TJ homework load?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:wish fcps had an alternative hs--not for at-risk kids, just for curious kids who like to learn. op's description of her dd matches mine. a student, high test scores, likes math & science. i think tj would crush her. i don't see more than 3 hours/night of homework & competition for grades leading to greater intellectual development or reflective thinking. i told dd i would support her in the application process, but i don't think it's a good fit. too bad.

If it would be a possibility for your family, look at The New School in Fairfax. I have a good friend who sent her very intelligent son there, and he is thriving without all the pressure.

[Anonymous]

3 hours sounds easy. TJ and a good college will be much harder to juggle.

--Former IB student

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I am a native. I was in the FCPS GT program through HS, where I took all GT core courses (yes, they had GT HS classes back then) plus 4 APs (which was considered a lot back then)... and I rarely had more than an hour or two of homework a night.

Something happened between then and now.

Ofcourse something happened. Just look at technology between now and then. Parents often say"I ended up just fine with what I did in school" That's fine if you want to raise your child that way BUT, like this PP stated, something happened between now and then. It's a different world. Just like our grandparents lived in a different world. Parents need to recognize this and except it.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
I am a native. I was in the FCPS GT program through HS, where I took all GT core courses (yes, they had GT HS classes back then) plus 4 APs (which was considered a lot back then)... and I rarely had more than an hour or two of homework a night.

Something happened between then and now. [/quote]
Ofcourse something happened. Just look at technology between now and then. Parents often say"I ended up just fine with what I did in school" That's fine if you want to raise your child that way BUT, like this PP stated, something happened between now and then. It's a different world. Just like our grandparents lived in a different world. Parents need to recognize this and except it.[/quote]

The level of content should be different, the method of delivery should be different, but the amount a student is expected to take home should not be different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:wish fcps had an alternative hs--not for at-risk kids, just for curious kids who like to learn. op's description of her dd matches mine. a student, high test scores, likes math & science. i think tj would crush her. i don't see more than 3 hours/night of homework & competition for grades leading to greater intellectual development or reflective thinking. i told dd i would support her in the application process, but i don't think it's a good fit. too bad.

Maybe the STEM Academy at Chantilly would be a better fit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:wish fcps had an alternative hs--not for at-risk kids, just for curious kids who like to learn. op's description of her dd matches mine. a student, high test scores, likes math & science. i think tj would crush her. i don't see more than 3 hours/night of homework & competition for grades leading to greater intellectual development or reflective thinking. i told dd i would support her in the application process, but i don't think it's a good fit. too bad.

Homework at TJ does not have to be crushing. Lots of kids there play sports and are involved in other activities. If TJ is a good fit for a child, the homework will not be crushing.

[Anonymous]

So, here is a question for any of you with a child doing sports at TJ, or who knows one . . . what does their typical day look like? I can't quite figure out how the math can work out. I assume they don't get home until what, 6:00? Then, is there dinner with their family, or do they go off and eat solo while working on homework? Do they just crank it out for 2-3 hours and get to bed at a reasonable time (10:00 or so?), or are they able to function on not much sleep? Or do they have to accept that they probably won't be getting all A's? Where does social time come in? How much time goes into homework on weekends?

[Anonymous]

My child plays sports at TJ: gets home around 6:30, dinner with family, a few hours of homework, bed between 10 and 11, depending on the day, gets up about 7 the next morning. We're lucky, we live within a very reasonable commute to the school.
My child gets very good grades. It can be done by kids for whom TJ is a good fit. The kids who need a lot of outside help would probably find it difficult to fit in sports or music.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where are people from? I was raised in upstate NY, took the regents classes, and had 3 hours of HW a night.

Also from upstate NY and took regents classes. I never had 3 hours of home work. Maybe one hour, and certainly not every night.

[Anonymous]

When I hear the TJ graduates say that college is so much easier than high school (and this is from kids at very selective colleges), it does make me wonder what the point of it all is. Isn't each level of education supposed to get progressively harder???

[Anonymous]

Went to the local public high school, not among the best or worst, in Fairfax County and it was very challenging with the AP classes. I studied hard at least an hour to three a day (usually 1-2) and went on to an Ivy League school for college and excelled there. I realize colleges are more competitive now, but I haven't heard why any of the local public high schools or at least the majority of them can't be challenging for our students. The AP classes and tests haven't changed much. In NY many schools have no more than 800 children per high school. Here there are 2000 to 3000 children per high school and there are definitely a large number of students who are into school at each one.

[Anonymous]

Also, I did feel like Ivy League college was a little easier than high school at least at first, but I think that was because college is more student directed. It's also a time where students can try living on their own, deciding what career to pursue, and even finding a spouse/partner in addition to the academics.

