Give me constructive advice on how to help my middle schooler in English

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

You don’t have to be Catholic to go to Catholic school.

I realize but we still cannot do this. For some of the same reasons why I prefer very diverse schools.

And your children illiterate, it seems.

PS: Catholic schools are often very diverse

Wow. I'd love to see metrics showing how their diversity stack up to public schools in Silver Spring or Germantown.

Catholic school enrollment often mirrors the demographics of the diocese, so they’re usually quite diverse.

But it seems like you want to prioritize diversity over the quality of your kids’ education.

Actually that's not what I said.
I said, I am very pleased with what my kids are learning in math, Humanities and science.
I am happy with their foreign language curriculum.
I am happy with the ECs offered.
I am happy with their friend group.
I am happy that Eid, Diwali and Chinese New Year are off. Kids feeling comfortable in their skin allows them to blossom.
I am happy with the short commute.
I am happy with the free cost. That's money I can save for their college and post grad education.

I am not happy with the English curriculum. I am not happy with the drug use in the high schools (although I hear this is in privates too)

I cannot forgo all the good for the few (albeit very big) bad aspects.

We are also financially fine. My kids are bright with no learning disabilities. They don't need special help. They are not illiterate (not sure why anyone would think that). Irrespective of whether they were in the crappiest public school or Sidwell Friends, my kids would be just fine because of the privilege of their birth family. Outcomes aren't going to be dramatically different.

So then what’s the problem? Seems like if they’ll be just fine then there’s no reason start a whole big thread.

Oh and my kid’s school has Eid, Diwali, and Chinese New Year off too. They also have school celebrations of those holidays, led by families who celebrate those holidays.

The problem is specific to the English curriculum. OP is looking to supplement for that and that alone.

That’s a pretty big component of one’s education. Along with math, it’s one of the two core subjects.

So OP is basically saying MCPS has failed her kids in a major way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

You don’t have to be Catholic to go to Catholic school.

I realize but we still cannot do this. For some of the same reasons why I prefer very diverse schools.

People are offering you solutions. You keep rejecting them. Not our problem then, if you keep having problems.

OP (and other MCPS parents) on this thread have been very clear that they are interested in enrichment and supplementing MCPS - not in going to private schools. You and others keep coming back here to bash MCPS and tell us private is so much better. I'm glad that's an option and works for you; it does not work for me, and it sounds like it doesn't work for OP. So no, you're not giving helpful solutions; the solutions we are looking for allow kids to stay in MCPS but get reading/writing enrichment outside of school. -DP

OP has been very clear that she's BETTER and WOKE and DIVERSE even though people are telling her private school isn't a bunch of white kids who've never heard of Eid. Sorry if the cold hard truth is that public school sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

You don’t have to be Catholic to go to Catholic school.

I realize but we still cannot do this. For some of the same reasons why I prefer very diverse schools.

People are offering you solutions. You keep rejecting them. Not our problem then, if you keep having problems.

OP (and other MCPS parents) on this thread have been very clear that they are interested in enrichment and supplementing MCPS - not in going to private schools. You and others keep coming back here to bash MCPS and tell us private is so much better. I'm glad that's an option and works for you; it does not work for me, and it sounds like it doesn't work for OP. So no, you're not giving helpful solutions; the solutions we are looking for allow kids to stay in MCPS but get reading/writing enrichment outside of school. -DP

Thank you, exactly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

You don’t have to be Catholic to go to Catholic school.

I realize but we still cannot do this. For some of the same reasons why I prefer very diverse schools.

And your children illiterate, it seems.

PS: Catholic schools are often very diverse

Wow. I'd love to see metrics showing how their diversity stack up to public schools in Silver Spring or Germantown.

Catholic school enrollment often mirrors the demographics of the diocese, so they’re usually quite diverse.

But it seems like you want to prioritize diversity over the quality of your kids’ education.

Actually that's not what I said.
I said, I am very pleased with what my kids are learning in math, Humanities and science.
I am happy with their foreign language curriculum.
I am happy with the ECs offered.
I am happy with their friend group.
I am happy that Eid, Diwali and Chinese New Year are off. Kids feeling comfortable in their skin allows them to blossom.
I am happy with the short commute.
I am happy with the free cost. That's money I can save for their college and post grad education.

I am not happy with the English curriculum. I am not happy with the drug use in the high schools (although I hear this is in privates too)

I cannot forgo all the good for the few (albeit very big) bad aspects.

We are also financially fine. My kids are bright with no learning disabilities. They don't need special help. They are not illiterate (not sure why anyone would think that). Irrespective of whether they were in the crappiest public school or Sidwell Friends, my kids would be just fine because of the privilege of their birth family. Outcomes aren't going to be dramatically different.

So then what’s the problem? Seems like if they’ll be just fine then there’s no reason start a whole big thread.

Oh and my kid’s school has Eid, Diwali, and Chinese New Year off too. They also have school celebrations of those holidays, led by families who celebrate those holidays.

