Expanded High school electives at TJ

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

By making TJ like any other high school?

+1
I like the guy (and I liked Dr B too) but this is my sr TJ kid's complaint. They've been stripping out some of the things that makes it different.

Like what?

The entire culture at TJ has become very negative and toxic and this all a result of Mukai's lack of leadership. He doesn't respect his teachers and has shut them out and even the division leaders out of actual collaboration. Instead of coming in and getting to know the staff and the students first, he has dictated everything without any clear vision or justification. He flip-flops constantly to the point that teachers cannot trust anything he says and he bullies any teachers who question anything he says or does.

I’ve heard this as well.

Are you current parents or teachers? Where did you hear all this?

I know this from direct experience.

[Anonymous]

What the hell is “Latin for Careers”?

(Skipping inevitable joke about the priesthood, followed by inevitable nitpicking about classical vs. Church Latin.)

[Anonymous]

The IBET provided in 9th grade can let freshmen students very easily be good friends and like TJ very much! Hope not to cancel this program! IBET really is the biggest difference between TJ and base schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The AP courses generally have less rigor than the TJ courses they are replacing. This is apparently what the Commonwealth of Virginia wants to see. But don’t be fooled; these are not “great new electives.” They are FCPS sending tax dollars to College Board. Hopefully TJ faculty will be able to add extra curricular materials to the basic AP content; TJ kids are capable of so much more.

How will the mandatory SOLs work with AP courses next year? Is VA going to say all courses including AP must have SOLs and SOLs=10% of grade? Has there been any movement on that to know what will happen or are people hoping new governor gets in and says never mind that legislation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What the hell is “Latin for Careers”?

(Skipping inevitable joke about the priesthood, followed by inevitable nitpicking about classical vs. Church Latin.)

Medical and science

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone unpack this objectively? Surprised by the negativity, particularly want to check the following:

1. The new offerings lower academic rigor by replacing TJ-specific courses with APs? --True or false?
2. If so, and if causes grade inflation, would that paradoxically put TJ students on more equal footing with base-school students where GPAs are already inflated? --True or false?
3. The new courses reduce or eliminate interdisciplinary, collaborative teaching at TJ. --True or false?
4. The principal is pursuing an agenda to make TJ less rigorous and more "consistent with" other FCPS schools? --True or false?

Please no bias no spin, if you can.

1. This probably varies, but as someone who has taught several different AP courses, the college board curriculum is very watered-down. AP does not necessarily mean more rigor.
2. Maybe true on paper, but this also means that TJ students cannot distinguish themselves as much as non-TJ students.
3. True. This has already happened, especially in Humanities. It would not surprise me at all if IBET eventually goes away.
4. Mukai doesn't care about rigor either way. He is simply a numbers person and just wants to boost AP numbers as much as possible.

But if #2 above is true, would it not be the case that TJ house brands feed more to his ego than APs - not endorsing that characterization of his traits, just to follow the logic and understand

Some parents at the school are obsessed with how stuff looks more than how it is. So higher GPAs due to more APs must be good (ignoring that mainly the kids are compared to one another within the school) even if the content in it is not as rigorous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone unpack this objectively? Surprised by the negativity, particularly want to check the following:

1. The new offerings lower academic rigor by replacing TJ-specific courses with APs? --True or false?
2. If so, and if causes grade inflation, would that paradoxically put TJ students on more equal footing with base-school students where GPAs are already inflated? --True or false?
3. The new courses reduce or eliminate interdisciplinary, collaborative teaching at TJ. --True or false?
4. The principal is pursuing an agenda to make TJ less rigorous and more "consistent with" other FCPS schools? --True or false?

Please no bias no spin, if you can.

1. This probably varies, but as someone who has taught several different AP courses, the college board curriculum is very watered-down. AP does not necessarily mean more rigor.
2. Maybe true on paper, but this also means that TJ students cannot distinguish themselves as much as non-TJ students.
3. True. This has already happened, especially in Humanities. It would not surprise me at all if IBET eventually goes away.
4. Mukai doesn't care about rigor either way. He is simply a numbers person and just wants to boost AP numbers as much as possible.

But it doesn’t have to be watered down. It’s common at TJ to teach to a higher level and/or cover more material. The AP curriculum will be covered, but the teaching doesn’t need to be (and generally isn’t) limited to the AP curriculum.

I’m not opining on the changes—my kid is a junior and is less impacted by this than kids in 9 and 10. I see advantages and disadvantages—I’ve wondered why he couldn’t take AP Lang in 11 like most other schools, but also appreciate that TJ has a unique curriculum (for example, the old Math sequence).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

By making TJ like any other high school?

+1
I like the guy (and I liked Dr B too) but this is my sr TJ kid's complaint. They've been stripping out some of the things that makes it different.

Like what?

The entire culture at TJ has become very negative and toxic and this all a result of Mukai's lack of leadership. He doesn't respect his teachers and has shut them out and even the division leaders out of actual collaboration. Instead of coming in and getting to know the staff and the students first, he has dictated everything without any clear vision or justification. He flip-flops constantly to the point that teachers cannot trust anything he says and he bullies any teachers who question anything he says or does.

I’ve heard this as well.

Are you current parents or teachers? Where did you hear all this?

I know this from direct experience.

Do you have firsthand data that the "negative and toxic" school environment is affecting students? Is the teacher exodus also true?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

What exactly is your definition of academically excellent? By adding all those new AP classes, the kids will stop taking a balanced course load of TJ-specific classes created and taught by experts. That's why we picked TJ--this is a shame. Every kid is going to look exactly the same on paper and they'll all be burned out. There's literally nothing special about it anymore. Watch all the amazing teachers leave now that their programs are gone.

