Tj teachers - Be prepared!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that black kids will be considered by students to have only gotten in because of their race. This is a likely result when the administrators say they wish to get more black kids in and change the admissions process to help make that happen.

THEY ALREADY ARE TOLD THIS.


This whole thread bothers me so I’m going to say my peace and then be done. I know some will disagree and just skip reading if you hate long writing as I had some time this morning.

My 504 kid at TJ has long since had to put up with the seemingly acceptable attitude from elementary school onward that kids with disabilities/504 at AAP/TJ are “taking up a spot from a more capable student.” “If they need any accommodations it’s really cheating and unfair!” This needs to be addressed as well. Children without as much access to resources have a higher incidence of 504/IEP’s from a variety of reasons: lack of quality medical care, expense of nutrition, parental exhaustion (2 full time jobs! Fun!), lead paint, divorce, toxic water pipes, disability of the parents causes poverty, the poor apartment complex has “motor cycle Dude” ride in blazing at 2am on school nights. I’m sure my own poverty growing up effected my child. But that doesn’t mean some of those kids aren’t brilliant.

There was a thread on AAP a few weeks ago where parents openly wrote about how IEP/504 kids really didn’t belong in AAP and even now I’ve heard it so many times from parents before they realize who my kid is, it gives me PTSD.
It’s absolute BS.

As a TJ parent, I think TJ is a school that my kid dreamed about but it’s not without its problems. I’m personally not so happy with the admission changes and would like to see an actual program that allows low-income schools to have interested students obtain the training and knowledge to easily get into TJ. Young scholars spends what about $2 million a year in FCPS budget? (I looked at one point.) I know a teacher as a friend who taught the “Young Scholars” science classes for an elementary school for a few summers. I was shocked when I found out. This person has ZERO stem skills and admits they are “bad at math.” Like trouble with elementary math “bad at math”. It was basically fun camp and extra income for the teachers in the school. It bothers me that poor parents enrolling are hoping their kids can get some training the kid is likely begging for dreaming of TJ/good collage/STEM stuff. It’s nothing more than knowingly throwing out an ineffective crumb to say “but look we did something” to the lawsuits from the NAACP.

I taught in some real poor schools, like no lightbulbs in the house poor and crack smoking caught in school poor, for years after collage to pay off loans through a federal program. You want to give black/brown/poor kids a REAL chance? Take the $2million Young Scholars money and take the 10 poorest elementary schools and two poorest middle schools in FCPS. HIRE two full time STEM teachers for after school and summer STEM ONLY…..teachers with REAL degrees to teach in EACH chosen school. Student volunteers from TJ are wonderful to help but they have their own homework. A real full time stem degreed teacher, even if carefully selected and young, would be much more effective. $130K with salary and benefits per teacher x12 teachers = $1,560,000 and $440, 000 divided among the 12 schools for supplies, fees, books, ect…$2 million finally effective.

It might take a bit for the parents to see it as a real thing given the past….but word gets around “We had x number of kids have success on 3rd grade Math Kangroo!” Our Science Olympiad team had 3 kids get a medal ! (Success will be lower the first year likely, but those kids are now ROCK STARS on the mourning school announcements. You will be overwhelmed after. Take a day trip with the whole STEM group in May to a STEM thing like NASA. Or, for the first two years purposely do Regional Science Olympiad as a trip to western VA where one of the areas has some other rural poor schools, instead of getting crushed the first year against Longfellow, ect. (By year 3, tables would turn.) Kids get medals and a fun day trip! It’s the learning that matters. Band directors, basket ball coaches, ect do this all the time to build effective programs in areas you would think couldn’t exist.

Those teachers would teach multiple classes after school each day (different math levels based on ability not grade for kiddo math like Math Kangroo to AMC8 to MathCounts to basic training) The could teach Science Olympiad level A&B. (Poor families have no way to volunteer enough parental time/money but it wouldn’t matter the after-after school stem teachers are teaching and running the team…which is done already at many rich schools in FCPS. Kids get tons of basic science training!) These teachers could teach COMPSCI classes from Scratch to ACSL. There are so many ideas.

