Anyone have experience with the engineering pathway in high school?

[Anonymous]

My high school freshman is taking Principles of Engineering this year -- he took Intro to Engineering last year.

He has so much homework from it this year that he's having to skip other activities and obligations just to keep up each night. He's in honors classes and an AP class and none take up as much time as the engineering class.

I'm curious to hear if the engineering pathway just keeps getting harder each year and if it's worth it?

He's shown interest in engineering-related activities, which is why we thought it would be good classes to try, but have no idea if it will really be a career interest for him at this point.

Thanks for any insight.

[Anonymous]

I think you should specify high school

[Anonymous]

Mine found PLTW super easy. I guess it depends on school and teacher.

[Anonymous]

My kid is at Wheaton engineering, non magnet, and seems to be enjoying it. But for example he is taking ap physics as a sophomore and really digs it. So it’s kind of his thing.

Which school are program are you referring to?

There’s no reason to keep taking the classes if he’s not into them

[Anonymous]

Yeah...the school/teacher may be important.

[Anonymous]

Kid/teacher/school combo is important for comparison. I think it is better to have a more demanding teacher/experience. Those programs really need to weed out the kids just seeking entertainment.

Be aware that the state of Maryland is planning to reduce the pathway from four classes to three to reduce the minimum requirements of completion. Schools are not advertising yet this since it will reduce the number of classes/staff needed. It worth checking to see the exact courses needed to complete the program starting next year. Make sure you kid only signs up for the needed courses during course registration in Feb/March.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Wheaton engineering, non magnet, and seems to be enjoying it. But for example he is taking ap physics as a sophomore and really digs it. So it’s kind of his thing.

Which school are program are you referring to?

There’s no reason to keep taking the classes if he’s not into them

+1. This isn't something colleges care about (unless he is weaving it into his essay somehow). MCPS has these "academies" and "pathways". They are to help introduce kids to careers and make big high schools seem a bit smaller. They do not matter for college. Your kid should take the classes they are interested in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Wheaton engineering, non magnet, and seems to be enjoying it. But for example he is taking ap physics as a sophomore and really digs it. So it’s kind of his thing.

Which school are program are you referring to?

There’s no reason to keep taking the classes if he’s not into them

+1. This isn't something colleges care about (unless he is weaving it into his essay somehow). MCPS has these "academies" and "pathways". They are to help introduce kids to careers and make big high schools seem a bit smaller. They do not matter for college. Your kid should take the classes they are interested in.

Really? That seems odd to me. Why wouldn't a series of engineering classes look impressive for colleges?

[Anonymous]

POE is a tough class and very math heavy. My kid's teacher also described it as likely the first time the 9th graders who were already on an advanced math track and took IED in middle had to actually put forth effort in a class. Project Lead the Way gets more hands on and less of a homework load after POE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Wheaton engineering, non magnet, and seems to be enjoying it. But for example he is taking ap physics as a sophomore and really digs it. So it’s kind of his thing.

Which school are program are you referring to?

There’s no reason to keep taking the classes if he’s not into them

+1. This isn't something colleges care about (unless he is weaving it into his essay somehow). MCPS has these "academies" and "pathways". They are to help introduce kids to careers and make big high schools seem a bit smaller. They do not matter for college. Your kid should take the classes they are interested in.

Really? That seems odd to me. Why wouldn't a series of engineering classes look impressive for colleges?

Don't listen to that poster. She has no idea of what she is talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:POE is a tough class and very math heavy. My kid's teacher also described it as likely the first time the 9th graders who were already on an advanced math track and took IED in middle had to actually put forth effort in a class. Project Lead the Way gets more hands on and less of a homework load after POE.

Just curious if the school. Mine was at PHS and in magnet and thought PLTW classes were all very easy.

[Anonymous]

Mine is at Wheaton but took POE during the pandemic, so it may not have had quite the same rigor. She enjoyed it, but it was a fair amount of work. I would say digital was more work. Civil seems to be less work so far.

I think teacher plays into it a lot too. POE teacher at Wheaton was fantastic.

[Anonymous]

Experiences at Whitman?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Experiences at Whitman?

My DC loved the engineering pathway at Whitman. Didn’t find POE to be that challenging (although DC also found BC calc and Physics C easy so maybe take with a grain of salt). The most work was DE, which is essentially electrical engineering and comes after POE. Some of those circuits took a long time to figure out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Wheaton engineering, non magnet, and seems to be enjoying it. But for example he is taking ap physics as a sophomore and really digs it. So it’s kind of his thing.

Which school are program are you referring to?

There’s no reason to keep taking the classes if he’s not into them

Which AP physics? Don’t most of the Wheaton kids take AP physics A their freshman year?