Enriched Middle School Classes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MS curriculum needs a major overall. Lack of enrichment/honors at the home school level is why many are so desperate to get their kids into magnet programs.

You'd think with all those people at the CO they could manage this.

A lot of MS principals decided to just put all the kids into the enriched/advanced classes, thereby eliminating any cohorting. Probably because they didn't want to deal with parents complaining that their kids weren't in those classes.

Mcps calls everything honors not principals.

That’s true for English. The advanced history options are different.

My current 8th grader had cohorted HIGH in 6th, but this year the school decided to put all of the 8th graders in the US History equivalent. I don’t know if they made that decision at all grade levels, but I’m guessing yes.

My 8th grader has never been offered high and has been in two different schools for MS. The only thing advanced we get offered is math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids from "regular" social studies and HIGH are mixed together. There is supposed to be differentiation but my family's experience is that there is not. There is far more concern with ensuring that no one's feelings are hurt that they weren't selected for HIGH/advanced level courses, as well as making sure the bottom rung of kids doesn't completely flunk out, that motivated advanced kids are left feeling bored and ignored.

This is exactly the issue. Remember, everyone is a winner!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want your DC to read actual books, you need to do that on your own time. MCPS will not do that until well into high school.

This was not my kids’ experience in their DCC middle school. They read real books in English all three years.

We've gotten two books a year at the DCC middle school and never a paper copy - all digital.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids from "regular" social studies and HIGH are mixed together. There is supposed to be differentiation but my family's experience is that there is not. There is far more concern with ensuring that no one's feelings are hurt that they weren't selected for HIGH/advanced level courses, as well as making sure the bottom rung of kids doesn't completely flunk out, that motivated advanced kids are left feeling bored and ignored.

That must also be a school level decision. My kids have been in two different middle schools, and the classes were never mixed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Three weeks in and my kid is completely bored. The novel study in English class for the first quarter is "A Wrinkle in Time," which he has already read numerous times. Last year, his class did a novel study on the book as well. Kids told the teacher, who responded that they have to do that book. No other options. As to the HIGH class, the teacher said the only difference between HIGH and on-level history is Model UN. Science is dreadful with rudimentary concepts.

I am sure I will be blasted for saying these things, but my kid previously loved school and hates it now.

Tell the teacher to look at the Google Groups Share Space for the course. Mrs. Steimer and a few other teachers have posted a lot of materials for HIGH. There are a lot of new HIGH teachers this year. I was in a summer course with them. Many do not know what AEI’s expectations are or what resources exist.

Ms. Steimer=Rock star.

She really is!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want your DC to read actual books, you need to do that on your own time. MCPS will not do that until well into high school.

This was not my kids’ experience in their DCC middle school. They read real books in English all three years.

We've gotten two books a year at the DCC middle school and never a paper copy - all digital.

That must be a choice at that school. I teach at a DCC middle, have taught at two more, and my kids attended a fourth. All distributed hard copy novels to students. And more than two a year.

[Anonymous]

From BTSN at my DCC middle - 6th grade HIGH gets 2 books (paper copies) and Model UN. English gets 4 novels with 2 assigned to everyone and 2 that they choose from 2 available choices each quarter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want your DC to read actual books, you need to do that on your own time. MCPS will not do that until well into high school.

This was not my kids’ experience in their DCC middle school. They read real books in English all three years.

We've gotten two books a year at the DCC middle school and never a paper copy - all digital.

That must be a choice at that school. I teach at a DCC middle, have taught at two more, and my kids attended a fourth. All distributed hard copy novels to students. And more than two a year.

I would complain. The school should provide paper copies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Three weeks in and my kid is completely bored. The novel study in English class for the first quarter is "A Wrinkle in Time," which he has already read numerous times. Last year, his class did a novel study on the book as well. Kids told the teacher, who responded that they have to do that book. No other options. As to the HIGH class, the teacher said the only difference between HIGH and on-level history is Model UN. Science is dreadful with rudimentary concepts.