FCPS won’t do this though because the ugly truth is poor kids (and kids with disabilities) can be even more motivated than lazy rich kids if given access to a real fair shot. For hundreds of years, it’s been a nice pipeline to Harvard for apathetic Junior if Daddy gives lots of money for far too long. TJ and other public schools go down? Private schools and rich kids get the circular wealth pipeline that just started changing… back. (There are highly motivated and grounded rich kids so not everyone obviously.) From what I saw teaching in said very poor area, I had kids waiting 3 HOURS afterschool with the line out the door daily just to get an extra individual lesson and then walk home. The idea I just typed out won’t fix the inequity between rich and poor/ different races/ ect….But I think just simply taking black, brown, poor kids, and putting them in TJ when they aren’t chosen blindly, won’t be as effective for a few reasons already mentioned above me. I wish so much FCPS would look at my letter, and fix this garbage. It hurts my heart thinking of all the intelligent capable kids who were so talented, just poor or looked down upon for race, sex, disability, ect. I think this idea would work and I’ve DONE IT in a different subject area many years ago. The numbers of black, LatinX, hispanic, single parent households, disabled kids, poor kids, would rise at TJ within two years….and THOSE kids would be very competitive at TJ. A real shot.

Thinks it’s not fair to “give them a handout”?? You never know which kid: male/female, black, white, Asian, American Indian, disabled/abled, LGBTQ+/ straight will have the next huge idea, and starts millions of new jobs. It doesn’t have to be a ZERO SUM GAME.

It’s not reasonable or fair to say someone isn’t as potentially capable solely based on a of lack of access to knowledge and training. It is true that at some point it’s hard to get “in the game and compete” and find out if the student hasn’t been given the opportunity though. Where the line for opportunity is and for which areas of jobs and exactly how much the past racial tragedies (I count slavery and the burning down entire areas of black business as a TRAGEDY that creates generations of unjust economic problems.) and how this all contributed to the current inequities is what the big question is.

The amount of Trumpers with the “WOKE” garbage on this thread is awful.

I’ll shut up from here on out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the grapevine, quite a few TJ teachers are quitting to join Private Industry rather than have to deal with the woke BS that's sure to hit the fan next year.

Crazy the ones I've talked too were very happy with the more rigorous process that favors talent over prep.

Sure.. They prob. didn't get that private industry job that pays better relative to their current cushy job. As far as the bolded portion of your response.. nice try putting words in their mouth .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that black kids will be considered by students to have only gotten in because of their race. This is a likely result when the administrators say they wish to get more black kids in and change the admissions process to help make that happen.

THEY ALREADY ARE TOLD THIS.


This whole thread bothers me so I’m going to say my peace and then be done. I know some will disagree and just skip reading if you hate long writing as I had some time this morning.

My 504 kid at TJ has long since had to put up with the seemingly acceptable attitude from elementary school onward that kids with disabilities/504 at AAP/TJ are “taking up a spot from a more capable student.” “If they need any accommodations it’s really cheating and unfair!” This needs to be addressed as well. Children without as much access to resources have a higher incidence of 504/IEP’s from a variety of reasons: lack of quality medical care, expense of nutrition, parental exhaustion (2 full time jobs! Fun!), lead paint, divorce, toxic water pipes, disability of the parents causes poverty, the poor apartment complex has “motor cycle Dude” ride in blazing at 2am on school nights. I’m sure my own poverty growing up effected my child. But that doesn’t mean some of those kids aren’t brilliant.

There was a thread on AAP a few weeks ago where parents openly wrote about how IEP/504 kids really didn’t belong in AAP and even now I’ve heard it so many times from parents before they realize who my kid is, it gives me PTSD.
It’s absolute BS.

