in the school. I can't recall a single time that I have seen him during the school day. He actively avoids interacting with staff and will make up a million excuses why he can't meet with divisions or one-on-one with staff.

I've met more toxic teachers at TJ than my child's entire life in schools up to that point. So maybe he wants those folks to leave.

There is definitely a group of TJ teachers that think that teaching at TJ makes them special and the students are there for them.
And there is definitely a handful of teachers that fall into this category but they are not the ones that are acting like they are spoecial or that kids are lucky to be in their class.
For the most part what makes TJ special is the students. It attracts good teachers but it attracts ALL teachers and a good principal will keep the good ones. A bad principal (like Bonitatibus) will keep the ones that are ideologically aligned with them.

I wouldn't say that's the kind of toxic we've experienced. The kind of toxic we've seen is teachers who don't believe in teaching. The math department, in particular, doesn't teach. Then when the kids struggle they don't step in or do anything at all. They continue to double down that the kids should teach each other.

Yep. TJ’s math dept largely expects the kids to teach themselves. This was DD’s experience in multiple classes at least.

Genuinely asking as confused-what do the teachers do during class period if not lecture or provide assistance?

They teach the basics and then the tests are convoluted derivations of the basic material.

It would be like teaching addition and subtraction and then using a sudoku puzzle for the test. They don't actually teach the math techniques and put it together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ math department is truly outstanding. The parents complaining are those whose kids are not a good fit for TJ.

Some of them are incredible teachers that can show students how to math and others compensate for their mediocrity by being inscrutable and mimicking rigor by testing things that are not taught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ math department is truly outstanding. The parents complaining are those whose kids are not a good fit for TJ.

Some of them are incredible teachers that can show students how to math and others compensate for their mediocrity by being inscrutable and mimicking rigor by testing things that are not taught.

Like at base school, it would've been great if TJ teachers also gave out a two-page study guide and limited the test questions to that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Students who are used to Curie style learning are those who are complaining. This happens every single year.

Nope. Curie style learning all through middle school is what has enabled seamless transition to TJ style learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ students have been losing out to base HS students in college admissions. Mukai knows how important this is to students and parents so he's fixing it. He's doing a great job.

I listened to his first address to the PTA, and he reiterated the same vision / plan to the whole school (virtually) some weeks later.

Agree completely with PP and with Mr. Mukai. He is not just a principal; he is an FCPS parent and he is doing a great job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ students have been losing out to base HS students in college admissions. Mukai knows how important this is to students and parents so he's fixing it. He's doing a great job.

I listened to his first address to the PTA, and he reiterated the same vision / plan to the whole school (virtually) some weeks later.

Agree completely with PP and with Mr. Mukai. He is not just a principal; he is an FCPS parent and he is doing a great job.

What exactly is his vision?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ students have been losing out to base HS students in college admissions. Mukai knows how important this is to students and parents so he's fixing it. He's doing a great job.

I listened to his first address to the PTA, and he reiterated the same vision / plan to the whole school (virtually) some weeks later.

Agree completely with PP and with Mr. Mukai. He is not just a principal; he is an FCPS parent and he is doing a great job.

What exactly is his vision?

Mr. Mukai thoroughly outlined his plan on Thursday, Jan. 30th 2025, at the PTA meeting.

Why didn’t you attend that, PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ students have been losing out to base HS students in college admissions. Mukai knows how important this is to students and parents so he's fixing it. He's doing a great job.

I listened to his first address to the PTA, and he reiterated the same vision / plan to the whole school (virtually) some weeks later.

Agree completely with PP and with Mr. Mukai. He is not just a principal; he is an FCPS parent and he is doing a great job.

What exactly is his vision?

Mr. Mukai thoroughly outlined his plan on Thursday, Jan. 30th 2025, at the PTA meeting.

Why didn’t you attend that, PP?

Furthermore, as I already told you, he shared it with every TJ parent a few weeks later in a virtual session.

Your request suggests you are not a TJ parent.

Thus, please leave. As in: go away; this thread is NOT for you and you have no business meddling in TJ’s affairs.

I suspect you are just another outsider who intends only to harm TJ kids for some weird political agenda.

If you are a TJ parent, get more involved; then you’ll know and understand Mr. Mukai’s excellent plans for TJ’s future.

[Anonymous]

It would be nice if Mukai shared this vision with his staff as well.

[Anonymous]

Mukai figured out many of TJ’s “honors” classes exceeded the requirements of AP classes. Wisely, he moved:

TJ pre-calculus honors to AP pre calc,

TJ physics honors to AP physics

Geosystems to other sciences, including APs.

He knows the slight but important college admissions boost these changes will make.

On another note: why is the troll who hates TJ still posting on every TJ thread?

- signed, a TJ parent.

[Anonymous]

At least now TJ has a principal who actually understands the courses being offered and is making updates so students get credit that matches the effort they put in.