Tj teachers - Be prepared!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how the folks cheering because their kids got in without “prepping” (aka working for it) are going to feel when they discover that their kids are signed up for 90 hour workweeks? I suppose they will argue their kids should get a TJ degree based on their “innate talent”. And then will move on to college admissions by “innate talent,” etc.

I wonder at what point they will expect their kids to work hard at something?

Genuinely talented kids do not have 90 hour workweeks at TJ. They come home, probably do about 2 hours of homework each night, and take a chunk of one of the two weekend days (4-5 hours) to get stuff done/get ahead for the week.

These kids have the ability to succeed in diverse extracurricular pursuits (athletics/arts/creatives) above and beyond just STEM, and it's no accident that those are the kids who tend to get into elite colleges.

I am sorry if this bursts your bubble with respect to your own kid, but it's the truth.

+1. Junior year with 4 APs and a post-AP I maybe upped that average to 3-4 hours/night sometimes. I played 2 school sports and trained for one outside of school, was in both school and church choir, had a weekend job (half days on Saturdays). These parents who force "excellence" on their (perfectly great!) average kids and then are surprised when it almost breaks them...you're the real problem with TJ.

Okay, so what was your weekly schedule? Looks like 80-90:hours a week, all in, yes?

Let's do the math:

- I left around 7:15 to get to school by 8. Hung out with friends or did last-minute studying 8-8:30
- School day 8:30-4
- Sports practice 4:30-6
- Commute home/dinner 6-7
- Homework 7-10
- Sleep 10-6 (8 hours!)

So that's a roughly 15 hour day, including conservative estimates of 1.5 hours of commuting and 3 hours of homework, as well as at least an hour/day of unscheduled down time at school. I didn't do homework on Friday nights but did have meets, so we'll call that a wash and say the week is 15 x 5 = 75 hours. 4-6 hours of homework + 4 hours of weekend job + 2 hours for church choir/service = 10-12 more hours of weekend commitments. Total 85-87 hours...but absent the commuting (7.5-8 hours/week), I don't see how this schedule would have been much different than if I had been doing the full IB program at my base school...?

Wow, that’s a phone it sports commitment. I did 4 years of band pickup at 7:30 and there was always a full parking lot with parents of kids from several sports. By HS very few kids are getting by on 6 hours a week of sports practice. Maybe the football team that lost to deaf school if it’s Friday night? Anyway, your EC commitments are very light. Plus, I’m not seeing Church choir, TJ choir, outside of school sports blocked off.

You don't know what you're talking about. At TJ the vast majority of athletic teams practice 1.5-2 hours per evening with 1-2 contests per week depending on the sport that replace the practice time on that day. Because of the limited space, some teams practice 4:30-6 while others might practice 6-7:30 - the latter kids usually do homework from 4-6 and in many cases are done before they even get home.

my child also enjoys sports ball contests. Clearly you have experience in this area

What can I help you with?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard from my friend’s son , first year freshman that their teachers don’t teach much. They just give them links to videos and they are expected to figure out on their own. It works so far, but of course with the new admission changes, teachers are going to be in shock with the class results if they don’t improve their teaching skills & instead expect kids to figure out, or TJ is going down.

I heard one of the kids invented the machine that teaches the new kids and the teachers just hang out in the lounge all day!

OMG OMG that's the same rumor I heard!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how the folks cheering because their kids got in without “prepping” (aka working for it) are going to feel when they discover that their kids are signed up for 90 hour workweeks? I suppose they will argue their kids should get a TJ degree based on their “innate talent”. And then will move on to college admissions by “innate talent,” etc.

I wonder at what point they will expect their kids to work hard at something?

Genuinely talented kids do not have 90 hour workweeks at TJ. They come home, probably do about 2 hours of homework each night, and take a chunk of one of the two weekend days (4-5 hours) to get stuff done/get ahead for the week.

These kids have the ability to succeed in diverse extracurricular pursuits (athletics/arts/creatives) above and beyond just STEM, and it's no accident that those are the kids who tend to get into elite colleges.

I am sorry if this bursts your bubble with respect to your own kid, but it's the truth.

+1. Junior year with 4 APs and a post-AP I maybe upped that average to 3-4 hours/night sometimes. I played 2 school sports and trained for one outside of school, was in both school and church choir, had a weekend job (half days on Saturdays). These parents who force "excellence" on their (perfectly great!) average kids and then are surprised when it almost breaks them...you're the real problem with TJ.

Okay, so what was your weekly schedule? Looks like 80-90:hours a week, all in, yes?

Let's do the math:

- I left around 7:15 to get to school by 8. Hung out with friends or did last-minute studying 8-8:30
- School day 8:30-4
- Sports practice 4:30-6
- Commute home/dinner 6-7
- Homework 7-10
- Sleep 10-6 (8 hours!)

So that's a roughly 15 hour day, including conservative estimates of 1.5 hours of commuting and 3 hours of homework, as well as at least an hour/day of unscheduled down time at school. I didn't do homework on Friday nights but did have meets, so we'll call that a wash and say the week is 15 x 5 = 75 hours. 4-6 hours of homework + 4 hours of weekend job + 2 hours for church choir/service = 10-12 more hours of weekend commitments. Total 85-87 hours...but absent the commuting (7.5-8 hours/week), I don't see how this schedule would have been much different than if I had been doing the full IB program at my base school...?

Wow, that’s a phone it sports commitment. I did 4 years of band pickup at 7:30 and there was always a full parking lot with parents of kids from several sports. By HS very few kids are getting by on 6 hours a week of sports practice. Maybe the football team that lost to deaf school if it’s Friday night? Anyway, your EC commitments are very light. Plus, I’m not seeing Church choir, TJ choir, outside of school sports blocked off.

There, I bolded it for you. #readingcomprehensione
I was a swimmer, and HS practice slots at the rec center were 1 hour (add 30 minutes for the bus ride there + changing). When I swam with my club, it was 2 hours/day. TH choir concerts in the fall and spring added two weeks of 2-3 hour dress rehearsals/performances. But don't forget that TJ has 8th period, which is when a lot of clubs/volunteering gets done.