As a TJ parent, I think TJ is a school that my kid dreamed about but it’s not without its problems. I’m personally not so happy with the admission changes and would like to see an actual program that allows low-income schools to have interested students obtain the training and knowledge to easily get into TJ. Young scholars spends what about $2 million a year in FCPS budget? (I looked at one point.) I know a teacher as a friend who taught the “Young Scholars” science classes for an elementary school for a few summers. I was shocked when I found out. This person has ZERO stem skills and admits they are “bad at math.” Like trouble with elementary math “bad at math”. It was basically fun camp and extra income for the teachers in the school. It bothers me that poor parents enrolling are hoping their kids can get some training the kid is likely begging for dreaming of TJ/good collage/STEM stuff. It’s nothing more than knowingly throwing out an ineffective crumb to say “but look we did something” to the lawsuits from the NAACP.

I taught in some real poor schools, like no lightbulbs in the house poor and crack smoking caught in school poor, for years after collage to pay off loans through a federal program. You want to give black/brown/poor kids a REAL chance? Take the $2million Young Scholars money and take the 10 poorest elementary schools and two poorest middle schools in FCPS. HIRE two full time STEM teachers for after school and summer STEM ONLY…..teachers with REAL degrees to teach in EACH chosen school. Student volunteers from TJ are wonderful to help but they have their own homework. A real full time stem degreed teacher, even if carefully selected and young, would be much more effective. $130K with salary and benefits per teacher x12 teachers = $1,560,000 and $440, 000 divided among the 12 schools for supplies, fees, books, ect…$2 million finally effective.

It might take a bit for the parents to see it as a real thing given the past….but word gets around “We had x number of kids have success on 3rd grade Math Kangroo!” Our Science Olympiad team had 3 kids get a medal ! (Success will be lower the first year likely, but those kids are now ROCK STARS on the mourning school announcements. You will be overwhelmed after. Take a day trip with the whole STEM group in May to a STEM thing like NASA. Or, for the first two years purposely do Regional Science Olympiad as a trip to western VA where one of the areas has some other rural poor schools, instead of getting crushed the first year against Longfellow, ect. (By year 3, tables would turn.) Kids get medals and a fun day trip! It’s the learning that matters. Band directors, basket ball coaches, ect do this all the time to build effective programs in areas you would think couldn’t exist.

Those teachers would teach multiple classes after school each day (different math levels based on ability not grade for kiddo math like Math Kangroo to AMC8 to MathCounts to basic training) The could teach Science Olympiad level A&B. (Poor families have no way to volunteer enough parental time/money but it wouldn’t matter the after-after school stem teachers are teaching and running the team…which is done already at many rich schools in FCPS. Kids get tons of basic science training!) These teachers could teach COMPSCI classes from Scratch to ACSL. There are so many ideas.

FCPS won’t do this though because the ugly truth is poor kids (and kids with disabilities) can be even more motivated than lazy rich kids if given access to a real fair shot. For hundreds of years, it’s been a nice pipeline to Harvard for apathetic Junior if Daddy gives lots of money for far too long. TJ and other public schools go down? Private schools and rich kids get the circular wealth pipeline that just started changing… back. (There are highly motivated and grounded rich kids so not everyone obviously.) From what I saw teaching in said very poor area, I had kids waiting 3 HOURS afterschool with the line out the door daily just to get an extra individual lesson and then walk home. The idea I just typed out won’t fix the inequity between rich and poor/ different races/ ect….But I think just simply taking black, brown, poor kids, and putting them in TJ when they aren’t chosen blindly, won’t be as effective for a few reasons already mentioned above me. I wish so much FCPS would look at my letter, and fix this garbage. It hurts my heart thinking of all the intelligent capable kids who were so talented, just poor or looked down upon for race, sex, disability, ect. I think this idea would work and I’ve DONE IT in a different subject area many years ago. The numbers of black, LatinX, hispanic, single parent households, disabled kids, poor kids, would rise at TJ within two years….and THOSE kids would be very competitive at TJ. A real shot.

Thinks it’s not fair to “give them a handout”?? You never know which kid: male/female, black, white, Asian, American Indian, disabled/abled, LGBTQ+/ straight will have the next huge idea, and starts millions of new jobs. It doesn’t have to be a ZERO SUM GAME.