[Anonymous]

TJ/Longfellow student here. I think the workload at TJ is challenging, but doable. As stated before, the workload does get progressively harder. Freshman year is pretty straightforward. It eases you into the speed of things. I played a sport, and I was able to complete my homework and get to bed at a reasonable hour. If your child can manage their time well, then they can certainly handle the challenge. Junior year at TJ has a bad reputation for being very difficult, though the workload really won't be much different from the workload your child would receive taking several AP classes at their base school.
At Longfellow, I felt challenged, especially in math. I came from an elementary school with a small AAP program and was not prepared for Algebra 1. At times, I felt crushed by the workload from all my classes. But I persevered, and things turned out for the best. Right now, I'm definitely reaping the benefits of a strong middle school AAP program. Where some students are struggling in math, as you probably know, I am consistently getting A's. The math program at Longfellow taught me higher level concepts that are only now being covered in these courses. If math is the specific problem, then you should know that that is okay. I know some people who flunked out of Algebra 1 in seventh grade at Longfellow who are now enjoying and succeeding at TJ.
Though I feel like I'm better off at TJ than I would be at Langley, TJ is not for everybody. The workload can be stressful due to time restraints and the environment is very competitive. I have some friends who left TJ and returned to their base high schools. I've also heard that students who do not have a genuine interest in STEM usually burn out by junior year. (On a random side note, the language department at TJ has a reputation for being very challenging. That can be an extra stressor, if your child is not gifted with languages). Honestly, it all comes down to your child. They should be the ones to decide if TJ's right for them. Many students who are bad fits are pushed by their parents and peers to accept the offer and ultimately end up having a miserable time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ/Longfellow student here. I think the workload at TJ is challenging, but doable. As stated before, the workload does get progressively harder. Freshman year is pretty straightforward. It eases you into the speed of things. I played a sport, and I was able to complete my homework and get to bed at a reasonable hour. If your child can manage their time well, then they can certainly handle the challenge. Junior year at TJ has a bad reputation for being very difficult, though the workload really won't be much different from the workload your child would receive taking several AP classes at their base school.
At Longfellow, I felt challenged, especially in math. I came from an elementary school with a small AAP program and was not prepared for Algebra 1. At times, I felt crushed by the workload from all my classes. But I persevered, and things turned out for the best. Right now, I'm definitely reaping the benefits of a strong middle school AAP program. Where some students are struggling in math, as you probably know, I am consistently getting A's. The math program at Longfellow taught me higher level concepts that are only now being covered in these courses. If math is the specific problem, then you should know that that is okay. I know some people who flunked out of Algebra 1 in seventh grade at Longfellow who are now enjoying and succeeding at TJ.Though I feel like I'm better off at TJ than I would be at Langley, TJ is not for everybody. The workload can be stressful due to time restraints and the environment is very competitive. I have some friends who left TJ and returned to their base high schools. I've also heard that students who do not have a genuine interest in STEM usually burn out by junior year. (On a random side note, the language department at TJ has a reputation for being very challenging. That can be an extra stressor, if your child is not gifted with languages). Honestly, it all comes down to your child. They should be the ones to decide if TJ's right for them. Many students who are bad fits are pushed by their parents and peers to accept the offer and ultimately end up having a miserable time.

I have a hard time believing this. -- you know people who "flunked out of Algebra I in 7th grade" and still got into TJ?? I just have a very hard time believing the admissions people at TJ would accept someone who flunked algebra I. Then they wouldn't take Geometry the next year. Hard to believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ/Longfellow student here. I think the workload at TJ is challenging, but doable. As stated before, the workload does get progressively harder. Freshman year is pretty straightforward. It eases you into the speed of things. I played a sport, and I was able to complete my homework and get to bed at a reasonable hour. If your child can manage their time well, then they can certainly handle the challenge. Junior year at TJ has a bad reputation for being very difficult, though the workload really won't be much different from the workload your child would receive taking several AP classes at their base school.
At Longfellow, I felt challenged, especially in math. I came from an elementary school with a small AAP program and was not prepared for Algebra 1. At times, I felt crushed by the workload from all my classes. But I persevered, and things turned out for the best. Right now, I'm definitely reaping the benefits of a strong middle school AAP program. Where some students are struggling in math, as you probably know, I am consistently getting A's. The math program at Longfellow taught me higher level concepts that are only now being covered in these courses. If math is the specific problem, then you should know that that is okay. I know some people who flunked out of Algebra 1 in seventh grade at Longfellow who are now enjoying and succeeding at TJ.Though I feel like I'm better off at TJ than I would be at Langley, TJ is not for everybody. The workload can be stressful due to time restraints and the environment is very competitive. I have some friends who left TJ and returned to their base high schools. I've also heard that students who do not have a genuine interest in STEM usually burn out by junior year. (On a random side note, the language department at TJ has a reputation for being very challenging. That can be an extra stressor, if your child is not gifted with languages). Honestly, it all comes down to your child. They should be the ones to decide if TJ's right for them. Many students who are bad fits are pushed by their parents and peers to accept the offer and ultimately end up having a miserable time.

I have a hard time believing this. -- you know people who "flunked out of Algebra I in 7th grade" and still got into TJ?? I just have a very hard time believing the admissions people at TJ would accept someone who flunked algebra I. Then they wouldn't take Geometry the next year. Hard to believe.

Sorry, that was bad wording on my part. I meant that I know some people (at TJ) who either dropped out of Algebra 1 after first quarter and switched to Math 7 Honors, or repeated Algebra 1 in 8th grade. In these cases, they chose to omit the grades from their transcripts. I even know some students who received mediocre grades in Algebra 1 and moved on to Geometry in 8th grade who still were admitted to TJ. Since grades count for only 15% of the final admission (and that includes science grades), these students were able to make up for their grades in other portions of the admissions, like the essays and SIS.
I can't vouch for anything the admissions process does. Yes, I do know some people who had very bad grades and show little interest in STEM who were admitted, and some excellent students with a strong interest in STEM who were rejected. As you probably know, FCPS is changing this admissions process this year in order to fix some of these problems.