MCPS High School 10th grade Honors English: Is there a more challenging option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The school is not the problem OP, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. You must be a parent and take responsibility for actions that you are not taking in his life.

OP's son isn't doing his work, and it's OP's fault?

OP's fault for blaming the curriculum instead of DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no AP English options in grade 10 - that starts in grade 11.

The only other options are schools with IB magnets that have separate classes for magnet students in grades 9-10.

OP, I'm curious. What are they up to in his class, and what grades has he received so far?

MCPS Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10 are not just for magnet students, but are only offered at schools with IB programs: B-CC, Einstein, Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The school is not the problem OP, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. You must be a parent and take responsibility for actions that you are not taking in his life.

OP's son isn't doing his work, and it's OP's fault?

OP's fault for blaming the curriculum instead of DC.

+1.

Also, while OP doesn't explicitly condone his behavior for blowing off the English assignments, OP does seem quite okay with his attitude on choosing what to complete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no AP English options in grade 10 - that starts in grade 11.

The only other options are schools with IB magnets that have separate classes for magnet students in grades 9-10.

OP, I'm curious. What are they up to in his class, and what grades has he received so far?

MCPS Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10 are not just for magnet students, but are only offered at schools with IB programs: B-CC, Einstein, Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill.

I should have been more clear - I'm talking specifically about RM, where there is an IB magnet.

The magnet students at RM are in separate English classes in grades 9-10, but in grades 11-12, when they enter the Diploma Program, some students who were not in the magnet join them as they enter the DP (as all students at RM are allowed to do). Also, it's not called "pre-IB" any longer. RM is an IB school with two IB programs - the Middle Years Program (ALL ninth and tenth graders, including magnet students, are a part of this) and the Diploma Program (including those in the magnet and some who are not in the magnet who enter into DP in 11th grade). The MYP to DP is meant to be a continuum, which is why students are encouraged to enter the DP if they feel they are a good fit.

OP, I would look over your son's syllabus and see what they're working on right now. I'd also look at his grades and see what is being categorized as homework vs formative vs summative assignments. I am a high school English teacher and we just recorded our first summative assignment in the grade book last week, in time for it to show up on interims, so that parents could see a more accurate reflection of their child's grade.

I would bet that the work he's doing, at least some of it, isn't really "busy work." His teacher might be laying the foundation for the more rigorous formative and summative tasks. We started the year talking about point of view and story structure, and that led into more complex narrative writing assignments. If, after interims, you're still concerned about the level of difficulty in his class, I'd consider emailing the teacher to set up a meeting to express your concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The first step is to get your son to acknowledge his responsibility. Sometimes in life, there are things that he has to do before he can do the things he wants to do. The teacher does not know your kid's potential if he can't even complete what he is supposed to complete. Stop letting your kid tell you he is bored and yet he has nothing to show the teacher that he is performing well above everyone else in the class. Your kid ALMOST but didn't quite make it to the magnet program. Magnet testing scores are not the only things factored into why he didn't make it into the program. It's likely the same laziness he is bringing into high school that he brought it over from middle school. A school doesn't teach work habits and organization, those are things he learns from home. We are in an area in which parents get tutors for their kids in 3rd grade and have their children in all kinds of enriching activities. Your kid is competing against others in his grade level. This is not about how smart your little Larlo is. This is about how does Larlo compare to other 10th graders at his school. Where does he stand academically?


Here's what you can do in order to advocate that he really needs more enrichment:

- Have him do extremely well on each assignment
-Get him outside enrichment
-Get a parent advocate who can look at your kid's data from MAP scores, other data you got from the school. Parent advocates will tell you the truth about your kid or they will see that your kid actually needs advancement and advocate for your kid at educational meetings.
--Enroll him special programs for high school kids in the area
- Have him compete nationally in areas that he is passionate about: for example, robotics, coding, STEM competitions, poetry writing etc.
-Set up an afterschool internship

The school is not the problem OP, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. You must be a parent and take responsibility for actions that you are not taking in his life.

OP here:
Yes, of he needs to do the busywork assigned in English. That is not up for debate.
But all the enrichment in the world outside school won't change that more than half of his classes are way below his ability and moving very slow.
I don't know about you - but sitting for multiple hours a day in classes in which he learns very little sounds like a huge and frustrating waste of time to me too.

If you look at his Honors Chemistry class, he has the same complaints (too slow, boring) and he has a 99% in that class. So this isn't all on him.

And the class he finds appropriately challenging is his AP Calculus AB class, in which he has a high B.

My questions to the board were mostly about what options other parents have found (if any) for more challenging options in 10th grade non-magnet programs. So far the answer seems to be "sorry, not much".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no AP English options in grade 10 - that starts in grade 11.

The only other options are schools with IB magnets that have separate classes for magnet students in grades 9-10.

OP, I'm curious. What are they up to in his class, and what grades has he received so far?

MCPS Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10 are not just for magnet students, but are only offered at schools with IB programs: B-CC, Einstein, Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill.

OP here: I haven't heard of "Pre-IB English for 10th grade". I will look into it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no AP English options in grade 10 - that starts in grade 11.

