I went to Eastern-- AMA
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Anonymous
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Ok, I'll bite.
OP, how much time did you spend on homework per day in each grade? Did you have to catch up on homework over the weekend? |
Anonymous
| What kind of kids do not do well at Eastern? Did any of your classmates leave the program? Why? |
Anonymous
Sure Jan |
Anonymous
My bus got to my stop at 6:30am (I was the second stop) and we usually got to school around 7:30. It honestly wasn't too bad for me because I had some friends from Takoma that rode the same bus and I always enjoyed talking to them. And of course, I slept occasionally or did my homework. It's bearable with friends. About friends-- I had two close friends that went to the same CES as me, but we weren't in classes together in sixth grade. I made lots of new friends. I don't feel that I lost out on neighborhood friendship and I love the friends I've made at Eastern. I'm still in touch with everyone.
Yes, I went to a CES. I think it did, particularly in writing. I consider myself a strong humanities student and going to a CES really helped establish a strong foundation for Eastern.
No, there were way more girls than boys. Most of them were in one friend group and sometimes annoying in my opinion. But I think that's every middle school boy.
I used this site to track what people said about magnet high school stuff last year. 
I was in Magnet.
Aww! Hi!
Lol my mom would say the exact same thing!
I'll be honest. RM is two, maybe three times as hard in terms of time management and workload. In 8th grade, I danced for two to three hours everyday after school and I could be in bed by 8:30pm on most nights, but I went to bed around 9. And not to brag, but I got straight As every quarter, so the workload isn't unmanageable. But then again, I had friends who stayed up until midnight and also had activites, but they did just as well. This year, I have enough homework to keep me up diligently working until at least midnight, but I go to bed around 10:30pm and make it work. I'm looking back now and I'm wondering how in the world my grades were so high! So no more than an hour or an hour and a half in middle school, maybe some extra studying for math. Eastern's very project based and we had "big" writing assignments (essays, short stories, analyses) and I could divide what I learned into chunks and by unit.
Getting ahead in math is always good. I had a lot of friends who were super ahead and I kinda wished I took an extra class or something. I would really recommend AoPS-- either working through a textbook at your own pace, or taking an online class, or going to the actual site. Or join Math Team. I would say read a lot. Fahrenheit 451, The Good Earth, Animal Farm, 1984, some of the Odyssey, All but My Life, any poetry, Things Fall Apart, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Glory Field, Story of Your Life, The Giver... all the classics. Just read a lot. CTY is also really really good. The summer programs are the best, and any online writing class is good.
If you don't love reading or writing and you're unmotivated, I don't think it would be a good fit. I think motivation really is key and having a love for learning will get you so far. I don't know. I really really loved Eastern and how creative and interdisciplinary it was. I loved having combined classes and spending English and History working on the same project or learning something that falls into both categories and doesn't seem like either subject, but just something I should know, like we learned about groupthink in the Crucible and spent two class periods watching The Monsters are Due on Maple Street and how it connected to the red scare. I learned tons about symbolism and analyzing events and metaphors and themes in books, but I really learned how to write and connect ideas and process my thoughts. The research skills I learned are invaluable. Some of my classmates left, but I think they just moved away. About media-- It was so cool to learn how to use a camera and learn about film and how to edit. |
Anonymous
| first teenager ever to not bite at the trolls. Stop playing Jan |
Anonymous
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Can you talk more about your current experience at RMIB? I assume you are a freshman?
Are you able to continue your activities like dance? |
Anonymous
Look how organized you are! Even organized the response into one post. ... You must make your parents very proud. Thank you very much for this. My child is deciding and your post is by far the most thoughtful in terms of sharing information. Thanks again!
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Anonymous
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Eastern/RMIB student, my kid went on the same track as you (currently a freshman at RMIB) and your answers ring very true to her experiences as well. It's really nice of you to share your thoughts with parents who are trying to help their kids make an informed decision.
(And now I know I'm not your mom but you should get back to work or go to bed anyway! )
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Anonymous
| OP, was there any bullying at Eastern? How did magnet and non-magnet students interact? |
Anonymous
| Did you ever want them to rename it Eastland so it would be like Westland? |
Anonymous
| Can you elaborate on what a boy's experience might seem like? |
Anonymous
Yep, I'm a freshman. First quarter was quite an adjustment, with the larger workload, new environment and people, and less sleep. I have the same dance schedule as I did in 8th grade, with the addition of once extra class, so I don't think there's a big difference in how much I'm dancing. I'm able to continue dancing, but I'm always doing homework at lunch or before school and trying to use every spare minute. I've also joined a couple clubs. I definitely noticed a change in how I was learning in most of my classes. RM's more traditional, slightly less discussions and big projects, more note taking (that's probably just high school). There's less interdisciplinary material and connections, which I first was unhappy about, but RM's a great opportunity and I had to make the best of it.
Aww! Thank you! I really hope your child loves Eastern if they decide to go! I think it's a great experience and an amazing program, but then again, I'm biased
Haha I probably know your child!
I wouldn't call it bullying, but I know that the way some people behave can make others uncomfortable. It's hard to describe the dynamic between magnet and non-magnet because it really varies from student to student. I had friends who had more non-magnet friends than magnet friends, friends who didn't know anyone outside of magnet, and friends who hung out equally with both. My math classes were mostly non-magnet, my science classes were 50/50, but gym was where it was really crazy. It got to the point where so many people were disrupting class that our long term sub cursed at us. Personally, I was kind of scared of how some kids acted in sixth grade, but in eighth grade I realized that the people who caused the most disruption wouldn't bother me if I minded my own business because they just fooled around a lot on their own. It was actually pretty funny sometimes when I got sick of gym. Yes, there is a ton of cursing and violence in the halls, but I got used to it and less afraid.
Haha not really, but I did consider Takoma being renamed to Western. Eastern and Western Magnet Programs
Academically, not any different except that he'll be working with more girls. That's all I can think of right now. The boys in my grade were really close and joked a lot, just like the girls and everyone else. Socially, I think I had a normal middle school experience with little to no drama. I can't express how much I loved Eastern and how happy I was and how good it was for me as a student and as a person. I know this is a cliche, but I would do it over again in a heartbeat. And please keep in mind that this is how I feel and everyone should make the decision that's right for them
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Anonymous
Who's Jan? |
Anonymous
I guess Jan is a parent that someone thinks is posing as a magnet student and a magnet teacher. |
Anonymous
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It sounds a bit like the boys and girls were in separate friend groups. At DC's CES in 5th they are already mixing up. If it's true that the boys were really close and in a friend group why do you think they were apart from the girls?
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