It’s not reasonable or fair to say someone isn’t as potentially capable solely based on a of lack of access to knowledge and training. It is true that at some point it’s hard to get “in the game and compete” and find out if the student hasn’t been given the opportunity though. Where the line for opportunity is and for which areas of jobs and exactly how much the past racial tragedies (I count slavery and the burning down entire areas of black business as a TRAGEDY that creates generations of unjust economic problems.) and how this all contributed to the current inequities is what the big question is.

The amount of Trumpers with the “WOKE” garbage on this thread is awful.

I’ll shut up from here on out.

Good post. I think you are saying what most of the responders here are saying. Catch them young, get them interested. Don't fu*k up TJ. The "other" side would rather burn down TJ if they can't have it. They want equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity. That's what we call "woke BS". And they wonder why someone like Trump wins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that black kids will be considered by students to have only gotten in because of their race. This is a likely result when the administrators say they wish to get more black kids in and change the admissions process to help make that happen.

THEY ALREADY ARE TOLD THIS.


This whole thread bothers me so I’m going to say my peace and then be done. I know some will disagree and just skip reading if you hate long writing as I had some time this morning.

My 504 kid at TJ has long since had to put up with the seemingly acceptable attitude from elementary school onward that kids with disabilities/504 at AAP/TJ are “taking up a spot from a more capable student.” “If they need any accommodations it’s really cheating and unfair!” This needs to be addressed as well. Children without as much access to resources have a higher incidence of 504/IEP’s from a variety of reasons: lack of quality medical care, expense of nutrition, parental exhaustion (2 full time jobs! Fun!), lead paint, divorce, toxic water pipes, disability of the parents causes poverty, the poor apartment complex has “motor cycle Dude” ride in blazing at 2am on school nights. I’m sure my own poverty growing up effected my child. But that doesn’t mean some of those kids aren’t brilliant.

There was a thread on AAP a few weeks ago where parents openly wrote about how IEP/504 kids really didn’t belong in AAP and even now I’ve heard it so many times from parents before they realize who my kid is, it gives me PTSD.
It’s absolute BS.

As a TJ parent, I think TJ is a school that my kid dreamed about but it’s not without its problems. I’m personally not so happy with the admission changes and would like to see an actual program that allows low-income schools to have interested students obtain the training and knowledge to easily get into TJ. Young scholars spends what about $2 million a year in FCPS budget? (I looked at one point.) I know a teacher as a friend who taught the “Young Scholars” science classes for an elementary school for a few summers. I was shocked when I found out. This person has ZERO stem skills and admits they are “bad at math.” Like trouble with elementary math “bad at math”. It was basically fun camp and extra income for the teachers in the school. It bothers me that poor parents enrolling are hoping their kids can get some training the kid is likely begging for dreaming of TJ/good collage/STEM stuff. It’s nothing more than knowingly throwing out an ineffective crumb to say “but look we did something” to the lawsuits from the NAACP.

I taught in some real poor schools, like no lightbulbs in the house poor and crack smoking caught in school poor, for years after collage to pay off loans through a federal program. You want to give black/brown/poor kids a REAL chance? Take the $2million Young Scholars money and take the 10 poorest elementary schools and two poorest middle schools in FCPS. HIRE two full time STEM teachers for after school and summer STEM ONLY…..teachers with REAL degrees to teach in EACH chosen school. Student volunteers from TJ are wonderful to help but they have their own homework. A real full time stem degreed teacher, even if carefully selected and young, would be much more effective. $130K with salary and benefits per teacher x12 teachers = $1,560,000 and $440, 000 divided among the 12 schools for supplies, fees, books, ect…$2 million finally effective.

It might take a bit for the parents to see it as a real thing given the past….but word gets around “We had x number of kids have success on 3rd grade Math Kangroo!” Our Science Olympiad team had 3 kids get a medal ! (Success will be lower the first year likely, but those kids are now ROCK STARS on the mourning school announcements. You will be overwhelmed after. Take a day trip with the whole STEM group in May to a STEM thing like NASA. Or, for the first two years purposely do Regional Science Olympiad as a trip to western VA where one of the areas has some other rural poor schools, instead of getting crushed the first year against Longfellow, ect. (By year 3, tables would turn.) Kids get medals and a fun day trip! It’s the learning that matters. Band directors, basket ball coaches, ect do this all the time to build effective programs in areas you would think couldn’t exist.