The only other options are schools with IB magnets that have separate classes for magnet students in grades 9-10.

OP, I'm curious. What are they up to in his class, and what grades has he received so far?

MCPS Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10 are not just for magnet students, but are only offered at schools with IB programs: B-CC, Einstein, Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill.

I should have been more clear - I'm talking specifically about RM, where there is an IB magnet.

The magnet students at RM are in separate English classes in grades 9-10, but in grades 11-12, when they enter the Diploma Program, some students who were not in the magnet join them as they enter the DP (as all students at RM are allowed to do). Also, it's not called "pre-IB" any longer. RM is an IB school with two IB programs - the Middle Years Program (ALL ninth and tenth graders, including magnet students, are a part of this) and the Diploma Program (including those in the magnet and some who are not in the magnet who enter into DP in 11th grade). The MYP to DP is meant to be a continuum, which is why students are encouraged to enter the DP if they feel they are a good fit.

OP, I would look over your son's syllabus and see what they're working on right now. I'd also look at his grades and see what is being categorized as homework vs formative vs summative assignments. I am a high school English teacher and we just recorded our first summative assignment in the grade book last week, in time for it to show up on interims, so that parents could see a more accurate reflection of their child's grade.

I would bet that the work he's doing, at least some of it, isn't really "busy work." His teacher might be laying the foundation for the more rigorous formative and summative tasks. We started the year talking about point of view and story structure, and that led into more complex narrative writing assignments. If, after interims, you're still concerned about the level of difficulty in his class, I'd consider emailing the teacher to set up a meeting to express your concerns.

OP here:
Thanks! This is good advice. And yes - we are still waiting for the first summative grade (and yes, I know he did that assignment).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The first step is to get your son to acknowledge his responsibility. Sometimes in life, there are things that he has to do before he can do the things he wants to do. The teacher does not know your kid's potential if he can't even complete what he is supposed to complete. Stop letting your kid tell you he is bored and yet he has nothing to show the teacher that he is performing well above everyone else in the class. Your kid ALMOST but didn't quite make it to the magnet program. Magnet testing scores are not the only things factored into why he didn't make it into the program. It's likely the same laziness he is bringing into high school that he brought it over from middle school. A school doesn't teach work habits and organization, those are things he learns from home. We are in an area in which parents get tutors for their kids in 3rd grade and have their children in all kinds of enriching activities. Your kid is competing against others in his grade level. This is not about how smart your little Larlo is. This is about how does Larlo compare to other 10th graders at his school. Where does he stand academically?


Here's what you can do in order to advocate that he really needs more enrichment:

- Have him do extremely well on each assignment
-Get him outside enrichment
-Get a parent advocate who can look at your kid's data from MAP scores, other data you got from the school. Parent advocates will tell you the truth about your kid or they will see that your kid actually needs advancement and advocate for your kid at educational meetings.
--Enroll him special programs for high school kids in the area
- Have him compete nationally in areas that he is passionate about: for example, robotics, coding, STEM competitions, poetry writing etc.
-Set up an afterschool internship

The school is not the problem OP, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. You must be a parent and take responsibility for actions that you are not taking in his life.

OP here:
Yes, of he needs to do the busywork assigned in English. That is not up for debate.
But all the enrichment in the world outside school won't change that more than half of his classes are way below his ability and moving very slow.
I don't know about you - but sitting for multiple hours a day in classes in which he learns very little sounds like a huge and frustrating waste of time to me too.

If you look at his Honors Chemistry class, he has the same complaints (too slow, boring) and he has a 99% in that class. So this isn't all on him.

And the class he finds appropriately challenging is his AP Calculus AB class, in which he has a high B.

My questions to the board were mostly about what options other parents have found (if any) for more challenging options in 10th grade non-magnet programs. So far the answer seems to be "sorry, not much".

Welcome to MCPS

[Anonymous]

I'm confused by this post. My oldest just started high school so I don't have much personal experience yet (and he is in a humanities program so he is certainly being challenged in English). However, this post seems very inconsistent with the many threads over the years that discuss how challenging MCPS high school is, including tons of work.

I am surprised to hear that there aren't challenging English classes available in all of the high schools.

[Anonymous]

MCPS Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10 are not just for magnet students, but are only offered at schools with IB programs: B-CC, Einstein, Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill.

This is not the case at B-CC. All 9th and 10th graders are in the IB MYP. So, it's just regular old Honors English in 9th and 10th grades.

I was soooooooo disappointed when I discovered (as a PP mentioned) that in MCPS, "Honors" just means non-remedial. There's challenge in Math (accelerated) and in Social Studies (AP NSL in 9th grade). But as far as I've seen, not in the other subjects at least in 9th grade and sounds like not in 10th grade either.

[Anonymous]

OP my 10th grade DD finds some classes very challenging and others not so much. I'm actually happy that not all of her classes are hard because enough of them are. If you DS is bored, I'd recommend focusing on studying for the SAT this year and ramping things up with harder classes next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no AP English options in grade 10 - that starts in grade 11.

The only other options are schools with IB magnets that have separate classes for magnet students in grades 9-10.

