blair magnet quesiton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:This argument needs to die but FWIW my kid’s grade at Blair there ere only 2 or3 kids from Takoma Park butlots from TPMS

I seriously don’t care about how many kids are from Takoma park. Can we go back to how stressful SMAC is for an average magnet kid?

It's not. Kids bite as much as they want to chew, and they love their classes and peers, except for the occasional nasty teacher like everywhere.

I think the program is stressful for most students. There's been a recent DCUM poster who claims it's been really easy going for her kid (who I think she said already learned a lot of the content in enrichment activities) but that's really the exception based on our DC's experience and DC's friends and their parents. Even some of DC's friends who are top math kids and take a class called functions in 9th are stressed out sometimes. I still think it's worth it for a kid who loves STEM because the classes are so much more interesting and at a different level than regular classes.

What percentage of students take functions? I’m concerned that 2-3 hours of homework a day from functions only are reported here. Would it look bad for the students who don’t take functions and be viewed as not challenging themselves?

It’s not bad if you don’t take functions. Many kids drop out of functions and there is no difference in outcomes between those who do or don’t take functions. It just opens up space for more math later.

Although my kids are really good at middle school math, I still don’t think they need to take linear algebra or discrete math at high school. It seems a little too much. They could learn them in college.

Those are but a few of the possible electives and probably aren't for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This argument needs to die but FWIW my kid’s grade at Blair there ere only 2 or3 kids from Takoma Park butlots from TPMS

I seriously don’t care about how many kids are from Takoma park. Can we go back to how stressful SMAC is for an average magnet kid?

It's not. Kids bite as much as they want to chew, and they love their classes and peers, except for the occasional nasty teacher like everywhere.

I think the program is stressful for most students. There's been a recent DCUM poster who claims it's been really easy going for her kid (who I think she said already learned a lot of the content in enrichment activities) but that's really the exception based on our DC's experience and DC's friends and their parents. Even some of DC's friends who are top math kids and take a class called functions in 9th are stressed out sometimes. I still think it's worth it for a kid who loves STEM because the classes are so much more interesting and at a different level than regular classes.

What percentage of students take functions? I’m concerned that 2-3 hours of homework a day from functions only are reported here. Would it look bad for the students who don’t take functions and be viewed as not challenging themselves?

It’s not bad if you don’t take functions. Many kids drop out of functions and there is no difference in outcomes between those who do or don’t take functions. It just opens up space for more math later.

Not true entirely. Even if you don't take functions, you can still take all of the existing math electives in junior and senior years if you want to. There are enough periods available.

[Anonymous]

Can Blair magnet courses be used for college credit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can Blair magnet courses be used for college credit?

No but students take AP exams for the related subject areas to get credit (even though they are not offical AP classes)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can Blair magnet courses be used for college credit?

Blair Magnet students don't need or want college credit. They are the students that college was built for -- students who want to spend time to learn as much as possible to reach their extremely high potential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no “average” kids in the program, but I’d consider my kid to be average among those in the program. He thinks he falls somewhere close to the mid point in relation to classmates (toward the top of the lower half). Didn’t take functions.

He’s introverted and there isn’t a lot of time or energy for socializing or hobbies outside of class with a long day and then homework. Homework and classes are very challenging but time consuming. Other kids manage sports or are very involved in several clubs (my kid stays after school for a club once or twice a week and doesn’t do a sport and gave up his instrument).

He has all As so far (sophomore year). Some of his friends have definitely had Bs (mostly in non magnet classes) but it seems all As is very common. The superstar kids are winning national and international competitions so all As isn’t a huge achievement.

Overall it’s a great place to be if your kid can cope with the work. Success requires a lot of motivation and organization as much as or more than academic brilliance.

That’s the issue concerning me. I know my kids will probably be getting mostly As, but I don’t think they will win any national and international competitions. Will they still be good fit for this school without feeling inferior to others? They won’t be superstars but rather average magnet students.

On another scale of comparison, just getting into the program has superstar quality. Congratulations to your student. I encourage them to try it. The staff work very hard to support students who turn out to struggle. And nobody says students have to stay in it, if it turns out that leaving the program is in the best interests of the student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can Blair magnet courses be used for college credit?

Blair Magnet students don't need or want college credit. They are the students that college was built for -- students who want to spend time to learn as much as possible to reach their extremely high potential.

I do not think there is one type of magnet kid. My DD and many of her Blair friends finished in 3 or 3.5 years and started masters degrees or Phds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can Blair magnet courses be used for college credit?

