Are the Blair magnet kids happy?

[Anonymous]

We are excited that our DD has this option and are very much leaning towards her attending. My biggest worry, though, is whether the kids are happy. My child is a kid who won’t mind a bunch of homework. She’s a strong math kid but loves science and reading - my guess is she would do mostly science electives but may take a couple of the cool social studies or English ones too. What I think she needs most is a cohort of kids who are into school but also like hanging out, aren’t crazy competitive with each other even if they themselves want to do well. Is that the vibe of the magnet?

[Anonymous]

I don’t know but my child accepted the place and is not crazy competitive. I hope it we’ll be good for them socially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are excited that our DD has this option and are very much leaning towards her attending. My biggest worry, though, is whether the kids are happy. My child is a kid who won’t mind a bunch of homework. She’s a strong math kid but loves science and reading - my guess is she would do mostly science electives but may take a couple of the cool social studies or English ones too. What I think she needs most is a cohort of kids who are into school but also like hanging out, aren’t crazy competitive with each other even if they themselves want to do well. Is that the vibe of the magnet?

I was in your place last year. And everyone’s advice was it’s very supportive and kid won’t have too much hw. I feel like you are owed the truth so that you can make an informed decision. I wish someone had told me this last year. There are some in the pgm that are not competitive…but a good majority are very competitive bc they gets theseideas/way of thinking from home from their parents. These children become very competitive and mean spirited bc they have been taught to think this way since elementary school.
My advice would be to ignore these types of students and hang out with kids most like your DD. it will be tough bc she will be in lots of classes with the mean spirited kids and sometimes it’s hard to mentally block them off. Some of the kids play different mind games, one example :they say they didn’t study and then score a good grade…..all to make people who do study feel bad about their grades. Or they cheat off others and get a good grade and pretend they are just really smart. It’s tough but if your child likes stem….Blair is where it’s at! Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are excited that our DD has this option and are very much leaning towards her attending. My biggest worry, though, is whether the kids are happy. My child is a kid who won’t mind a bunch of homework. She’s a strong math kid but loves science and reading - my guess is she would do mostly science electives but may take a couple of the cool social studies or English ones too. What I think she needs most is a cohort of kids who are into school but also like hanging out, aren’t crazy competitive with each other even if they themselves want to do well. Is that the vibe of the magnet?

My kid is exactly like this and loves it. Now a junior and happily piling on the science electives.

[Anonymous]

My kid will be attending with a bunch of friends from TPMS. They are normal kids - generally supportive of one another, mostly not overly competitive. My kid isn’t competitive at all and is pretty chill. Some of their friends are more focused on grades and scores but not overly. The math team kids maybe more so, but my kid isn’t on math team or close with anyone who is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are excited that our DD has this option and are very much leaning towards her attending. My biggest worry, though, is whether the kids are happy. My child is a kid who won’t mind a bunch of homework. She’s a strong math kid but loves science and reading - my guess is she would do mostly science electives but may take a couple of the cool social studies or English ones too. What I think she needs most is a cohort of kids who are into school but also like hanging out, aren’t crazy competitive with each other even if they themselves want to do well. Is that the vibe of the magnet?

My kid is exactly like this and loves it. Now a junior and happily piling on the science electives.

I also have a junior in the program. The first semester of freshman year was an adjustment, but they love the program not just because of the classes but because of the amazing cohort of supportive and like-minded students.

[Anonymous]

Magnets (all magnets) kids are happier than you think. A lot of work and keeping all the nerds together keeps them happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Magnets (all magnets) kids are happier than you think. A lot of work and keeping all the nerds together keeps them happy.

+1 There will be some hypercompetitive mean kids but that is not the majority.

[Anonymous]

Your kid will be happy if they are there on their own merit, natural ability, and intellectual curiosity. They will not be happy if they are there because you’ve artificially inflated their results with excessive amount of tutoring that they have generally been resistant to or if they are at the very bottom the group intellectually and are there by virtue of county policies.

While this may sound harsh, this is fact. No one is happy living their parents dream and no one is happy when they’re 1.5 standard deviations below their peers in terms of cognitive capabilities and/or prior knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid will be happy if they are there on their own merit, natural ability, and intellectual curiosity. They will not be happy if they are there because you’ve artificially inflated their results with excessive amount of tutoring that they have generally been resistant to or if they are at the very bottom the group intellectually and are there by virtue of county policies.

While this may sound harsh, this is fact. No one is happy living their parents dream and no one is happy when they’re 1.5 standard deviations below their peers in terms of cognitive capabilities and/or prior knowledge.

wTF does “there by virtue of county policies” mean?!

[Anonymous]

My kid is in the magnet and I can honestly tell you that they enjoy it. DC loves hanging out with the cohort of super smart kids who make learning a fun and challenging experience. We have no regrets.

I am not the PP, but responding to that post, I am guessing that they are dissing the lottery policy that is diluting the ES and MS magnets. Thankfully, as of now, the county is not interfering with the selection policy of the HS magnet programs.

[Anonymous]

My magnet kid is happy. There is a cohort of competitive kids but my son has been able to steer clear of them since TPMS 6th grade and find a nice cohort. He’s into sports and does an instrument not to win awards or whatever but bc he just enjoys it. He and his friends actively resist the race to nowhere with extracurriculars- he rejected one club recently because he said it was full of kids just there to put it on their resumes. Hope this helps. If your kid likes math and science it’s a great program.

[Anonymous]

Do magnet kids have opportunities to make connections with kids outside the magnet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do magnet kids have opportunities to make connections with kids outside the magnet?

Sure... in non magnet classes and in after school clubs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Magnets (all magnets) kids are happier than you think. A lot of work and keeping all the nerds together keeps them happy.

This lol the best thing about TPMS has been having a core group of fellow nerds with nerdy interests! So happy that they will have that for high school too