Workload at Richard Montgomery IB magnet program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"So, I wan to hear from the 100 who are accepted, how many of you deciding to not go to RM and is the information session truly your reason to do so. Be truthful, this is an anonymous forum. So, if you feel it is something else, spell out so that the RM magnet coordinator will understand what is going on."

After 7 years, if that is her best shot, I'm sure parents have been complaining for years. For myself, I am waiting to see what happens at the 2nd info meeting on 2/22. If she can't figure it out by herself, that says all I need to know.

Having said that, I would guess that most kids that got into both will be allow to make their own decision. Of course, they were off with their peers and did not see the majority of the problems the parents did.

Are you a RM IB parents? Where did you hear parents complaining. I am a RM IB parent, and have not heard any complain about her. In fact, I have heard wonderful things about her from parents and from kids.

BTW, this post was not from Jennifer Hoover - I posted it so that I can let her know what parents reaction was to the last information session in case she did not know.

[Anonymous]

Look, the internet is all about people whining so I don't want to make too much of this, but people have been complaining about the RM IB information night for years.

From 2012 http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/243616.page

"Every fall each magnet program has an open house. Starting in September, check RM's website for an announcement of when the open house will be. Unfortunately, for us at least, even the open house wasn't very helpful. RM staff kept waving their arms around and saying "we're international!" in really enthusiastic tones. Then there were breakout sessions with monosyllabic IB students. DC was so unimpressed I couldn't even get him to apply (although I tried, hard!) and he's now ensconced in another magnet. Maybe RM has improved the open house presentation in the past year or so? Or go and prepare yourself ahead of time with a lot of focused questions? "

[Anonymous]

My son is in the IB program, 3 hours of homework daily, he plays the guitar and he also has a part time job some nights for a couple of hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is in the IB program, 3 hours of homework daily, he plays the guitar and he also has a part time job some nights for a couple of hours.

What grade? Is he able to maintain good GPA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is in the IB program, 3 hours of homework daily, he plays the guitar and he also has a part time job some nights for a couple of hours.

Wow... I find this hard to believe. Only 3 hours?

[Anonymous]

I, too, was disappointed by RMIB's information night,, and I was impressed by that of Blair. Blair gives the impression of being a program where students are cooperative and enjoy themselves. I have little impression of IB because there is no shadowing and the meeting is on Monday. I hope they are able to convey the qualities of the program.

Having said that, my daughter is leaning towards RMIB because she think it will give her a broader curriculum than that of Blair. She loves math and English, isn't so fond of science.

[Anonymous]

I attended RM IB program in the early 90s. The workload was intense and it was an incredibly difficult, stressful experience for me. 4-5 hours of homework per night was the norm, and I struggled to keep up. In my opinion it was way too much stress and pressure for a 15-16 year old. I dropped out of the program after 10th grade and returned to my home high school. AP/honors classes were a breeze after the IB program. I'm glad I had understanding parents who didn't pressure me to stay in the program.
College and law school were low stress compared to the IB program stress. A couple of friends who I met in the program dropped out of school entirely. If my kids decide to apply I wouldn't stand in their way, but I wouldn't encourage them to do it either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I attended RM IB program in the early 90s. The workload was intense and it was an incredibly difficult, stressful experience for me. 4-5 hours of homework per night was the norm, and I struggled to keep up. In my opinion it was way too much stress and pressure for a 15-16 year old. I dropped out of the program after 10th grade and returned to my home high school. AP/honors classes were a breeze after the IB program. I'm glad I had understanding parents who didn't pressure me to stay in the program.
College and law school were low stress compared to the IB program stress. A couple of friends who I met in the program dropped out of school entirely. If my kids decide to apply I wouldn't stand in their way, but I wouldn't encourage them to do it either.

