Emotional needs of our students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the last 3 pages or so are from the same tired poster who pulled her kid out of Langley and into private school and life seemed rosey. Until she learned that underprivileged kids and URMs have an edge over her kid in college admissions? Now she advocates those kids not be given an advantage and her kid penalized? And also brags that there's zero SAT prep in her house cause that's now how they roll?

By moving out of publics, you avoid quotas. Quotas are tied to state funding and other forms of politics. Since my kid is going to go to the college she wants, the college she likes best, for us, the admissions issue doesn't really matter. It does, however, on a political whole.

Again, you are assuming this is strictly personal. It's really a political issue to me.

If you think every qualified kid from Potomac, Flint Hill, O'Connell, [insert any non-public HS name here], gets into UVA, W&M, VaTech, JMU, etc, then you are very wrong. There are always limits when more qualified kids apply than there are college seats to fill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A problem in this area is there is such a large concentration of parents who went to Ivies or other very good schools that the kids in this area feel a very palpable pressure to go to those schools. That puts a heavy burden to excel academically on kids, especially since there are so many other kids in the same class/school feeling the same way. The pressure could be self imposed or could be from real expectations imposed by parents, but, either way, it is magnified in this area because of the large number of kids competing to be among the chosen few. I'm not criticizing the drive to get into Ivies, I'm just pointing out that while most of the time the demographics in this area provides our kids with benefits, it can at times create unintended burdens. Each ivy will only take so many kids from one school, the kids know this, and the pressure begins. The kids also want to be as successful professionally as their parents, which is another high bar in this area. Again, this is not a criticism of having a drive to be successful, I'm just pointing out that sometimes we forget or don't notice some of the pressures our kids face.

As I said, quotas are a serious problem. Fairness isn't really fair.

It's not unique to Langley. The quota is as tight at other Fairfax Co and Arlington Co HS. In fact, UVA will only take a certain percentage from NoVA. period. They prefer out of state tuition and 'Jefferson wanted geographical diversity..blah, blah... Signed, a 4.2 GPA Ffx co HS graduate, #10 out of 789 that was wait listed. I did get into Duke and Ann Arbor though.

Legally, state schools have to take a certain percentage of their students from the state the are in. Which is part of why the quotas exist. Another part is diversity. It doesn't matter if it's just Langley - that's not my point. The point is that fairness for some is not fairness for others.

A huge part is the funding generated by out of state tuition. Some state universities take smaller #s/smaller in state quotas. It's sad when a perfect 4.0+, high SATs, well-rounded can't get you in-state tuition at your state university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3 24 The oddness is the poster who repearedly said that tenured teachers are causing all the undo pressure on Fairfax County high school students.

That is the most laughable thing I have heard in a long time.

NP. No need to be extreme, so let's be accurate. Tenured teachers can cause unique chalenges, aka problems.

I do think it's stressful when there are so many standardized tests but such a lack of consistency and accountability where teachers are concerned. Some of the top schools in FCPS love to take credit for their kids' SAT scores and college admissions, but barely lift a finger when a teacher treats students with hostility and disdain. If you are at a school where most students succeed academically, it is very easy for the school to blow you off when your child struggles and tell you how well other students do on AP or IB exams, etc, which will only make your child feel worse.

From what I can tell, Langley may have raised this to an art form, and of course the parents and students who thrive in such an environment will defend it at length, but it can be very rough. For example, the programs for the fall sports banquets at Langley for many years also identified if the players also had at least 3.5 GPAs, so no opportunity was lost to remind everyone who was and was not doing better academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the last 3 pages or so are from the same tired poster who pulled her kid out of Langley and into private school and life seemed rosey. Until she learned that underprivileged kids and URMs have an edge over her kid in college admissions? Now she advocates those kids not be given an advantage and her kid penalized? And also brags that there's zero SAT prep in her house cause that's now how they roll?

By moving out of publics, you avoid quotas. Quotas are tied to state funding and other forms of politics. Since my kid is going to go to the college she wants, the college she likes best, for us, the admissions issue doesn't really matter. It does, however, on a political whole.

