Why w school students not preferred in Blair magnet

[Anonymous]

"In 11th grade, students write a research proposal and have to find a mentor outside of the school (at a govt. lab or university lab) to work with. They spend two months during the summer before 12th grade doing the research with their mentor (very often as part of the mentor's larger research group) and write a paper and presentation during the first semester of 12th grade. Many of these papers and presentations are entered into competitions. They do receive a lot of support from the senior scientist in this effort and are supervised by a Blair science teacher but I don't think it is accurate to describe it as tutoring."

Bullshit. They wash dishes at the lab and then write up what the lab was doing. You don't do groundbreaking research in 2 months!!!

When will we stop deluding ourselves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"In 11th grade, students write a research proposal and have to find a mentor outside of the school (at a govt. lab or university lab) to work with. They spend two months during the summer before 12th grade doing the research with their mentor (very often as part of the mentor's larger research group) and write a paper and presentation during the first semester of 12th grade. Many of these papers and presentations are entered into competitions. They do receive a lot of support from the senior scientist in this effort and are supervised by a Blair science teacher but I don't think it is accurate to describe it as tutoring."

Bullshit. They wash dishes at the lab and then write up what the lab was doing. You don't do groundbreaking research in 2 months!!!

When will we stop deluding ourselves?

Nobody said they do groundbreaking research in a couple of months - that would be highly unusual since most groundbreaking scientific research is years in the making. However, they do join the research team of an established scientist and participate in a meaningful way. This is how science is conducted in an academic setting. Many projects are collaborative and the junior researchers do get to participate in the entire project and co write and co publish papers. You could do this for years before you get to lead projects. If all your kid got to do was wash dishes that is a terrible waste of his/her year and I would discuss this with the SMAC administrator or with the research coordinator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And my child is not a junior yet, but said many kids had perfect math psat scores...so can't imagine one would plan to much SAT prep with high psat scores.

+1 This is why it never occurred to us to tutor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And my child is not a junior yet, but said many kids had perfect math psat scores...so can't imagine one would plan to much SAT prep with high psat scores.

+1 This is why it never occurred to us to tutor

wonder how many got perfect scores?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"In 11th grade, students write a research proposal and have to find a mentor outside of the school (at a govt. lab or university lab) to work with. They spend two months during the summer before 12th grade doing the research with their mentor (very often as part of the mentor's larger research group) and write a paper and presentation during the first semester of 12th grade. Many of these papers and presentations are entered into competitions. They do receive a lot of support from the senior scientist in this effort and are supervised by a Blair science teacher but I don't think it is accurate to describe it as tutoring."

Bullshit. They wash dishes at the lab and then write up what the lab was doing. You don't do groundbreaking research in 2 months!!!

When will we stop deluding ourselves?

Nobody said they do groundbreaking research in a couple of months - that would be highly unusual since most groundbreaking scientific research is years in the making. However, they do join the research team of an established scientist and participate in a meaningful way. This is how science is conducted in an academic setting. Many projects are collaborative and the junior researchers do get to participate in the entire project and co write and co publish papers. You could do this for years before you get to lead projects. If all your kid got to do was wash dishes that is a terrible waste of his/her year and I would discuss this with the SMAC administrator or with the research coordinator.

PP, my DC refuses to join his peers and write up the work done in the lab for presentation to the competitions Blair encourages you to participate in. DC thinks presenting it as DC's work is academic dishonesty. How do I get around this mindset?

[Anonymous]

Your child should talk to the program director and research coordinator about his/her concerns. They will be able to tell him what is acceptable for an intern to take from an internship position. I am sure the elite competitions have protocols for what is your own work.

[Anonymous]

Interns wash dishes in your lab? You must be daydreaming from the 80s. Most of labwares are disposables now so scientists can focus on research. Current generation of students would not accept an internship that is not intellectually challenging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And my child is not a junior yet, but said many kids had perfect math psat scores...so can't imagine one would plan to much SAT prep with high psat scores.

+1 This is why it never occurred to us to tutor

wonder how many got perfect scores?

