What is it like sending your DC to a majority/plurality asian school?(Churchill/Wootton area)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While everyone's experience is unique, here is what I noticed:

1. Asian American parents do not generally view a STEM classroom as a place where a child learns; rather, they expect a child to study ahead and REVIEW in a math / science classroom. While the school overall is 40% Asian, the advanced math classes will have a much larger percent of Asian students. Most of them will be reviewing the material, not learning it for the first time. If you do not naturally come from that tradition, you need to plan accordingly.

2. If your child is a good student, he/she needs to be very comfortable being possibly the only non-Asian student in a class or (more commonly) an academic extracurricular activity, such as math team, physics team, orroboytics team.

I was just about to write the same thing. My son was the only non-Asian in his AP science class last year.

So??? Why does that matter? I have never even thought to ask the racial makeup of the kids in my child's classes at Churchill and my child never thought to tell me.

It matters because at those schools, a non-Asian child will need to be comfortable being different, especially if they intend to excel in STEM. It is actually a stellar life skill. It is not at all a negative. But if a child says to himself that a particular class or activity is only appropriate for Asians to pursue, that child will miss on the exact academic opportunites that the parents are killing themselves paying their mortgages for. It is very natural for any child to feel uncomfortable being the only person of different heritage in a room of 30, 40, 50 peers. That discomfort must be eradicated, and that - unlike learning physics or calculus - must come from home.

As a mom of white female and white male STEM students at Churchill, the racial makeup of the classroom in their AP STEM classes never made them uncomfortable or was ever a factor in the decisions they made when choosing their classes. Many posters on this thread who have never had children in our school are making assumptions based on false stereotypes.

That is a credit to you and to your children. We child did attend Churchill for a year before testing into one of the magnets. One of the years in her middle school, she was the only non-Asian child on a 50-member math team. She had a great experience, as did your children.

Sorry but you can't test into a magnet after 1 year of high school...

True, but a subset of 8th graders can apply and take any course that they are eligible for, but that is not offered in their home middle school. Most common examples are algebra 2 and above math or the 3rd and higher year of their foreign language of choice. Other classes can be eligible as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:So sick of you people saying ASIAN as if y
It is one culture!
Do you mean
Japanese
Korean
Cambodian
Vietnamese
Chinese
Which one
Racist m ***^***^**

Huh? No Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis? What about Central Asians too? I get what you are saying, but please look in the mirror.

Huh?
I was giving examples not every culture dummy.

You know exactly what I meant. All examples you provided are conveniently those countries traditionally seen as “Asian” wheras saying one is “Asian” is way more nuanced, and you know it.

WTF are you talking about. I'm the one who posted about using the generic Asian as if they were all the same .
Go away !

[Anonymous]

Amazing diversity translates to amazing food when you go to your classmates homes. Variety is the spice of life.

[Anonymous]

For many years Wootton has had the reputation of being super smart/academic while Churchill has had the reputation of being very rich and smart. These reputations tend to influence people and strengthen the stereotypes. Very smart people scientists, PHDs, gravitate toward Wootton while people who value being rich and want a top school gravitate toward Churchill.

In Wootton the kids in the AP courses are not all from one ethnic group. There are Chinese, Indian, Iranian, African, Russian and general white kids in those classes. The area just attracts lots of smart people and its not just the "asians" that create a more academically focused culture. The Russian parents actually seem tougher on academics than the Chinese parents.

Its only a pressure cooker if you expect your child to always be at the top without working incredibly hard. I tend to think its actually better for really smart kids to learn early on that there are kids just as smart or smarter than them. If you want your kid to be at the top just because he's smart then you won't be happy at Wootton or Churchill and a lower performing school might fit your desires more.

In our experience the groups do mix and are very integrated. At Wootton, the kids' friends are from all groups which seems to be the norm for everyone.

[Anonymous]

We are a Churchill family and I wouldn't consider our family rich. We bought our house because the location was an easy commute to work. The false assumptions and generalizations in this thread is unbelievable.