OP, I'm curious. What are they up to in his class, and what grades has he received so far?

OP here:

They are reading short stories and writing definitions of basic English concepts like "setting" and "plot".
His English grades are not clear - lots of ungraded assignments waiting. Honestly, he resents what he sees as busywork so much that sometimes it is hard to get him to complete assignments.
His Honors Chemistry class grade is currently a 99%.

He almost made it into the Blair Math/Science/Computer Science magnet -- was in the waiting pool but didn't get picked in the end.

That's really his issue. If he doesn't want to complete assignments because he sees them as busywork, then he doesn't complete them, and he takes the bad grades as a consequence.

OP, don't listen to the many judgers on this thread. The reality is that if your son almost made it into SMCS, he will likely be bored out of his mind in a typical sophomore English class... So why should he force himself to do boring/blah blah assignments, or worse, have to resort to BS'ing on assignments, if his English teacher encourages that kind of thing? I'm sure some teachers are great, but for the most part English class is dull and random. Dull because one often has to read mind numbing, dry stuff. Random, because often one has no idea whether they'll get a high grade or not, i.e it is not proportional to the amount of effort/thought put into the assignment. Even in college there is lots of encouragement to BS, even if the teacher doesn't explicitly say anything like that. For example, I worked hard on one essay and got an ok grade which I felt should have been better, then procrastinated on the next paper, writing it in a few hours, and it came back with an A-. How is that not random and/or BS?

To be fair, again I'm sure there are lots of great English teachers who actually ask their kids to think hard about something, but I'm 100% sure your son is not experiencing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no AP English options in grade 10 - that starts in grade 11.

The only other options are schools with IB magnets that have separate classes for magnet students in grades 9-10.

OP, I'm curious. What are they up to in his class, and what grades has he received so far?

MCPS Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10 are not just for magnet students, but are only offered at schools with IB programs: B-CC, Einstein, Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill.

OP here: I haven't heard of "Pre-IB English for 10th grade". I will look into it.

At Einstein, we have Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10. So, there are 3 tracks for 9th and 10th grade English: regular, Honors, pre-IB. The clientele for pre-IB is pretty nice. They don't have to be students who are 100 percent sure they want to do the IB program; they just have to be students who want the hardest English possible.

If your student isn't in a magnet or a private school, he does have to get used to being bored at least part of the time in 9th and 10th grade. That's life, unfortunately. Some schools let sophomores take AP European History, AP Human Geography, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Physics, or AP Psychology. If he wants to take an AP course such as Microeconomics online through MCPS, there is probably still time for that. He is just going to have to get his challenge somewhere else. My main complaint about MCPS English is that students don't read enough of the classics. If you would like for him to read more books, find a book list on a private school website. Challenge him to read at least 10 books on the list by the end of the year. Maybe the carrot on the stick could be a trip at the end of the year that is associated with one of the books. https://verilymag.com/2017/02/must-see-places-in-usa-best-places-to-visit-in-the-usa-john-steinbeck-salinas I love the idea of Key West to celebrate Hemingway! You could take him to Stratford-on-Avon in Ontario to see a Shakespeare festival. If money is no object, plan a summer literary tour of England and Ireland. Be creative! If you're really feeling lazy, just take him to F. Scott Fitzgerald's grave on Rockville Pike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no AP English options in grade 10 - that starts in grade 11.

The only other options are schools with IB magnets that have separate classes for magnet students in grades 9-10.

OP, I'm curious. What are they up to in his class, and what grades has he received so far?

OP here:

They are reading short stories and writing definitions of basic English concepts like "setting" and "plot".
His English grades are not clear - lots of ungraded assignments waiting. Honestly, he resents what he sees as busywork so much that sometimes it is hard to get him to complete assignments.
His Honors Chemistry class grade is currently a 99%.

He almost made it into the Blair Math/Science/Computer Science magnet -- was in the waiting pool but didn't get picked in the end.

That's really his issue. If he doesn't want to complete assignments because he sees them as busywork, then he doesn't complete them, and he takes the bad grades as a consequence.

OP, don't listen to the many judgers on this thread. The reality is that if your son almost made it into SMCS, he will likely be bored out of his mind in a typical sophomore English class... So why should he force himself to do boring/blah blah assignments, or worse, have to resort to BS'ing on assignments, if his English teacher encourages that kind of thing? I'm sure some teachers are great, but for the most part English class is dull and random. Dull because one often has to read mind numbing, dry stuff. Random, because often one has no idea whether they'll get a high grade or not, i.e it is not proportional to the amount of effort/thought put into the assignment. Even in college there is lots of encouragement to BS, even if the teacher doesn't explicitly say anything like that. For example, I worked hard on one essay and got an ok grade which I felt should have been better, then procrastinated on the next paper, writing it in a few hours, and it came back with an A-. How is that not random and/or BS?

To be fair, again I'm sure there are lots of great English teachers who actually ask their kids to think hard about something, but I'm 100% sure your son is not experiencing that.

What BS advice based on personal experience! 100% sure? Someone somewhere banged generalizations into your head.

[Anonymous]

OP, what Foreign Language level is you kid taking?