Another perspective on “prepping” from a lower income mom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have followed this board for a few months, and noticed quite a few comments from parents who are adamantly opposed to any sort of prep. We enrich or children, they say, but we would never prep! My DC is just naturally gifted. All we do is enroll them in Kumon, AoPS, or that Russia math program. Private piano lessons on Monday, cello on Wednesday, chess tutor on Friday. Then we take the kids to museums on the weekends, we teach them origami, read to them for hours, do logic puzzles, tutoring. We also take them to concerts. And just last month we took DC to see the Duomo in Florence so they could learn about Renaissance architecture! But a workbook? That’s cheating!

Well, my kid did prep, with a workbook, and I’ll tell you why. I work two jobs (home health aid and retail). I am also going to school part time. I work weekends, I often work nights. I am a single mom. My elderly mother, who can barely walk and doesn’t speak English, watches my kid after school. A few weeks before the test I ordered a CoGat workbook. I told my mom, before he turns on the TV, DC has to spend ten minutes going through the workbook. I wish I had the money to send my kid to math enrichment classes, or the time to take him to the Smithsonian. But I don’t. Please don’t write off all prep as cheating. Many people don’t have the resources to enrich their kids the old fashioned way. Suggestions for enrichment on shoestring budget are welcome btw.

The funniest thing is in the end, all this angst means nothing.

— Dad of a 20 yo and 19 yo who both ended up in great colleges. One did AAP, the other did not.

+1. My best friend had a baby 15 yrs after her first. By the time the youngest got to K, the oldest was 1/2 down with college. Her whole perspective was different. Parent teacher conferences were much more casual. She had already figured out that kids will do well and all the worrying is for nothing.

[Anonymous]

Poor Asian and this is how we did it for the most part except everyone complains about us and our “prepping!”

[Anonymous]

It there are plenty of families out there that have two working parents and can’t afford those extra curriculars….

You prepped. Don’t be ashamed, just own it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is using old tests to study for the ACT or SAT prepping? Is it cheating?

Decades ago, it was. That battle was lost. And they've since changed the format of the SAT and the name, so it's no longer a similar issue.

Originally, Scholastic Aptitude Test, now Scholastic Assessment Test.

I was in HS decades ago and there were SAT prep classes offered at the HS.

[Anonymous]

DC public offers SAT prep courses to its students for free. That's cheating?

[Anonymous]

OP mom thanks for sharing your perspective. Glad you are making this effort for your kid.

[Anonymous]

I don't think prepping is cheating, and I'm baffled by people who say it is.

If you're worried that kids who prep will get in but then be unable to keep up with the work, say that. But it doesn't make prepping a cheat. There is no other context (SAT, job interview, debate) in which practicing a particular form of answer is called cheating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think prepping is cheating, and I'm baffled by people who say it is.

If you're worried that kids who prep will get in but then be unable to keep up with the work, say that. But it doesn't make prepping a cheat. There is no other context (SAT, job interview, debate) in which practicing a particular form of answer is called cheating.

Studying for an IQ test is cheating. Not everyone takes an IQ test, so you may not know that. The Cogat is the same way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think prepping is cheating, and I'm baffled by people who say it is.

If you're worried that kids who prep will get in but then be unable to keep up with the work, say that. But it doesn't make prepping a cheat. There is no other context (SAT, job interview, debate) in which practicing a particular form of answer is called cheating.

Studying for an IQ test is cheating. Not everyone takes an IQ test, so you may not know that. The Cogat is the same way.

If an IQ test returns significantly different results when you study, it's not measuring IQ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think prepping is cheating, and I'm baffled by people who say it is.

If you're worried that kids who prep will get in but then be unable to keep up with the work, say that. But it doesn't make prepping a cheat. There is no other context (SAT, job interview, debate) in which practicing a particular form of answer is called cheating.

Studying for an IQ test is cheating. Not everyone takes an IQ test, so you may not know that. The Cogat is the same way.

If an IQ test returns significantly different results when you study, it's not measuring IQ.

It's not a perfect test but it's what we've got. So don't cheat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think prepping is cheating, and I'm baffled by people who say it is.

If you're worried that kids who prep will get in but then be unable to keep up with the work, say that. But it doesn't make prepping a cheat. There is no other context (SAT, job interview, debate) in which practicing a particular form of answer is called cheating.

Studying for an IQ test is cheating. Not everyone takes an IQ test, so you may not know that. The Cogat is the same way.

Where has FCPS said that any prepping for the CogAT is cheating? If this was the case, then they would have it all over the AAP website and notification process for 2nd grade testing.

-mom who reviewed a few sample online free questions each night in the week leading up to the test and has zero guilt with an in-pool child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP mom thanks for sharing your perspective. Glad you are making this effort for your kid.

+1 You're doing the very best you can given very limited money AND time.

[Anonymous]

I just want to tell all the Asians out there that no one is whining about all the prepping. I run in UMC and UC white circles and no one cares. We prep our kids too. I wish Asians would stop thinking people are out to get them for prepping. It’s the opposite- they’re lauded. There will always be an uneducated segment of any population that is anti education.

Op- good for you! I’d add in reading to your child for 15-30 minutes as well. That’s proven to have more of an effect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think prepping is cheating, and I'm baffled by people who say it is.

If you're worried that kids who prep will get in but then be unable to keep up with the work, say that. But it doesn't make prepping a cheat. There is no other context (SAT, job interview, debate) in which practicing a particular form of answer is called cheating.

Studying for an IQ test is cheating. Not everyone takes an IQ test, so you may not know that. The Cogat is the same way.

Where has FCPS said that any prepping for the CogAT is cheating? If this was the case, then they would have it all over the AAP website and notification process for 2nd grade testing.

-mom who reviewed a few sample online free questions each night in the week leading up to the test and has zero guilt with an in-pool child. [/quote
They’ve said it. They send notices home about when the testing is and what it is and say just to sleep well and to have a good breakfast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A few ideas for free enrichment in the DC area:

Lots of free museums in the DC area.

A library card is free and offers the ability to both take out physical books from the library but also access tons of free books online. Libraries also have lots of free programs- you need the kids the website frequently to see what is scheduled.

Also, where I live, Fairfax County, a few parks have nature centers with free programs about the animals and plants in the park. I’ve lived other places where the parks have similar programs, too.

I note that OP doesn’t seem interested in any of these free forms of enrichment, the easiest of which is taking advantage of a library card to access free books over the internet. That takes no extra time at all.