No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a weird subthread, but to detangle a bit:

1) Someone up thread said the SMCS program is mostly kids from Potomac and Bethesda, which is patently false, per both anecdotal reports and the actual magnet directory, which shows Blair as the home school for the largest number of SMCS kids.

2) When that was noted, the PP moved the goalposts from "most kids in SMCS are from Potomac" to "Most kids winning national-level science and math competitions are from Potomac." A quiz tour of the SMCS "awards" page showed a bunch of kids from Rockville, but perhaps even more relevant, a lot of kids whose parents are scientists in the same field the kid won an award in.

3) On CAP vs. SMCS, there probably are more TkPk kids in CAP than in SCMS, but that's not necessarily a function of either interest or aptitude. It's a function of SMCS pulling from the entire down county while CAP is only open to DCC kids, and kids who went to MS in the DCC. The universe of SMCS kids is larger, so the percentage pulled from Takoma Park in particular will be lower.

4) At any rate, hopefully OP has seen her question answered and moved on.

It's interesting that there were as many TKPK kids going to SMCS as there were kids from the entire Wootton pyramid, which was the basis for poster's claim about SMCS being mainly W students. I remember reading through the magnet directory and saw it was mostly DCC kids which was contrary to popular belief.

DCC kids, yes, even kids with Blair as a home school, maybe, but no to kids from Takoma Park being over represented. Absolutely not.

DC is a TKPK kid who accepted SMCS earlier this month. They have 7-8 friends from the neighborhood and even attended TPES/PBES with who were accepted. I think 1 or 2 may go to a different program but that's about as many as the earlier poster claimed came from Wootton.

Earlier poster claimed 8 people from Whitman went to magnets. Wootton sent over 40.

Not sure why Wootton kids are so interested in Blair

I've also noticed Wootton parents get the worst Blair Envy.

It has to do with whether MCPS can find enough qualified students with the prerequisites to take some of the upper level classes and Wootton is one such pool. It would be too embarrassing if, for example, Blair couldn't fill it's Linear Algebra seats with Blair local students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can Blair magnet courses be used for college credit?

Blair Magnet students don't need or want college credit. They are the students that college was built for -- students who want to spend time to learn as much as possible to reach their extremely high potential.

Huh? They can continue to study at graduate programs and later, through postdocs and professorships and research labs. If they are such geniuses they will not be reaching their full potential in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no “average” kids in the program, but I’d consider my kid to be average among those in the program. He thinks he falls somewhere close to the mid point in relation to classmates (toward the top of the lower half). Didn’t take functions.

He’s introverted and there isn’t a lot of time or energy for socializing or hobbies outside of class with a long day and then homework. Homework and classes are very challenging but time consuming. Other kids manage sports or are very involved in several clubs (my kid stays after school for a club once or twice a week and doesn’t do a sport and gave up his instrument).

He has all As so far (sophomore year). Some of his friends have definitely had Bs (mostly in non magnet classes) but it seems all As is very common. The superstar kids are winning national and international competitions so all As isn’t a huge achievement.

Overall it’s a great place to be if your kid can cope with the work. Success requires a lot of motivation and organization as much as or more than academic brilliance.

That’s the issue concerning me. I know my kids will probably be getting mostly As, but I don’t think they will win any national and international competitions. Will they still be good fit for this school without feeling inferior to others? They won’t be superstars but rather average magnet students.

On another scale of comparison, just getting into the program has superstar quality. Congratulations to your student. I encourage them to try it. The staff work very hard to support students who turn out to struggle. And nobody says students have to stay in it, if it turns out that leaving the program is in the best interests of the student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no “average” kids in the program, but I’d consider my kid to be average among those in the program. He thinks he falls somewhere close to the mid point in relation to classmates (toward the top of the lower half). Didn’t take functions.

He’s introverted and there isn’t a lot of time or energy for socializing or hobbies outside of class with a long day and then homework. Homework and classes are very challenging but time consuming. Other kids manage sports or are very involved in several clubs (my kid stays after school for a club once or twice a week and doesn’t do a sport and gave up his instrument).

He has all As so far (sophomore year). Some of his friends have definitely had Bs (mostly in non magnet classes) but it seems all As is very common. The superstar kids are winning national and international competitions so all As isn’t a huge achievement.

Overall it’s a great place to be if your kid can cope with the work. Success requires a lot of motivation and organization as much as or more than academic brilliance.

That’s the issue concerning me. I know my kids will probably be getting mostly As, but I don’t think they will win any national and international competitions. Will they still be good fit for this school without feeling inferior to others? They won’t be superstars but rather average magnet students.