I am sure I will be blasted for saying these things, but my kid previously loved school and hates it now.

English isn't really an enriched class. Everyone is in honors. But the other main difference in HIGH besides the Model UN, is the incorporation of the two books into the curriculum. My now 10th grader loved A Long Walk to Water, which they still read. I was at BTSN at a BCC feeder and the teacher showed us both books that are incorporated into the curriculum. The kids do a deep dive into how literatrue and history intersect...or at least they did four years ago and I am hopeful that my younger DS will like it as much as my DD did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Three weeks in and my kid is completely bored. The novel study in English class for the first quarter is "A Wrinkle in Time," which he has already read numerous times. Last year, his class did a novel study on the book as well. Kids told the teacher, who responded that they have to do that book. No other options. As to the HIGH class, the teacher said the only difference between HIGH and on-level history is Model UN. Science is dreadful with rudimentary concepts.

I am sure I will be blasted for saying these things, but my kid previously loved school and hates it now.

English isn't really an enriched class. Everyone is in honors. But the other main difference in HIGH besides the Model UN, is the incorporation of the two books into the curriculum. My now 10th grader loved A Long Walk to Water, which they still read. I was at BTSN at a BCC feeder and the teacher showed us both books that are incorporated into the curriculum. The kids do a deep dive into how literatrue and history intersect...or at least they did four years ago and I am hopeful that my younger DS will like it as much as my DD did.

In middle school, everyone is in "Advanced English." In high school, everyone is in "Honors English."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want your DC to read actual books, you need to do that on your own time. MCPS will not do that until well into high school.

This was not my kids’ experience in their DCC middle school. They read real books in English all three years.

We've gotten two books a year at the DCC middle school and never a paper copy - all digital.

That must be a choice at that school. I teach at a DCC middle, have taught at two more, and my kids attended a fourth. All distributed hard copy novels to students. And more than two a year.

We have never gotten paper copies. If we want one we have to buy it but they will not give us advanced notice of the books so we can have them available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want your DC to read actual books, you need to do that on your own time. MCPS will not do that until well into high school.

This was not my kids’ experience in their DCC middle school. They read real books in English all three years.

We've gotten two books a year at the DCC middle school and never a paper copy - all digital.

That must be a choice at that school. I teach at a DCC middle, have taught at two more, and my kids attended a fourth. All distributed hard copy novels to students. And more than two a year.

I would complain. The school should provide paper copies.

Hard copy novels = paper copies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want your DC to read actual books, you need to do that on your own time. MCPS will not do that until well into high school.

This was not my kids’ experience in their DCC middle school. They read real books in English all three years.

We've gotten two books a year at the DCC middle school and never a paper copy - all digital.

That must be a choice at that school. I teach at a DCC middle, have taught at two more, and my kids attended a fourth. All distributed hard copy novels to students. And more than two a year.

We have never gotten paper copies. If we want one we have to buy it but they will not give us advanced notice of the books so we can have them available.

You need more than the two days it takes to order a book on Amazon? Even when we buy books on Thriftbooks, it’s never taken more than a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want your DC to read actual books, you need to do that on your own time. MCPS will not do that until well into high school.

This was not my kids’ experience in their DCC middle school. They read real books in English all three years.

We've gotten two books a year at the DCC middle school and never a paper copy - all digital.

That must be a choice at that school. I teach at a DCC middle, have taught at two more, and my kids attended a fourth. All distributed hard copy novels to students. And more than two a year.

We have never gotten paper copies. If we want one we have to buy it but they will not give us advanced notice of the books so we can have them available.

You need more than the two days it takes to order a book on Amazon? Even when we buy books on Thriftbooks, it’s never taken more than a week.

It depends on the book. They usually only read them for two weeks so if it takes a week they are done with the book.

[Anonymous]

Our MS claims to have Advanced English for everyone but it seems a lot more basic than 4th grade CES.