Do you regret doing IB?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I attended RM IB program in the early 90s. The workload was intense and it was an incredibly difficult, stressful experience for me. 4-5 hours of homework per night was the norm, and I struggled to keep up. In my opinion it was way too much stress and pressure for a 15-16 year old. I dropped out of the program after 10th grade and returned to my home high school. AP/honors classes were a breeze after the IB program. I'm glad I had understanding parents who didn't pressure me to stay in the program.
College and law school were low stress compared to the IB program stress. A couple of friends who I met in the program dropped out of school entirely. If my kids decide to apply I wouldn't stand in their way, but I wouldn't encourage them to do it either.

Do you regret doing IB?

My feelings are mixed. I don't regret trying it. It was a very challenging experience, but it helped that my family was supportive, and it helped that I was an emotionally strong and independent teenager. I don't come from an academic family - I was the first in my family to go to college. At the time, it seemed like all of the other students in IB were children of lawyers, doctors, engineers,,, and they seemed to have more support academically. It was all very intimidating. I remember in my math and science classes in particular, feeling relieved when I passed a test, and seeing my classmates cry over a B+ or A-. It was very surreal. My parents were very understanding and supportive of my decision to leave after giving it a chance for two years. Looking back on it now, I see that the two years that I completed more than prepared me for college, so that is a big plus. It's definitely not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

I feel that the 4 years at RMIB made up for all the BS education that my kids got for 10 years. It is a top notch education that is worthy of a first world country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I attended RM IB program in the early 90s. The workload was intense and it was an incredibly difficult, stressful experience for me. 4-5 hours of homework per night was the norm, and I struggled to keep up. In my opinion it was way too much stress and pressure for a 15-16 year old. I dropped out of the program after 10th grade and returned to my home high school. AP/honors classes were a breeze after the IB program. I'm glad I had understanding parents who didn't pressure me to stay in the program.
College and law school were low stress compared to the IB program stress. A couple of friends who I met in the program dropped out of school entirely. If my kids decide to apply I wouldn't stand in their way, but I wouldn't encourage them to do it either.

Do you regret doing IB?

My feelings are mixed. I don't regret trying it. It was a very challenging experience, but it helped that my family was supportive, and it helped that I was an emotionally strong and independent teenager. I don't come from an academic family - I was the first in my family to go to college. At the time, it seemed like all of the other students in IB were children of lawyers, doctors, engineers,,, and they seemed to have more support academically. It was all very intimidating. I remember in my math and science classes in particular, feeling relieved when I passed a test, and seeing my classmates cry over a B+ or A-. It was very surreal. My parents were very understanding and supportive of my decision to leave after giving it a chance for two years. Looking back on it now, I see that the two years that I completed more than prepared me for college, so that is a big plus. It's definitely not for everyone.

Interesting thread from a few years back. Is workload and pressure still true?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I attended RM IB program in the early 90s. The workload was intense and it was an incredibly difficult, stressful experience for me. 4-5 hours of homework per night was the norm, and I struggled to keep up. In my opinion it was way too much stress and pressure for a 15-16 year old. I dropped out of the program after 10th grade and returned to my home high school. AP/honors classes were a breeze after the IB program. I'm glad I had understanding parents who didn't pressure me to stay in the program.
College and law school were low stress compared to the IB program stress. A couple of friends who I met in the program dropped out of school entirely. If my kids decide to apply I wouldn't stand in their way, but I wouldn't encourage them to do it either.

Do you regret doing IB?

My feelings are mixed. I don't regret trying it. It was a very challenging experience, but it helped that my family was supportive, and it helped that I was an emotionally strong and independent teenager. I don't come from an academic family - I was the first in my family to go to college. At the time, it seemed like all of the other students in IB were children of lawyers, doctors, engineers,,, and they seemed to have more support academically. It was all very intimidating. I remember in my math and science classes in particular, feeling relieved when I passed a test, and seeing my classmates cry over a B+ or A-. It was very surreal. My parents were very understanding and supportive of my decision to leave after giving it a chance for two years. Looking back on it now, I see that the two years that I completed more than prepared me for college, so that is a big plus. It's definitely not for everyone.

Interesting thread from a few years back. Is workload and pressure still true?

What pp described is about correct still. Maybe even more so now than 90s. It is a tough program.