Does the teacher matter a lot at AOPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here: I never thought that there could be disruptive kids in a class at this level-this is not a public school.

There's always disruptive kids at the elementary/middle school age. There may be less than public school on average, but they do exist. This is an enrichment program and like all other enrichment programs they can only filter for ability for a specific class, not for behavior.

Of course they can filter for behavior. They aren't bound by crazy equity laws.

Ditto!

No, they really can't. There's no behavior placement test, if that's what you're suggesting. Once they're assigned a specific class based on ability, if they start being disruptive in class it's not that easy to kick them out unless they display serious behavior issues. If a significant chunk of the class is disruptive, loud, or talking out of turn, it's much more likely they will remain and much less likely to be forced to leave class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here: I never thought that there could be disruptive kids in a class at this level-this is not a public school.

There's always disruptive kids at the elementary/middle school age. There may be less than public school on average, but they do exist. This is an enrichment program and like all other enrichment programs they can only filter for ability for a specific class, not for behavior.

Of course they can filter for behavior. They aren't bound by crazy equity laws.

Ditto!

No, they really can't. There's no behavior placement test, if that's what you're suggesting. Once they're assigned a specific class based on ability, if they start being disruptive in class it's not that easy to kick them out unless they display serious behavior issues. If a significant chunk of the class is disruptive, loud, or talking out of turn, it's much more likely they will remain and much less likely to be forced to leave class.

Are you speaking specifically based on your experience at AOPS or just in general?

[Anonymous]

Do children take geometry and algebra 1 at AOPS at the same time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do children take geometry and algebra 1 at AOPS at the same time?

I don't know about AoPS but at RSM kids are encouraged to start a 1 hour a week Geometry class in 6th grade. It is 1 hour in 6th and 7th and then 2 hours in 8th. Most kids taking Geometry will also e talking pre-Algebra and Algebra at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here: I never thought that there could be disruptive kids in a class at this level-this is not a public school.

There's always disruptive kids at the elementary/middle school age. There may be less than public school on average, but they do exist. This is an enrichment program and like all other enrichment programs they can only filter for ability for a specific class, not for behavior.

Of course they can filter for behavior. They aren't bound by crazy equity laws.

Ditto!

No, they really can't. There's no behavior placement test, if that's what you're suggesting. Once they're assigned a specific class based on ability, if they start being disruptive in class it's not that easy to kick them out unless they display serious behavior issues. If a significant chunk of the class is disruptive, loud, or talking out of turn, it's much more likely they will remain and much less likely to be forced to leave class.

Are you speaking specifically based on your experience at AOPS or just in general?

Both.

[Anonymous]

So there was an actual disruptive student at your kid's class at AOPS? Which campus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So there was an actual disruptive student at your kid's class at AOPS? Which campus?

Yes, there are some students who can be disruptive, it's a luck of the draw at the elementary/middle school age. My main point is that this is not something one can filter out beforehand; it's a general problem that mostly manifests itself after classes start, and sometimes not even initially but later on in the course. Kids are still kids, and not everyone is necessarily there to learn in a perfectly behaved manner just because they are taking an AoPS class. Parents are of course alerted if it gets out of hand, but it doesn't mean they immediately kicked out. Just like in other places it depends on the circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So there was an actual disruptive student at your kid's class at AOPS? Which campus?

Yes, there are some students who can be disruptive, it's a luck of the draw at the elementary/middle school age. My main point is that this is not something one can filter out beforehand; it's a general problem that mostly manifests itself after classes start, and sometimes not even initially but later on in the course. Kids are still kids, and not everyone is necessarily there to learn in a perfectly behaved manner just because they are taking an AoPS class. Parents are of course alerted if it gets out of hand, but it doesn't mean they immediately kicked out. Just like in other places it depends on the circumstances.

You seem to speak in generalities rather than from experience at an actual AOPS location. AoPS is for very advanced students and unlikely to have students with behavioral issues. Certainly we never came across any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So there was an actual disruptive student at your kid's class at AOPS? Which campus?

Yes, there are some students who can be disruptive, it's a luck of the draw at the elementary/middle school age. My main point is that this is not something one can filter out beforehand; it's a general problem that mostly manifests itself after classes start, and sometimes not even initially but later on in the course. Kids are still kids, and not everyone is necessarily there to learn in a perfectly behaved manner just because they are taking an AoPS class. Parents are of course alerted if it gets out of hand, but it doesn't mean they immediately kicked out. Just like in other places it depends on the circumstances.

You seem to speak in generalities rather than from experience at an actual AOPS location. AoPS is for very advanced students and unlikely to have students with behavioral issues. Certainly we never came across any.

Having taught there for a couple of years, I can say that there are always a few disruptive kids in some of the classes; it's not such an unusual occurrence. Having not come across it as a student does not mean that it doesn't exist, but that your child was very fortunate. My point to the OP still stands; the peers in a particular classroom can be more of a factor than the teacher, as the AoPS staff is quite good at teaching.