On another scale of comparison, just getting into the program has superstar quality. Congratulations to your student. I encourage them to try it. The staff work very hard to support students who turn out to struggle. And nobody says students have to stay in it, if it turns out that leaving the program is in the best interests of the student.

Earlier someone posted that Wootton sent 40 kids to Blair, Whitman sent 8, "very few" TKPK, but 25 seats were CAP local slots. Aren't there only 100 Magnet slots?

So about half the magnet came from only two W schools, and a quarter were local gimme's?

Wow! That's eye-opening! Seems the "Blair envy" is the only myth here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no “average” kids in the program, but I’d consider my kid to be average among those in the program. He thinks he falls somewhere close to the mid point in relation to classmates (toward the top of the lower half). Didn’t take functions.

He’s introverted and there isn’t a lot of time or energy for socializing or hobbies outside of class with a long day and then homework. Homework and classes are very challenging but time consuming. Other kids manage sports or are very involved in several clubs (my kid stays after school for a club once or twice a week and doesn’t do a sport and gave up his instrument).

He has all As so far (sophomore year). Some of his friends have definitely had Bs (mostly in non magnet classes) but it seems all As is very common. The superstar kids are winning national and international competitions so all As isn’t a huge achievement.

Overall it’s a great place to be if your kid can cope with the work. Success requires a lot of motivation and organization as much as or more than academic brilliance.

That’s the issue concerning me. I know my kids will probably be getting mostly As, but I don’t think they will win any national and international competitions. Will they still be good fit for this school without feeling inferior to others? They won’t be superstars but rather average magnet students.

On another scale of comparison, just getting into the program has superstar quality. Congratulations to your student. I encourage them to try it. The staff work very hard to support students who turn out to struggle. And nobody says students have to stay in it, if it turns out that leaving the program is in the best interests of the student.

Earlier someone posted that Wootton sent 40 kids to Blair, Whitman sent 8, "very few" TKPK, but 25 seats were CAP local slots. Aren't there only 100 Magnet slots?

So about half the magnet came from only two W schools, and a quarter were local gimme's?

Wow! That's eye-opening! Seems the "Blair envy" is the only myth here?

You didn’t quote the post you’re referencing, so I don’t know what the original context was, but CAP is a separate program at Blair, not part of the STEM magnet. CAP stands for Communication Arts Program and here is a link for more information:
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/high/communication-arts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no “average” kids in the program, but I’d consider my kid to be average among those in the program. He thinks he falls somewhere close to the mid point in relation to classmates (toward the top of the lower half). Didn’t take functions.

He’s introverted and there isn’t a lot of time or energy for socializing or hobbies outside of class with a long day and then homework. Homework and classes are very challenging but time consuming. Other kids manage sports or are very involved in several clubs (my kid stays after school for a club once or twice a week and doesn’t do a sport and gave up his instrument).

He has all As so far (sophomore year). Some of his friends have definitely had Bs (mostly in non magnet classes) but it seems all As is very common. The superstar kids are winning national and international competitions so all As isn’t a huge achievement.

Overall it’s a great place to be if your kid can cope with the work. Success requires a lot of motivation and organization as much as or more than academic brilliance.

That’s the issue concerning me. I know my kids will probably be getting mostly As, but I don’t think they will win any national and international competitions. Will they still be good fit for this school without feeling inferior to others? They won’t be superstars but rather average magnet students.

On another scale of comparison, just getting into the program has superstar quality. Congratulations to your student. I encourage them to try it. The staff work very hard to support students who turn out to struggle. And nobody says students have to stay in it, if it turns out that leaving the program is in the best interests of the student.

Earlier someone posted that Wootton sent 40 kids to Blair, Whitman sent 8, "very few" TKPK, but 25 seats were CAP local slots. Aren't there only 100 Magnet slots?

So about half the magnet came from only two W schools, and a quarter were local gimme's?

Wow! That's eye-opening! Seems the "Blair envy" is the only myth here?

There are no local gimmes. Stop with your snotty, lunatic westside arrogance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can Blair magnet courses be used for college credit?

Blair Magnet students don't need or want college credit. They are the students that college was built for -- students who want to spend time to learn as much as possible to reach their extremely high potential.

Huh? They can continue to study at graduate programs and later, through postdocs and professorships and research labs. If they are such geniuses they will not be reaching their full potential in college.

"College" is not the same for everyone. Universities have grad schools and research programs attached with plenty of opportunity for students to engage in advanced work during undergrad. Rushing through college is a waste of a unique opportunity.