Those teachers would teach multiple classes after school each day (different math levels based on ability not grade for kiddo math like Math Kangroo to AMC8 to MathCounts to basic training) The could teach Science Olympiad level A&B. (Poor families have no way to volunteer enough parental time/money but it wouldn’t matter the after-after school stem teachers are teaching and running the team…which is done already at many rich schools in FCPS. Kids get tons of basic science training!) These teachers could teach COMPSCI classes from Scratch to ACSL. There are so many ideas.

FCPS won’t do this though because the ugly truth is poor kids (and kids with disabilities) can be even more motivated than lazy rich kids if given access to a real fair shot. For hundreds of years, it’s been a nice pipeline to Harvard for apathetic Junior if Daddy gives lots of money for far too long. TJ and other public schools go down? Private schools and rich kids get the circular wealth pipeline that just started changing… back. (There are highly motivated and grounded rich kids so not everyone obviously.) From what I saw teaching in said very poor area, I had kids waiting 3 HOURS afterschool with the line out the door daily just to get an extra individual lesson and then walk home. The idea I just typed out won’t fix the inequity between rich and poor/ different races/ ect….But I think just simply taking black, brown, poor kids, and putting them in TJ when they aren’t chosen blindly, won’t be as effective for a few reasons already mentioned above me. I wish so much FCPS would look at my letter, and fix this garbage. It hurts my heart thinking of all the intelligent capable kids who were so talented, just poor or looked down upon for race, sex, disability, ect. I think this idea would work and I’ve DONE IT in a different subject area many years ago. The numbers of black, LatinX, hispanic, single parent households, disabled kids, poor kids, would rise at TJ within two years….and THOSE kids would be very competitive at TJ. A real shot.

Thinks it’s not fair to “give them a handout”?? You never know which kid: male/female, black, white, Asian, American Indian, disabled/abled, LGBTQ+/ straight will have the next huge idea, and starts millions of new jobs. It doesn’t have to be a ZERO SUM GAME.

It’s not reasonable or fair to say someone isn’t as potentially capable solely based on a of lack of access to knowledge and training. It is true that at some point it’s hard to get “in the game and compete” and find out if the student hasn’t been given the opportunity though. Where the line for opportunity is and for which areas of jobs and exactly how much the past racial tragedies (I count slavery and the burning down entire areas of black business as a TRAGEDY that creates generations of unjust economic problems.) and how this all contributed to the current inequities is what the big question is.

The amount of Trumpers with the “WOKE” garbage on this thread is awful.

I’ll shut up from here on out.

Good post. I think you are saying what most of the responders here are saying. Catch them young, get them interested. Don't fu*k up TJ. The "other" side would rather burn down TJ if they can't have it. They want equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity. That's what we call "woke BS". And they wonder why someone like Trump wins.

That's not what I'm saying. The new criteria makes perfect sense. It favors talent over prep and levels a playing field that has long been gamed. I really don't understand why people are defending an admission process where most of those who were admitted clearly cheated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That's not what I'm saying. The new criteria makes perfect sense. It favors talent over prep and levels a playing field that has long been gamed. I really don't understand why people are defending an admission process where most of those who were admitted clearly cheated.

You keep making this claim, but you're not providing any explanation as to how the new system will "favor talent." In the new system, they only have GPA and an essay to use. Every single kid who is above average will pretty much look the same. The same kids who prepped before will get tutors to ensure straight As as well as coaches for writing a perfect essay.

The old system was far from perfect, but at least using teacher recommendations and more/better essays helped the TJ selection committee identify the top notch kids. Now, they have absolutely no basis to identify them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That's not what I'm saying. The new criteria makes perfect sense. It favors talent over prep and levels a playing field that has long been gamed. I really don't understand why people are defending an admission process where most of those who were admitted clearly cheated.

You keep making this claim, but you're not providing any explanation as to how the new system will "favor talent." In the new system, they only have GPA and an essay to use. Every single kid who is above average will pretty much look the same. The same kids who prepped before will get tutors to ensure straight As as well as coaches for writing a perfect essay.