The problem is specific to the English curriculum. OP is looking to supplement for that and that alone.

That’s a pretty big component of one’s education. Along with math, it’s one of the two core subjects.

So OP is basically saying MCPS has failed her kids in a major way.

+1,000,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

OP has already categorically rejected private schools because apparently she’s looked at all the materials and knows it’s worse in private schools.

LOLOLOL

What? Fake news.

It’s 100% what OP said. She looked at notes from her friends kids’ school binders and concluded from that that private schools are inferior.

But she's wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

OP has already categorically rejected private schools because apparently she’s looked at all the materials and knows it’s worse in private schools.

LOLOLOL

What? Fake news.

It’s 100% what OP said. She looked at notes from her friends kids’ school binders and concluded from that that private schools are inferior.

But she's wrong.

How could she possibly be wrong? She looked at notes from kids from 3 schools. It’s obviously a foolproof method of collecting, as she said, data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

OP has already categorically rejected private schools because apparently she’s looked at all the materials and knows it’s worse in private schools.

LOLOLOL

What? Fake news.

It’s 100% what OP said. She looked at notes from her friends kids’ school binders and concluded from that that private schools are inferior.

But she's wrong.

How could she possibly be wrong? She looked at notes from kids from 3 schools. It’s obviously a foolproof method of collecting, as she said, data.

Here analysis clearly was flawed or she had bad sources. She's wrong.

[Anonymous]

The advice I give to any parent trying to aide their child is to read three books first:

Learn Better
Neuroteach
A Well Trained Mind (last section has advice on English)

You will never want to put your kids back or enter into public school after spending a week with these authors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

OP has already categorically rejected private schools because apparently she’s looked at all the materials and knows it’s worse in private schools.

LOLOLOL

What? Fake news.

It’s 100% what OP said. She looked at notes from her friends kids’ school binders and concluded from that that private schools are inferior.

But she's wrong.

How could she possibly be wrong? She looked at notes from kids from 3 schools. It’s obviously a foolproof method of collecting, as she said, data.

Here analysis clearly was flawed or she had bad sources. She's wrong.

I know. I’m being sarcastic.

[Anonymous]

Getting back to the point of this thread - A Plus consulting lets kids do just the humanities part of their GT programming, so kid does not have to do math. We are seriously considering it for the fall for our middle schooler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Getting back to the point of this thread - A Plus consulting lets kids do just the humanities part of their GT programming, so kid does not have to do math. We are seriously considering it for the fall for our middle schooler.

Oops that should read A Plus Learning Center, which someone recommended above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Hunger Games is structurally brilliant and worth studying to identify the tools a good writer uses.

Graphic novels can have complex plots, and both graphic novels and audio books can be subjected to the same literary analysis as text books. Maybe start there.

Also, if audio books work, consider if your kid may have a visual or processing issue with text.

There are a bunch of book recap podcasts, many of which get into analysis. The specific ones I listen to are explicit so maybe those aren't ideal for MS but finding a podcast on a "classic" should be do-able. You could do a read-along or read-after.

Can you expand upon this? I'd be interested to discuss that with kids. - NP

No fool

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Have you tried CTY? They would be in class with other high performing peers which could get them out of the rut. My poor kid was in the dumbed down curriculum and became catatonic by the end of the school year, producing mediocre work. Being around kids who are at their same level might snap them out of that.

CTY is overpriced. If you're willing to go online and have gifted kids, there are better options like AoPS, NUMATS, Davidson, Athena's Academy, Astra Nova, Cresco Nova, Synthesis, Northwestern GLL, Eclipse Academy, Online G3, Stanford OHS, Lukeion, and CLRC. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/online-gifted-learning-options/

Pp, can you expand on this? Which are really strong here? My kids are actually total rule followers and very respectful of their teachers - if their teachers ask them to do something, they will absolutely follow it to a T and not shirk at all. Virtual school was completely fine for them except the missed social aspect. I'd need something with a live teacher on zoom who somehow enforces accountability.

Which subject(s) do you want? Are they gifted, or advanced in one or more subject(s)? Do you want something supplemental/enrichment or a full course on a school subject complete with all the work and time commitments of a full course or a full course on a topic unlikely to be covered in school? What's your budget? What ages/grades are your children?

Op here.. kids going into 6th and 8th. They are both gifted. We opted out of both math/Humanities magnets (which they were both offered seats at) because we didn't want the commute and also they had good friends. Second guessing ourselves on the Humanities front now I guess. We want English and supplemental. Something like a book club with some rigor/analysis on text analysis and writing about the books. Ideally a class once a week (2 hrs) and reading/hw on the side. Fwiw Ms English is so dumb that my older kid routinely knocks out the required assignment in class and then uses the extra time to start her math hw.

I see this so much. People stick with mediocre public school because they want convenience and like the social aspect.

Well, your kids have friends and you have a short commute, but they can’t write.