Again, you are assuming this is strictly personal. It's really a political issue to me.

If you think every qualified kid from Potomac, Flint Hill, O'Connell, [insert any non-public HS name here], gets into UVA, W&M, VaTech, JMU, etc, then you are very wrong. There are always limits when more qualified kids apply than there are college seats to fill.

Of course they don't! But they don't have the politics of quotas working against them either.

[Anonymous]

Until the outrageous expectations and competition stop, we will continue to lose kids.

I have often toyed with the idea of proverbially dropping my kids out of the rat race and placing them at a school like The New School or Howard Gardner. I just want them to love learning, and not spend every night saddled with 6 hours of homework and constant thoughts of not being good enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3 24 The oddness is the poster who repearedly said that tenured teachers are causing all the undo pressure on Fairfax County high school students.

That is the most laughable thing I have heard in a long time.

NP. No need to be extreme, so let's be accurate. Tenured teachers can cause unique chalenges, aka problems.

I do think it's stressful when there are so many standardized tests but such a lack of consistency and accountability where teachers are concerned. Some of the top schools in FCPS love to take credit for their kids' SAT scores and college admissions, but barely lift a finger when a teacher treats students with hostility and disdain. If you are at a school where most students succeed academically, it is very easy for the school to blow you off when your child struggles and tell you how well other students do on AP or IB exams, etc, which will only make your child feel worse.

From what I can tell, Langley may have raised this to an art form, and of course the parents and students who thrive in such an environment will defend it at length, but it can be very rough. For example, the programs for the fall sports banquets at Langley for many years also identified if the players also had at least 3.5 GPAs, so no opportunity was lost to remind everyone who was and was not doing better academically.

You are correct. What I am hearing from students is that it's the parents, and I agree parents play a huge part. What I tell these students is that it administration's job to keep difficult parents at bay and not let them change the climate at the school for all. While Ragone, is a nice guy, he is not tough enough to administrate in this fashion.

The sports banquets exposing kids GPAs is a bad precedent to set.

When I would walk the halls of Langley, the posters on the wall were all about 'make sure you get enough sleep' and 'this is how to reduce stress'. There was nothing about 'choose the college that suits YOU best', etc.

Again, if you need to bring in special counselors to handle stress and have coffees with parents who are concerned about the stress their kids are under, you would do much better as an administrator to make changes within the school itself regarding the sources of stress. Police your teachers better by setting limits to the amount of homework they are giving. Watch the grades coming out of the classrooms - if a particular teacher has a number of complaints or a large amount of kids not doing well, find out where the problems lie and fix them. If the problem IS that teacher and they refuse to comply, make his/her life difficult enough that they either change or leave. Reward teachers who are doing a good job. Make sure teachers work together, not against each other and make sure they are aware that kids have after school activities and their time is limited due to that. A kid who stays up until 12 or 1 most nights, then wakes up at 5:30 is going to be at risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the last 3 pages or so are from the same tired poster who pulled her kid out of Langley and into private school and life seemed rosey. Until she learned that underprivileged kids and URMs have an edge over her kid in college admissions? Now she advocates those kids not be given an advantage and her kid penalized? And also brags that there's zero SAT prep in her house cause that's now how they roll?

By moving out of publics, you avoid quotas. Quotas are tied to state funding and other forms of politics. Since my kid is going to go to the college she wants, the college she likes best, for us, the admissions issue doesn't really matter. It does, however, on a political whole.

Again, you are assuming this is strictly personal. It's really a political issue to me.

If you think every qualified kid from Potomac, Flint Hill, O'Connell, [insert any non-public HS name here], gets into UVA, W&M, VaTech, JMU, etc, then you are very wrong. There are always limits when more qualified kids apply than there are college seats to fill.

Of course they don't! But they don't have the politics of quotas working against them either.

How is "politics of quotas" different from "We don't enough space to accept every qualified kid. We want our freshman class to be diverse at every level. We won't fill our class with kids from NOVA and DC privates. And yes, we'll give an edge to the poor kid or URM"? The first you abhor and the second you accept with an "Of course!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Until the outrageous expectations and competition stop, we will continue to lose kids.

