PBES CES (grade 4)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recognize the PBES CES program is going to look different given the lottery, etc. But what do people think about their recent experiences with PBES CES?

The 4th grade class is very hard. Even a strong student will have to do 1-2 hours of homework a night. It's not unusual for kids to drop out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2020-2021 is Mrs. Snyder's 4th year teaching this class. Very committed and engaging teacher.

There is an open house on the 28th for all the admitted students where I am hoping that people who may not have met Mrs Snyder will get to.

My kids learned a lot from her, and although there was a lot of work, it was worth it for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recognize the PBES CES program is going to look different given the lottery, etc. But what do people think about their recent experiences with PBES CES?

The 4th grade class is very hard. Even a strong student will have to do 1-2 hours of homework a night. It's not unusual for kids to drop out.

That’s out of date info, yes? Can someone in the current 4th grade class confirm if this is still the case? I understood that was the experience a couple of years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recognize the PBES CES program is going to look different given the lottery, etc. But what do people think about their recent experiences with PBES CES?

The 4th grade class is very hard. Even a strong student will have to do 1-2 hours of homework a night. It's not unusual for kids to drop out.

That’s out of date info, yes? Can someone in the current 4th grade class confirm if this is still the case? I understood that was the experience a couple of years ago.

This was the experience the year they had two classes, because naturally, there were kids invited who were probably not quite up to the level of CES work. Not an insult to those very bright kids at all, just a reality of expanding the program without lessening the standards/work. Cleary it didn't go well, because they never did it again.

That said, we were part of this group, and I do not recall anyone dropping out aside from moving. There were many tedious meetings with parents complaining and getting upset though. I felt so bad for the teachers because they were really unnecessarily and unfairly roasted the whole year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recognize the PBES CES program is going to look different given the lottery, etc. But what do people think about their recent experiences with PBES CES?

The 4th grade class is very hard. Even a strong student will have to do 1-2 hours of homework a night. It's not unusual for kids to drop out.

That’s out of date info, yes? Can someone in the current 4th grade class confirm if this is still the case? I understood that was the experience a couple of years ago.

This was the experience the year they had two classes, because naturally, there were kids invited who were probably not quite up to the level of CES work. Not an insult to those very bright kids at all, just a reality of expanding the program without lessening the standards/work. Cleary it didn't go well, because they never did it again.

That said, we were part of this group, and I do not recall anyone dropping out aside from moving. There were many tedious meetings with parents complaining and getting upset though. I felt so bad for the teachers because they were really unnecessarily and unfairly roasted the whole year.

To clarify, is the heavy homework load normal and some kids couldn’t handle it, or was the heavy homework a reflection of an effort to get kids who were behind/not really ready for CES up to speed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recognize the PBES CES program is going to look different given the lottery, etc. But what do people think about their recent experiences with PBES CES?

The 4th grade class is very hard. Even a strong student will have to do 1-2 hours of homework a night. It's not unusual for kids to drop out.

That’s out of date info, yes? Can someone in the current 4th grade class confirm if this is still the case? I understood that was the experience a couple of years ago.

This was the experience the year they had two classes, because naturally, there were kids invited who were probably not quite up to the level of CES work. Not an insult to those very bright kids at all, just a reality of expanding the program without lessening the standards/work. Cleary it didn't go well, because they never did it again.

That said, we were part of this group, and I do not recall anyone dropping out aside from moving. There were many tedious meetings with parents complaining and getting upset though. I felt so bad for the teachers because they were really unnecessarily and unfairly roasted the whole year.

To clarify, is the heavy homework load normal and some kids couldn’t handle it, or was the heavy homework a reflection of an effort to get kids who were behind/not really ready for CES up to speed?

The kids were exceptional as far as I could tell. This was just a new challenge.

[Anonymous]

It is a heavy load - some kids struggle more than others to adapt to the demand, but for all the kids they will have homework most nights and multiple assignments / projects to complete. There is plenty of class time to do the work, but also expect an hour or two of homework a night. More for kids who are struggling to balance / understand / adjust to the faster pace, more independent work, and heavier workload. But it is a great program, and interesting projects/work, not worksheets / benchmark numbingness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a heavy load - some kids struggle more than others to adapt to the demand, but for all the kids they will have homework most nights and multiple assignments / projects to complete. There is plenty of class time to do the work, but also expect an hour or two of homework a night. More for kids who are struggling to balance / understand / adjust to the faster pace, more independent work, and heavier workload. But it is a great program, and interesting projects/work, not worksheets / benchmark numbingness.