I feel sorry for your kids but not you.

Op here. Well, that is kind of mean. And also my kids are definitely farther along in Math/Humanities/foreign language than most of my friends who do send their kids to privates. Also - we aren't white. This may not be relevant to some but we really value diversity. So - nothing is perfect.
It's helpful when people don't engage in black and white thinking. I am a parent who is just trying to make things a bit better in this one arena.

Also - I never said they could not write. They write just fine. They write a ton in global Humanities which is the class that's basically forcing them to really write these days, but those texts are non fiction that they analyze.

Your statement about your kids being farther along than private school kids is so insanely false.

We’ve had a long debate on here about math in MCPS vs private and have shown that private schools are better than non-magnet MCPS.

But to say your kids are farther ahead in humanities is delusional. I’m sorry, it’s the truth.

Lastly, many private schools around here are plenty diverse from a racial standpoint. My daughter has friends at her private school who are Iranian, Hispanic, Black, Indian, Spanish, French, etc etc etc.

You sound massively ignorant about private schools and really have no basis for making the statements you do.

So this is OP. Actually my kids attended private and international schools most of their lives. The past 2 years is their first time in public. I can say confidently that they are able to cover more material in math/science/humanities than at their private/international schools (I am not going to say where because I could out myself at this point). My spouse and I have an MD and PHD between us and we are quite fine with science and math here. Meanwhile, I have literally looked at the material that friends' middle schoolers are learning in math and humanities at various private schools and it's of a lower standard in math for sure and equal in humanities.

Also, I can already tell you don't actually understand the diversity issue. We go to a majority - minority school and I appreciate that as a brown person. I could care less if your child has friends from all over - that's basically what every white person in the DMV says. And I will tell you that there's a huge difference between having 2 Muslim friends and having a special prayer room set aside for prayers that people actually use everyday. Every brown/black person knows what it's like to be a token versus having a real voice and a real home.

Anyway, that's not what this thread is about. It's about how the English in mcps middle school is total crap. This isn't a thread for people to bash the public schools and pat yourselves on the back for sending them to private. It's for people who want to stay in public schools and are looking at reasonable, cost effective ways to improve their kids' education. Also, i'd like to know if anyone has done anything at their school level to improve the situation (advocating with the administration for example).

You’ve looked at materials other people’s kids are covering? Enough to make a blanket statement?

I call such MASSIVE BS.

I looked at their school binders, notes from math and social studies. Was it a large sample size? No. Of course not. 4 kids, 3 different schools, 1 which was at a school my kids had attended before. Enough to give me comfort. Was it confirmation bias? Sure. Again, I don't know why you are arguing with me. You are clearly satisfied with your choices for your child. I am looking for solutions outside of private school. Since that's the only solution you seem to offer please leave this thread.

Why the hell are you looking at other people’s kids notes? And how is some random kid’s notes going to tell you anything?

Beyond the deep weirdness of doing that, that tells you nothing but confirms your own feelings. If that’s what you need, go for it, but don’t act like it’s anything close to representative of reality.

Good Lord, these are our friends' kids not strangers. Believe it or not, one of these people wanted to see our kids materials too because she had second thoughts about her private. We just wanted to see what 7th grade classes looked at across schools/school systems. When your kid is in the 99th percentile what is being taught and offered by the school is important to know.

Most people try to gather data. They don't just blindly follow what people say is "good".

Notes from random kids isn’t data. Actually visiting schools and reviewing curricula is data.

That’s not “data” either. Please share which private school you attended so we can avoid it, yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

That'll really teach 'em!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

You don’t have to be Catholic to go to Catholic school.

I realize but we still cannot do this. For some of the same reasons why I prefer very diverse schools.

And your children illiterate, it seems.

PS: Catholic schools are often very diverse

Wow. I'd love to see metrics showing how their diversity stack up to public schools in Silver Spring or Germantown.

Catholic school enrollment often mirrors the demographics of the diocese, so they’re usually quite diverse.

But it seems like you want to prioritize diversity over the quality of your kids’ education.

Actually that's not what I said.
I said, I am very pleased with what my kids are learning in math, Humanities and science.
I am happy with their foreign language curriculum.
I am happy with the ECs offered.
I am happy with their friend group.
I am happy that Eid, Diwali and Chinese New Year are off. Kids feeling comfortable in their skin allows them to blossom.
I am happy with the short commute.
I am happy with the free cost. That's money I can save for their college and post grad education.

I am not happy with the English curriculum. I am not happy with the drug use in the high schools (although I hear this is in privates too)

I cannot forgo all the good for the few (albeit very big) bad aspects.

We are also financially fine. My kids are bright with no learning disabilities. They don't need special help. They are not illiterate (not sure why anyone would think that). Irrespective of whether they were in the crappiest public school or Sidwell Friends, my kids would be just fine because of the privilege of their birth family. Outcomes aren't going to be dramatically different.

Much better drugs in privates. Well, except Whitman.