Blair Magnet Question

[Anonymous]

How do the magnet students see the other students? Do they go out of their way to interact with them or avoid them? How much interaction is there at lunch and after school, and which clubs are more mixed?

[Anonymous]

Weird questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weird questions.

I get it. My kid went to a pre-HS magnet where the magnet kids and local kids really didn't interact much. It was a great experience, and yet a limited one.

[Anonymous]

Maget classes are only half the day so they have many classes with non magnet kids (English, SS, language, elective). Mine also played a sport and had friends and socialized with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maget classes are only half the day so they have many classes with non magnet kids (English, SS, language, elective). Mine also played a sport and had friends and socialized with them.

Same with mine. They had just as many non-magnet friends as magnet friends. It was well integrated into the school.

[Anonymous]

Interact with? All the time given how half the classes are non-magnet.

Friend with? I think you'll get a wide variety of answers but one thing that I don't see people talk about on this forum but that true is that the magnet can feel separate for a lot of kids especially those who do not participate in sports and only join stem-related clubs. Kids can go four years without really getting to know a lot of non-magnet kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interact with? All the time given how half the classes are non-magnet.

Friend with? I think you'll get a wide variety of answers but one thing that I don't see people talk about on this forum but that true is that the magnet can feel separate for a lot of kids especially those who do not participate in sports and only join stem-related clubs. Kids can go four years without really getting to know a lot of non-magnet kids.

That's also true for non-magnet kids who choose not to participate in ECs or sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maget classes are only half the day so they have many classes with non magnet kids (English, SS, language, elective). Mine also played a sport and had friends and socialized with them.

Same with mine. They had just as many non-magnet friends as magnet friends. It was well integrated into the school.

I think this experience is more the exception. A pretty significant percentage of magnet kids do not have meaningful interaction outside of what's required in class for group assignments or to be friendly and polite in those classes with non-magnet kids but it is a huge school so that should not be surprising. The kids who like stem a lot stick together and I could say the same about kids whose social circles revolve around other interests like band or community service.

[Anonymous]

Most magnet "friend groups" tend to be magnet heavy (both for CAP and SMACS). Its really the clubs and sports where kids get to form connections outside the "magnet" sphere

[Anonymous]

My dd is a freshman, an introvert and having a hard time finding connections with these magnets kids. DD told me most of the TPMS kids keep to their previous friendships from middle school. Not to mention, most talk horribly about the non-magnet kids which my dd dislikes. She prefers to hangs out with non-magnet kids and eat lunch mainly in her teachers' classrooms. She really likes three of her magnet teachers a whole lot therefore she hangs around in their classrooms. Those three teachers also run some clubs so dd joined those. DD plays a sport and made two close CAP friends there. She really likes the CAP kids who are not as competitive as the magnet kids. This is not an environment for everyone. On a positive note, she really loves her magnet courses. The classes are providing her the challenge she needed and wanted.

P.S DD came from a private school. This is all new territory for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maget classes are only half the day so they have many classes with non magnet kids (English, SS, language, elective). Mine also played a sport and had friends and socialized with them.

Same with mine. They had just as many non-magnet friends as magnet friends. It was well integrated into the school.

I think this experience is more the exception. A pretty significant percentage of magnet kids do not have meaningful interaction outside of what's required in class for group assignments or to be friendly and polite in those classes with non-magnet kids but it is a huge school so that should not be surprising. The kids who like stem a lot stick together and I could say the same about kids whose social circles revolve around other interests like band or community service.

I had two kids go through this program, and that was not the case for either. Half their classes were with non-magnet kids. They made plenty of friendships outside the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dd is a freshman, an introvert and having a hard time finding connections with these magnets kids. DD told me most of the TPMS kids keep to their previous friendships from middle school. Not to mention, most talk horribly about the non-magnet kids which my dd dislikes. She prefers to hangs out with non-magnet kids and eat lunch mainly in her teachers' classrooms. She really likes three of her magnet teachers a whole lot therefore she hangs around in their classrooms. Those three teachers also run some clubs so dd joined those. DD plays a sport and made two close CAP friends there. She really likes the CAP kids who are not as competitive as the magnet kids. This is not an environment for everyone. On a positive note, she really loves her magnet courses. The classes are providing her the challenge she needed and wanted.

P.S DD came from a private school. This is all new territory for her.

My MCPS but not TP kid also felt that way as a 9th grader. She definitely felt the TP kids were a clique, but it did fade away as time went by. I posted earlier about my DD making friends through her sport. That was also a great way for us to meet non magnet parents. Blair has lots of wonderful families, magnet and not.

[Anonymous]

Here is my observation. The level of interaction goes by the following order:
1. Previous schoolmates from MS or ES.
2. Clubs, stem or not.
3. Course project.

Some students are more outgoing than others. But the majority do not “go out their way” to interact or to avoid others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dd is a freshman, an introvert and having a hard time finding connections with these magnets kids. DD told me most of the TPMS kids keep to their previous friendships from middle school. Not to mention, most talk horribly about the non-magnet kids which my dd dislikes. She prefers to hangs out with non-magnet kids and eat lunch mainly in her teachers' classrooms. She really likes three of her magnet teachers a whole lot therefore she hangs around in their classrooms. Those three teachers also run some clubs so dd joined those. DD plays a sport and made two close CAP friends there. She really likes the CAP kids who are not as competitive as the magnet kids. This is not an environment for everyone. On a positive note, she really loves her magnet courses. The classes are providing her the challenge she needed and wanted.

P.S DD came from a private school. This is all new territory for her.

This is a really mean and smug post, and most of it completely contrary to DC's experience who has found everyone to be really collaborative. There are established friend groups from Takoma but it's the same story all over the school. There are 2-3 middle schools where most everyone came from so of course they are all coming in with established friend groups.

[Anonymous]

Mine had Cap and nonmag friends in other classes, club and her sport. She liked a mix and thought the classes/sport with non mag kids was a nice change from the mag culture.

I guess some kids looked down, but I think most embrace the diversity Blair has to offer. We know lots of bright kids who didn't get a mag/Cap spot who are at Blair. There really shouldn't be this "us/them" divide.