So it’s considerably more homework than the middle school magnet program? I find that hard to believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a heavy load - some kids struggle more than others to adapt to the demand, but for all the kids they will have homework most nights and multiple assignments / projects to complete. There is plenty of class time to do the work, but also expect an hour or two of homework a night. More for kids who are struggling to balance / understand / adjust to the faster pace, more independent work, and heavier workload. But it is a great program, and interesting projects/work, not worksheets / benchmark numbingness.

So it’s considerably more homework than the middle school magnet program? I find that hard to believe.

Which middle school magnet program?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a heavy load - some kids struggle more than others to adapt to the demand, but for all the kids they will have homework most nights and multiple assignments / projects to complete. There is plenty of class time to do the work, but also expect an hour or two of homework a night. More for kids who are struggling to balance / understand / adjust to the faster pace, more independent work, and heavier workload. But it is a great program, and interesting projects/work, not worksheets / benchmark numbingness.

So it’s considerably more homework than the middle school magnet program? I find that hard to believe.

It depends on what is happening in class, but at least an hour a night is average, more if there is work to finish up from class that day. Also more if your kids takes longer on certain tasks or if they decide to expand on the assignment which some kids do. For example: write a science fiction story or Greek myth: some kids will get excited about it and spend a lot of time on it - others will do the minimum. So it is very student dependent, but there are quite a few assignments.

It is more than TPMS - yes. Not sure about Eastern.

[Anonymous]

And 5th grade CES at PBES used to be a much lighter load than 4th grade. Not sure if it is still true. But the writing skills / critical thinking skills / time management skills my kid learned while in the 4th CES grade class prepared them well for middle school. 5th grade was fun, but less demanding. That might change though since it sounds like the current 5th grade teacher is retiring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a heavy load - some kids struggle more than others to adapt to the demand, but for all the kids they will have homework most nights and multiple assignments / projects to complete. There is plenty of class time to do the work, but also expect an hour or two of homework a night. More for kids who are struggling to balance / understand / adjust to the faster pace, more independent work, and heavier workload. But it is a great program, and interesting projects/work, not worksheets / benchmark numbingness.

So it’s considerably more homework than the middle school magnet program? I find that hard to believe.

It depends on what is happening in class, but at least an hour a night is average, more if there is work to finish up from class that day. Also more if your kids takes longer on certain tasks or if they decide to expand on the assignment which some kids do. For example: write a science fiction story or Greek myth: some kids will get excited about it and spend a lot of time on it - others will do the minimum. So it is very student dependent, but there are quite a few assignments.

It is more than TPMS - yes. Not sure about Eastern.

Are you talking about this year in 4th? Or is your experience from two years ago when everyone complained and they significantly reduced the homework and demands on the kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recognize the PBES CES program is going to look different given the lottery, etc. But what do people think about their recent experiences with PBES CES?

The 4th grade class is very hard. Even a strong student will have to do 1-2 hours of homework a night. It's not unusual for kids to drop out.

That’s out of date info, yes? Can someone in the current 4th grade class confirm if this is still the case? I understood that was the experience a couple of years ago.

My kid is in the current 4th-grade class. The PP is correct. Kids will learn a lot in this class but it is also very demanding and rewarding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And 5th grade CES at PBES used to be a much lighter load than 4th grade. Not sure if it is still true. But the writing skills / critical thinking skills / time management skills my kid learned while in the 4th CES grade class prepared them well for middle school. 5th grade was fun, but less demanding. That might change though since it sounds like the current 5th grade teacher is retiring.

It's possible things are different because of DL, but my sense is most of the 5th-grade work (not all) is done in class. It is still a rigorous class. They typically write a 3-5 paragraph essay a day. They're currently reading Julius Caesar. The 5th grade teacher is retiring so next year will also be different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recognize the PBES CES program is going to look different given the lottery, etc. But what do people think about their recent experiences with PBES CES?

The 4th grade class is very hard. Even a strong student will have to do 1-2 hours of homework a night. It's not unusual for kids to drop out.

That’s out of date info, yes? Can someone in the current 4th grade class confirm if this is still the case? I understood that was the experience a couple of years ago.

My kid is in the current 4th-grade class. The PP is correct. Kids will learn a lot in this class but it is also very demanding and rewarding.

Well homework can’t be required in elementary, so it must be optional.