The old system was far from perfect, but at least using teacher recommendations and more/better essays helped the TJ selection committee identify the top notch kids. Now, they have absolutely no basis to identify them.

The test prep companies hired former TJ admissions readers to teach their students what admissions looks for in the essays. Essays can be filled with untruths since they are not verified in any way. They teach what buzzwords to use and which topics and themes have been successful in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They explained this. It is unweighted GPA they look at, you have to have a 3.5, and be in gifted classes.

That's just not true, all you need is three honors classes including math and science

So, there's no boost for taking all honors or for taking Algebra rather than M7H in 7th grade? That's absurd. A kid in the higher level math should be given some credit for it. Likewise, a kid taking 4 Honors or AAP classes is taking a tougher load than a kid in only 3 Honors and should get some credit. It seems like people who want to maximize their chances of getting into TJ should then take regular English or History, whichever subject is weaker, and take M7H even if they easily qualify for Algebra. That would be the easiest way to guarantee a 4.0, which would land a kid in the top 1.5% over the kids who took harder courses but maybe got an A- in something.

Haven't you heard? Merit, innate talent and hard work don't matter anymore. Equity over everything else now. USA is on the fast track to socialism now, baby!!! If you're curious what life will be like in the coming years, just ask anyone from Cuba, Venezuela, China, Zimbabwe, Soviet countries, etc. This is only the beginning.

Whoa. In addition to your misinterpretation here, your international understanding is extremely confused-- for one, China's educational system is extremely meritocratic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the grapevine, quite a few TJ teachers are quitting to join Private Industry rather than have to deal with the woke BS that's sure to hit the fan next year.

Crazy the ones I've talked too were very happy with the more rigorous process that favors talent over prep.

You are delusional.

+1. No one thinks this favors talent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the grapevine, quite a few TJ teachers are quitting to join Private Industry rather than have to deal with the woke BS that's sure to hit the fan next year.

Crazy the ones I've talked too were very happy with the more rigorous process that favors talent over prep.

You are delusional.

+1. No one thinks this favors talent.

Don't waste your breath. One poster has posted that the new system "favors talent over prep," more times than I could possibly count on numerous threads. When s/he is asked exactly how using just an inflated GPA with no weighting for higher level math/AAP classes and a single essay will somehow ferret out talent, s/he consistently fails to answer. Really, this poster should be viewed as essentially a lobotomized parrot that can do nothing other than squawk "favors talent over prep."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that black kids will be considered by students to have only gotten in because of their race. This is a likely result when the administrators say they wish to get more black kids in and change the admissions process to help make that happen.

THEY ALREADY ARE TOLD THIS.


This whole thread bothers me so I’m going to say my peace and then be done. I know some will disagree and just skip reading if you hate long writing as I had some time this morning.

My 504 kid at TJ has long since had to put up with the seemingly acceptable attitude from elementary school onward that kids with disabilities/504 at AAP/TJ are “taking up a spot from a more capable student.” “If they need any accommodations it’s really cheating and unfair!” This needs to be addressed as well. Children without as much access to resources have a higher incidence of 504/IEP’s from a variety of reasons: lack of quality medical care, expense of nutrition, parental exhaustion (2 full time jobs! Fun!), lead paint, divorce, toxic water pipes, disability of the parents causes poverty, the poor apartment complex has “motor cycle Dude” ride in blazing at 2am on school nights. I’m sure my own poverty growing up effected my child. But that doesn’t mean some of those kids aren’t brilliant.

There was a thread on AAP a few weeks ago where parents openly wrote about how IEP/504 kids really didn’t belong in AAP and even now I’ve heard it so many times from parents before they realize who my kid is, it gives me PTSD.
It’s absolute BS.