With an average score of 771..a good number I suspect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"In 11th grade, students write a research proposal and have to find a mentor outside of the school (at a govt. lab or university lab) to work with. They spend two months during the summer before 12th grade doing the research with their mentor (very often as part of the mentor's larger research group) and write a paper and presentation during the first semester of 12th grade. Many of these papers and presentations are entered into competitions. They do receive a lot of support from the senior scientist in this effort and are supervised by a Blair science teacher but I don't think it is accurate to describe it as tutoring."

Bullshit. They wash dishes at the lab and then write up what the lab was doing. You don't do groundbreaking research in 2 months!!!

When will we stop deluding ourselves?

Nobody said they do groundbreaking research in a couple of months - that would be highly unusual since most groundbreaking scientific research is years in the making. However, they do join the research team of an established scientist and participate in a meaningful way. This is how science is conducted in an academic setting. Many projects are collaborative and the junior researchers do get to participate in the entire project and co write and co publish papers. You could do this for years before you get to lead projects. If all your kid got to do was wash dishes that is a terrible waste of his/her year and I would discuss this with the SMAC administrator or with the research coordinator.

PP, my DC refuses to join his peers and write up the work done in the lab for presentation to the competitions Blair encourages you to participate in. DC thinks presenting it as DC's work is academic dishonesty. How do I get around this mindset? [/quote]

PP This is a valid concern. With collaborative work, when you are one of many people involved in producing the research and when your conclusions are arrived at as a group or based on guidance from a mentor it is very difficult to know where the lines are. Your child sounds like my child and although we are not there yet I can see this being a real issue for him. He should talk to the program admin, the research coordinator and if possible with his/her mentor. As the PP pointed out it is expected that if you are conducting your research at NIH or NASA or Hopkins or UMD that you are part of a research team. This is probably an unspoken assumption the competitions make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't they just change the standards for the HGC's this year? How would that affect Blair?

Why would it affect Blair? Like, what's the causal mechanism you see here?

No dog in this fight but the new approach will "eventually" affect MCPS magnets. They will start toying with magnet admission process to bring in more minority kids in. BOE is not interested in spending millions every year to support program that's majority UMC white/Asian families.

I feel very sad for the victimized affluent white and Asian-American families.

Yes, me too... but I am sure their kids will turn out fine in life.

Makes it clear...what it’s all about.

[Anonymous]

Why on earth would you resurrect a thread that's been dead for two and a half years?! To troll and stir the pot, that's all. Get a life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Churchill is WINSTON CHURCHILL, that's why it's a W school.

It's odd that I've never, not once, heard anybody call Churchill HS "Winston Churchill".

Then you obviously don't have a kid at WCHS-- it's written that way all the time.

[Anonymous]

Lol, I am the OP of this thread, was surprised to see this surface up again. Yes, it was my assumption then, and was proven over the past few years for MS and HS magnet selection. I had expressed what I had learnt meeting with magnet coordinators then. Fast forward, DC is a senior, has done very well in non magnet school, definitely could have been better. Has admission and merit aid to safety schools, waiting to hear from reach and target. I still feel that with so many bright kids from all kinds of racial backgrounds, mcps should extend high school magnet education to other schools, or make more magnet centers, and provide quality education and focused extra curricular clubs and classes. One should look at the NMSC list and presidential scholar nomination list for mcps students, you will see why I say magnet classes/IB diploma further prepares these high achievers for their college education. No child should be discriminated because he/she was born to UMC high educated parents as we believe no child should be left behind because of low income less educated and low resource parents and schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC will be in 9th grade in a W high school. Did not make it to Blair SMAC magnet. Talking to others I get a feeling that very few (2 or 3) students from MS made it to Blair though MS is one of the very good schools, with so many bright kids. Why is it that the screening committee would prefer to select a student from non w school area over the one from w school with former having equal or lesser scores? Why is this assumption made that a student from silver spring would benefit more from Blair magnet than the one who would go to Churchill or Walter Johnson or Wooten.

W students don't seem to want it as much and are usually pampered and unwilling to work hard so often fall short on admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interns wash dishes in your lab? You must be daydreaming from the 80s. Most of labwares are disposables now so scientists can focus on research. Current generation of students would not accept an internship that is not intellectually challenging.

Not at UMD. DS spends a lot of time in the lab cleaning slides. You work your way up.