I have often toyed with the idea of proverbially dropping my kids out of the rat race and placing them at a school like The New School or Howard Gardner. I just want them to love learning, and not spend every night saddled with 6 hours of homework and constant thoughts of not being good enough.

One of my sons graduated from the New School. Another one currently attends. My eldest who graduated is in the engineering program at George Mason. He was VERY well-prepared. He's had a couple of his teachers already hold onto his papers/projects as examples for the other students so they can see how he should be done.

What he learned was how to write and how to think for himself. Sure he learned calculus and all that other academic stuff, but their approach is very unique and they approach subjects in-depth, at a level you can't do in a public because the classes are smaller. A lot of the classes tie together. For instance, one year the kids built an amplifier for guitar (a project they picked) and literally built it. In doing so, theory turned into practical learning as they could demonstrate how X causes Y. Fascinating stuff.

[Anonymous]

My youngest just said that the level of interactivity with students and teachers is key for him, because when you are struggling, there is always someone there to help. You never feel like you are drowning. He also says the level of freedom he feels helps him learn better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the last 3 pages or so are from the same tired poster who pulled her kid out of Langley and into private school and life seemed rosey. Until she learned that underprivileged kids and URMs have an edge over her kid in college admissions? Now she advocates those kids not be given an advantage and her kid penalized? And also brags that there's zero SAT prep in her house cause that's now how they roll?

By moving out of publics, you avoid quotas. Quotas are tied to state funding and other forms of politics. Since my kid is going to go to the college she wants, the college she likes best, for us, the admissions issue doesn't really matter. It does, however, on a political whole.

Again, you are assuming this is strictly personal. It's really a political issue to me.

If you think every qualified kid from Potomac, Flint Hill, O'Connell, [insert any non-public HS name here], gets into UVA, W&M, VaTech, JMU, etc, then you are very wrong. There are always limits when more qualified kids apply than there are college seats to fill.

Of course they don't! But they don't have the politics of quotas working against them either.

How is "politics of quotas" different from "We don't enough space to accept every qualified kid. We want our freshman class to be diverse at every level. We won't fill our class with kids from NOVA and DC privates. And yes, we'll give an edge to the poor kid or URM"? The first you abhor and the second you accept with an "Of course!"

Quotas are very specific to individual schools, i.e. UVA will take only X number from Langley, but Y number from Herndon. That's driven by the state and funding. What the college itself chooses to do with diversity can be more personal to them - each college will approach that differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3 24 The oddness is the poster who repearedly said that tenured teachers are causing all the undo pressure on Fairfax County high school students.

That is the most laughable thing I have heard in a long time.

NP. No need to be extreme, so let's be accurate. Tenured teachers can cause unique chalenges, aka problems.

I do think it's stressful when there are so many standardized tests but such a lack of consistency and accountability where teachers are concerned. Some of the top schools in FCPS love to take credit for their kids' SAT scores and college admissions, but barely lift a finger when a teacher treats students with hostility and disdain. If you are at a school where most students succeed academically, it is very easy for the school to blow you off when your child struggles and tell you how well other students do on AP or IB exams, etc, which will only make your child feel worse.

From what I can tell, Langley may have raised this to an art form, and of course the parents and students who thrive in such an environment will defend it at length, but it can be very rough. For example, the programs for the fall sports banquets at Langley for many years also identified if the players also had at least 3.5 GPAs, so no opportunity was lost to remind everyone who was and was not doing better academically.

You are correct. What I am hearing from students is that it's the parents, and I agree parents play a huge part. What I tell these students is that it administration's job to keep difficult parents at bay and not let them change the climate at the school for all. While Ragone, is a nice guy, he is not tough enough to administrate in this fashion.

The sports banquets exposing kids GPAs is a bad precedent to set.

When I would walk the halls of Langley, the posters on the wall were all about 'make sure you get enough sleep' and 'this is how to reduce stress'. There was nothing about 'choose the college that suits YOU best', etc.