Churchill has,a reputation for being a,strong academic school. Hence the consistent high state ranking. However, there are many problems in the school but I wouldn't put race as a cause or issue at the top of the list. Math instruction is mediocre ar best. Children survive and test well because they teach each other, use online resources, or parents hire private tutors. There are also major problems in the athletic programs with drugs, inequities based on gender, and mean coaches. Bullying can be extreme and harsh. Students don't realize the impact of social media.

School climate is in the toilet but it hopefully will improve this year with a new principal.

[Anonymous]

I should add, the true test of the new principal at Churchill will be whether she addresses problems head on, work with staff, students, and parents to identify and resolve problems or if she talks a good talk but does nothing like her predecessor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I should add, the true test of the new principal at Churchill will be whether she addresses problems head on, work with staff, students, and parents to identify and resolve problems or if she talks a good talk but does nothing like her predecessor.

Agree, PP! Do you see that there’s a Meet and Greet with the new principal next week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kinda racist but yes, it is much more stressful for the kids, especially at the high school level. DD will be a 12th grader in the fall at Wootton high school and I am super happy for her that she can finally get out of the school. The environment is so toxic, cutthroat, and competitive. She is an above average student but had struggled so much in her classes because she always felt so dumb even though she was a great student. It is hard for her to be active in the community as well since everyone is fighting so hard for the leadership positions in student activities. Trust me, I never would thought that these problems could arise after we researched for so long trying to find the right schools. I doubt it is that bad at the elementary or middle school level though. Would have preferred to send DD to QO, RM, or even Churchill which all seem much more well-rounded. Obviously for some students this type of environment is good but for others it can be horrible.

Churchill is like this too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I should add, the true test of the new principal at Churchill will be whether she addresses problems head on, work with staff, students, and parents to identify and resolve problems or if she talks a good talk but does nothing like her predecessor.

Agree, PP! Do you see that there’s a Meet and Greet with the new principal next week?

Really, you think a meet and greet is the appropriate time and place to discuss these things? Not too many people around the neighborhood now so perhaps it will be a quaint enough gathering to do so but it might put her on the spot.

It seems however that a meet and greet will only have time to say hi and bye but not really enough time to delve into what is going to be done to fix the big issues in the school. I would think a PTA meeting or a town forum at a time closer to the start of school or even a scheduled meeting if she had the time would be more appropriate.

[Anonymous]

JFC, white liberals do not understand what “racist” means. A bunch of ridiculous people in this thread are virtue signaling trying to smack down the OP for her “racism.” Interesting that a bunch of self-identified posters of Asian heritage said they did not think the post was racist. I agree. As a black person, in this area I’m usually the least offended person in the room while a bunch of white people eager to prove they’re *not* racist call everything racist so they can be woke. You people are hilarious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I should add, the true test of the new principal at Churchill will be whether she addresses problems head on, work with staff, students, and parents to identify and resolve problems or if she talks a good talk but does nothing like her predecessor.

Agree, PP! Do you see that there’s a Meet and Greet with the new principal next week?

Really, you think a meet and greet is the appropriate time and place to discuss these things? Not too many people around the neighborhood now so perhaps it will be a quaint enough gathering to do so but it might put her on the spot.

It seems however that a meet and greet will only have time to say hi and bye but not really enough time to delve into what is going to be done to fix the big issues in the school. I would think a PTA meeting or a town forum at a time closer to the start of school or even a scheduled meeting if she had the time would be more appropriate.

Wow - where did I say you have to put her in the spot? I’m just passing along some information that I thought you (and others on this thread) may be interested in. And, btw, if she can’t take a few questions about some of the issues that have been facing the school, then this may not be the job for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While everyone's experience is unique, here is what I noticed:

1. Asian American parents do not generally view a STEM classroom as a place where a child learns; rather, they expect a child to study ahead and REVIEW in a math / science classroom. While the school overall is 40% Asian, the advanced math classes will have a much larger percent of Asian students. Most of them will be reviewing the material, not learning it for the first time. If you do not naturally come from that tradition, you need to plan accordingly.