As a TJ parent, I think TJ is a school that my kid dreamed about but it’s not without its problems. I’m personally not so happy with the admission changes and would like to see an actual program that allows low-income schools to have interested students obtain the training and knowledge to easily get into TJ. Young scholars spends what about $2 million a year in FCPS budget? (I looked at one point.) I know a teacher as a friend who taught the “Young Scholars” science classes for an elementary school for a few summers. I was shocked when I found out. This person has ZERO stem skills and admits they are “bad at math.” Like trouble with elementary math “bad at math”. It was basically fun camp and extra income for the teachers in the school. It bothers me that poor parents enrolling are hoping their kids can get some training the kid is likely begging for dreaming of TJ/good collage/STEM stuff. It’s nothing more than knowingly throwing out an ineffective crumb to say “but look we did something” to the lawsuits from the NAACP.

I taught in some real poor schools, like no lightbulbs in the house poor and crack smoking caught in school poor, for years after collage to pay off loans through a federal program. You want to give black/brown/poor kids a REAL chance? Take the $2million Young Scholars money and take the 10 poorest elementary schools and two poorest middle schools in FCPS. HIRE two full time STEM teachers for after school and summer STEM ONLY…..teachers with REAL degrees to teach in EACH chosen school. Student volunteers from TJ are wonderful to help but they have their own homework. A real full time stem degreed teacher, even if carefully selected and young, would be much more effective. $130K with salary and benefits per teacher x12 teachers = $1,560,000 and $440, 000 divided among the 12 schools for supplies, fees, books, ect…$2 million finally effective.

It might take a bit for the parents to see it as a real thing given the past….but word gets around “We had x number of kids have success on 3rd grade Math Kangroo!” Our Science Olympiad team had 3 kids get a medal ! (Success will be lower the first year likely, but those kids are now ROCK STARS on the mourning school announcements. You will be overwhelmed after. Take a day trip with the whole STEM group in May to a STEM thing like NASA. Or, for the first two years purposely do Regional Science Olympiad as a trip to western VA where one of the areas has some other rural poor schools, instead of getting crushed the first year against Longfellow, ect. (By year 3, tables would turn.) Kids get medals and a fun day trip! It’s the learning that matters. Band directors, basket ball coaches, ect do this all the time to build effective programs in areas you would think couldn’t exist.

Those teachers would teach multiple classes after school each day (different math levels based on ability not grade for kiddo math like Math Kangroo to AMC8 to MathCounts to basic training) The could teach Science Olympiad level A&B. (Poor families have no way to volunteer enough parental time/money but it wouldn’t matter the after-after school stem teachers are teaching and running the team…which is done already at many rich schools in FCPS. Kids get tons of basic science training!) These teachers could teach COMPSCI classes from Scratch to ACSL. There are so many ideas.

FCPS won’t do this though because the ugly truth is poor kids (and kids with disabilities) can be even more motivated than lazy rich kids if given access to a real fair shot. For hundreds of years, it’s been a nice pipeline to Harvard for apathetic Junior if Daddy gives lots of money for far too long. TJ and other public schools go down? Private schools and rich kids get the circular wealth pipeline that just started changing… back. (There are highly motivated and grounded rich kids so not everyone obviously.) From what I saw teaching in said very poor area, I had kids waiting 3 HOURS afterschool with the line out the door daily just to get an extra individual lesson and then walk home. The idea I just typed out won’t fix the inequity between rich and poor/ different races/ ect….But I think just simply taking black, brown, poor kids, and putting them in TJ when they aren’t chosen blindly, won’t be as effective for a few reasons already mentioned above me. I wish so much FCPS would look at my letter, and fix this garbage. It hurts my heart thinking of all the intelligent capable kids who were so talented, just poor or looked down upon for race, sex, disability, ect. I think this idea would work and I’ve DONE IT in a different subject area many years ago. The numbers of black, LatinX, hispanic, single parent households, disabled kids, poor kids, would rise at TJ within two years….and THOSE kids would be very competitive at TJ. A real shot.

Thinks it’s not fair to “give them a handout”?? You never know which kid: male/female, black, white, Asian, American Indian, disabled/abled, LGBTQ+/ straight will have the next huge idea, and starts millions of new jobs. It doesn’t have to be a ZERO SUM GAME.