Again, if you need to bring in special counselors to handle stress and have coffees with parents who are concerned about the stress their kids are under, you would do much better as an administrator to make changes within the school itself regarding the sources of stress. Police your teachers better by setting limits to the amount of homework they are giving. Watch the grades coming out of the classrooms - if a particular teacher has a number of complaints or a large amount of kids not doing well, find out where the problems lie and fix them. If the problem IS that teacher and they refuse to comply, make his/her life difficult enough that they either change or leave. Reward teachers who are doing a good job. Make sure teachers work together, not against each other and make sure they are aware that kids have after school activities and their time is limited due to that. A kid who stays up until 12 or 1 most nights, then wakes up at 5:30 is going to be at risk.

No 16 or 17 year old high school student who needs to wake up at 5:30am, should be required to stay up past 9 or 10pm (let alone midnight or worse) just to complete basic homework assignments.

That's insane, you people. The kids can wait until college for that nonsense if they want to try it out. Don't allow it at home.

The teachers need to get a grip on what their doing here.

[Anonymous]

The only kids I know staying up that late are the ones who procrastinated.

[Anonymous]

I'm so annoyed by this important discussion being derailed by misinformation about teacher tenure. Teachers did not cause these kids' deaths by suicide. Depression did.

There is NO teacher tenure in Virginia. None. People are profoundly misinformed. Teachers reach continuing contract status after 3 years, but they are still subject tho the same evaluation and observation cycles, it's just that the summarize evaluation is every three yard rather than every year. Still, the system can out a teacher on admin leave for malfeasance, and can fire a teacher with due process by documenting deficiencies and giving the teacher an opportunity to improve. It doesn't actually take much to document and fire a teacher.

In addition, many principals have the power to pressure a tea her to resign by threatening their teaching license. It's done all the time when principals want a teacher out ASAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only kids I know staying up that late are the ones who procrastinated.

How would you know that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3 24 The oddness is the poster who repearedly said that tenured teachers are causing all the undo pressure on Fairfax County high school students.

That is the most laughable thing I have heard in a long time.

NP. No need to be extreme, so let's be accurate. Tenured teachers can cause unique chalenges, aka problems.

I do think it's stressful when there are so many standardized tests but such a lack of consistency and accountability where teachers are concerned. Some of the top schools in FCPS love to take credit for their kids' SAT scores and college admissions, but barely lift a finger when a teacher treats students with hostility and disdain. If you are at a school where most students succeed academically, it is very easy for the school to blow you off when your child struggles and tell you how well other students do on AP or IB exams, etc, which will only make your child feel worse.

From what I can tell, Langley may have raised this to an art form, and of course the parents and students who thrive in such an environment will defend it at length, but it can be very rough. For example, the programs for the fall sports banquets at Langley for many years also identified if the players also had at least 3.5 GPAs, so no opportunity was lost to remind everyone who was and was not doing better academically.

You are correct. What I am hearing from students is that it's the parents, and I agree parents play a huge part. What I tell these students is that it administration's job to keep difficult parents at bay and not let them change the climate at the school for all. While Ragone, is a nice guy, he is not tough enough to administrate in this fashion.

The sports banquets exposing kids GPAs is a bad precedent to set.

When I would walk the halls of Langley, the posters on the wall were all about 'make sure you get enough sleep' and 'this is how to reduce stress'. There was nothing about 'choose the college that suits YOU best', etc.

Again, if you need to bring in special counselors to handle stress and have coffees with parents who are concerned about the stress their kids are under, you would do much better as an administrator to make changes within the school itself regarding the sources of stress. Police your teachers better by setting limits to the amount of homework they are giving. Watch the grades coming out of the classrooms - if a particular teacher has a number of complaints or a large amount of kids not doing well, find out where the problems lie and fix them. If the problem IS that teacher and they refuse to comply, make his/her life difficult enough that they either change or leave. Reward teachers who are doing a good job. Make sure teachers work together, not against each other and make sure they are aware that kids have after school activities and their time is limited due to that. A kid who stays up until 12 or 1 most nights, then wakes up at 5:30 is going to be at risk.