2. If your child is a good student, he/she needs to be very comfortable being possibly the only non-Asian student in a class or (more commonly) an academic extracurricular activity, such as math team, physics team, orroboytics team.

I was just about to write the same thing. My son was the only non-Asian in his AP science class last year.

So??? Why does that matter? I have never even thought to ask the racial makeup of the kids in my child's classes at Churchill and my child never thought to tell me.

PP here. I wouldn't expect my son to tell me about the racial makeup of his class unless there something peculiar about it. And being the only non-Asian in a class is peculiar given that the demographics of the entire school do not favor this.

Note that I am not complaining about the situation or think it is a problem. But it is an interesting sociological question as to why it is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would want to k ow this. We are Black and would be weary of sending our child to a majority Asian school, given how poorly Asians treat Blacks and don’t support or defend us when it comes to social justice issues.

wow...so much racism in your statement. I grew up with a black best friend, and I'm Asian American. My son wrote multiple papers this year in his CES class discussion the social injustice blacks had faced and continues to encounter. It saddens me to see you inject your own prejudice and make such an unjust blanket statement.

Well to be fair, some of it might be immigrants just not knowing or understanding the issues or history of things.
(saw a comment about immigrants a couple of days ago and wanted to reply to it but can't find it now. Not sure if I misread it or if it got deleted or something)

Around the time when the issue about statues of the Confederate soldiers was going on, someone who has lived in the US for more then twenty years and is highly educated asked me what the whole issue was about. It took me a little bit to realize that they weren't familiar with the Civil War, slavery, and all of that.

It even applies to Asian American issues. Where there were some articles about how people overseas or recently arrived didn't experience or understand some of the things that went on here. So they don't understand why some things may seem offensive to other Asians that grew up here.

Yeah there might be some who may side more white and may not be as sensitive to issues. In particular those in more wealthy areas. But that just goes to show how you can't really categorize an entire group of people. Where there are others that may side the other way. I can't remember if this was the person I had in mind but there was an Asian person that used to protest along with Malcom X:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Kochiyama

And Jeremy Lin (NBA player) used to run out on the court with a hand up don't shoot shirt and supported that as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I should add, the true test of the new principal at Churchill will be whether she addresses problems head on, work with staff, students, and parents to identify and resolve problems or if she talks a good talk but does nothing like her predecessor.

Agree, PP! Do you see that there’s a Meet and Greet with the new principal next week?

Really, you think a meet and greet is the appropriate time and place to discuss these things? Not too many people around the neighborhood now so perhaps it will be a quaint enough gathering to do so but it might put her on the spot.

It seems however that a meet and greet will only have time to say hi and bye but not really enough time to delve into what is going to be done to fix the big issues in the school. I would think a PTA meeting or a town forum at a time closer to the start of school or even a scheduled meeting if she had the time would be more appropriate.

It would be appropriate to ask a question or two about addressing some of the issues that Churchill went through last year, For example, What your plans to address the racist and anti-Semitic incidents from last year?

Do you have any plans to increase training for coaches?

Not too hard to ask these simple questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While everyone's experience is unique, here is what I noticed:

1. Asian American parents do not generally view a STEM classroom as a place where a child learns; rather, they expect a child to study ahead and REVIEW in a math / science classroom. While the school overall is 40% Asian, the advanced math classes will have a much larger percent of Asian students. Most of them will be reviewing the material, not learning it for the first time. If you do not naturally come from that tradition, you need to plan accordingly.

2. If your child is a good student, he/she needs to be very comfortable being possibly the only non-Asian student in a class or (more commonly) an academic extracurricular activity, such as math team, physics team, orroboytics team.

And this 'tradition' starts in elementary school. Insane!