It’s not reasonable or fair to say someone isn’t as potentially capable solely based on a of lack of access to knowledge and training. It is true that at some point it’s hard to get “in the game and compete” and find out if the student hasn’t been given the opportunity though. Where the line for opportunity is and for which areas of jobs and exactly how much the past racial tragedies (I count slavery and the burning down entire areas of black business as a TRAGEDY that creates generations of unjust economic problems.) and how this all contributed to the current inequities is what the big question is.

The amount of Trumpers with the “WOKE” garbage on this thread is awful.

I’ll shut up from here on out.

+1

[Anonymous]

The problem with the talent over prep poster is that what he is really saying is inmate talent over hard work. He wants brag that his kid took the the easy way in over the harder route of working ward to get there.

And, that’s fine and all, until you realize that even if you have more innate talent than every other kid at TJ, you are still going to flunk out of you don’t work 24/7. And, that the students who have a really strong work ethic are the ones who will be able stay at TJ once they get there.

I went back and looked at family photos from my kid’s 4 years at TJ and realized my DS isn’t in most of them. And that for 4 years he worked 51 weeks a year, 7 days a week. He had one week in the summer before summer school, immediately followed by band camp, and then school started again. And 2 weeks at Christmas. And that’s it. Kennedy Center trips, going out to eat for family birthdays, Wolftrap in the summer, thanksgiving afternoons playing games. He’s missing from all those photos because of TJ. There’s just a photo of him at his desk in the middle of the Spring break at the beach photos with everyone else mini golfing.

So, I’d quit bragging that other kids have to work and your kid doesn’t. Because TJ is like life— except on steroids. Success at TJ is 98% perspiration, and the ability to go weeks with only 4 hours of sleep a night. Your kid won’t be exempt from that. And they are going in way behind the curve.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with the talent over prep poster is that what he is really saying is inmate talent over hard work. He wants brag that his kid took the the easy way in over the harder route of working ward to get there.

And, that’s fine and all, until you realize that even if you have more innate talent than every other kid at TJ, you are still going to flunk out of you don’t work 24/7. And, that the students who have a really strong work ethic are the ones who will be able stay at TJ once they get there.

I went back and looked at family photos from my kid’s 4 years at TJ and realized my DS isn’t in most of them. And that for 4 years he worked 51 weeks a year, 7 days a week. He had one week in the summer before summer school, immediately followed by band camp, and then school started again. And 2 weeks at Christmas. And that’s it. Kennedy Center trips, going out to eat for family birthdays, Wolftrap in the summer, thanksgiving afternoons playing games. He’s missing from all those photos because of TJ. There’s just a photo of him at his desk in the middle of the Spring break at the beach photos with everyone else mini golfing.

So, I’d quit bragging that other kids have to work and your kid doesn’t. Because TJ is like life— except on steroids. Success at TJ is 98% perspiration, and the ability to go weeks with only 4 hours of sleep a night. Your kid won’t be exempt from that. And they are going in way behind the curve.

Good Luck!

Sounds about right. Although my kid excelled at TJ, that was mostly due to sleeping 4-5 hours a day most of the time especially due to orchestra and other ECs and competitions etc. Buyer be aware.

[Anonymous]

I wonder how the folks cheering because their kids got in without “prepping” (aka working for it) are going to feel when they discover that their kids are signed up for 90 hour workweeks? I suppose they will argue their kids should get a TJ degree based on their “innate talent”. And then will move on to college admissions by “innate talent,” etc.

I wonder at what point they will expect their kids to work hard at something?

[Anonymous]

I feel sorry for the TJ teachers. He’ll hath no fury like a Mommy who doesn’t understand how her poor lil baby can be expected to commute two hours a day and do five hours of homework a night— for Cs.

Getting a class of kids with no work ethic ans entitled mommies is gonna suck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel sorry for the TJ teachers. He’ll hath no fury like a Mommy who doesn’t understand how her poor lil baby can be expected to commute two hours a day and do five hours of homework a night— for Cs.

Getting a class of kids with no work ethic ans entitled mommies is gonna suck.

You forgot that poor mommy has to drive the kid to the bus depot and pick up the kid from the school or the bus depot everyday and give ride on Saturdays for ECs. The average commute is more like 1.5 hours a day.