The AP classes are a boon. Your kid was going to take pre-calculus at an AP level of rigor anyway. Now the class will be weighted as an AP class.
Your kid was going to take most of these classes at an AP level of rigor, now they get AP credit for it.
And the number of electives hasn't really changed. My kid can still take all the same electives he planned on taking when he was a freshman.

What programs are gone?

Everyone else at TJ would also get the AP precalc weighting, so it's a wash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

What exactly is your definition of academically excellent? By adding all those new AP classes, the kids will stop taking a balanced course load of TJ-specific classes created and taught by experts. That's why we picked TJ--this is a shame. Every kid is going to look exactly the same on paper and they'll all be burned out. There's literally nothing special about it anymore. Watch all the amazing teachers leave now that their programs are gone.

The AP classes are a boon. Your kid was going to take pre-calculus at an AP level of rigor anyway. Now the class will be weighted as an AP class.
Your kid was going to take most of these classes at an AP level of rigor, now they get AP credit for it.
And the number of electives hasn't really changed. My kid can still take all the same electives he planned on taking when he was a freshman.

What programs are gone?

NP. I think what people advocating for more AP classes don't realize is that when an AP is offered in direct competition with a TJ-specific class and they both fulfil a requirement, the large majority will pick the AP class simply because it offers the extra weighting. When no kids choose the TJ-specific class anymore, it gets cut and the teacher who taught it gets assigned to teach something else, probably the AP. The AP then becomes the standard, which sounds nice on the surface, but it just raises that standard for all the kids, making it the status quo and ultimately not helping anyone. So while those TJ-specific electives are still listed--for now--in a year or two, as the APs take over, a lot of the electives will be gone, kids will have less opportunity to differentiate themselves, and colleges will have a harder time choosing who to admit--from TJ AND between TJ and base schools. If they all look the same, there is no benefit.

Stupid question here. I have a kid applying to TJ so I am learning.

Can’t they teach the TJ specific biology class in a class called AP Bio? They need to make sure they cover all that content, but don’t they cover that in the TJ specific class? I have read that the TJ classes move more quickly and cover more material because they expect the kids to be able to do more. Maybe an AP Bio accelerated?

What I think a lot of people want is for heir kids to be able to take the AP exams in the different subjects to get the class credit and I was under the impression that the TJ specific classes required self study for the AP exams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

By making TJ like any other high school?

+1
I like the guy (and I liked Dr B too) but this is my sr TJ kid's complaint. They've been stripping out some of the things that makes it different.

Like what?

The entire culture at TJ has become very negative and toxic and this all a result of Mukai's lack of leadership. He doesn't respect his teachers and has shut them out and even the division leaders out of actual collaboration. Instead of coming in and getting to know the staff and the students first, he has dictated everything without any clear vision or justification. He flip-flops constantly to the point that teachers cannot trust anything he says and he bullies any teachers who question anything he says or does.

All I have heard is that the culture at TJ has been negative and toxic in the 8 years I have been on this board. It doesn’t seem to matter who the Principal is or what they are doing, it is bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

By making TJ like any other high school?

+1
I like the guy (and I liked Dr B too) but this is my sr TJ kid's complaint. They've been stripping out some of the things that makes it different.

Like what?

The entire culture at TJ has become very negative and toxic and this all a result of Mukai's lack of leadership. He doesn't respect his teachers and has shut them out and even the division leaders out of actual collaboration. Instead of coming in and getting to know the staff and the students first, he has dictated everything without any clear vision or justification. He flip-flops constantly to the point that teachers cannot trust anything he says and he bullies any teachers who question anything he says or does.

All I have heard is that the culture at TJ has been negative and toxic in the 8 years I have been on this board. It doesn’t seem to matter who the Principal is or what they are doing, it is bad.

As someone with direct experience for several years, the culture has taken a nosedive since Mukai took over. He is not a leader. That would require actually being present and caring about his staff and students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

By making TJ like any other high school?

+1
I like the guy (and I liked Dr B too) but this is my sr TJ kid's complaint. They've been stripping out some of the things that makes it different.

Like what?

The entire culture at TJ has become very negative and toxic and this all a result of Mukai's lack of leadership. He doesn't respect his teachers and has shut them out and even the division leaders out of actual collaboration. Instead of coming in and getting to know the staff and the students first, he has dictated everything without any clear vision or justification. He flip-flops constantly to the point that teachers cannot trust anything he says and he bullies any teachers who question anything he says or does.

All I have heard is that the culture at TJ has been negative and toxic in the 8 years I have been on this board. It doesn’t seem to matter who the Principal is or what they are doing, it is bad.

As someone with direct experience for several years, the culture has taken a nosedive since Mukai took over. He is not a leader. That would require actually being present and caring about his staff and students.

He's removed almost all channels for students and faculty to have meaningful dialogue about what happens at the school. Say what you will about Dr. B, and Dr. Glazer before her, but they allowed the SGA to have a voice, they had lunch time meetings with kids and town halls and were generally transparent and open to feedback. Mukai discontinued those meetings. The only kids' names he knows are the ones who win big stuff. So if he doesn't know the kids, how is he to make decisions about curriculum that is actually in their best interest? Zero pulse on the community, it's kind of gross actually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

By making TJ like any other high school?

+1
I like the guy (and I liked Dr B too) but this is my sr TJ kid's complaint. They've been stripping out some of the things that makes it different.

Like what?

The entire culture at TJ has become very negative and toxic and this all a result of Mukai's lack of leadership. He doesn't respect his teachers and has shut them out and even the division leaders out of actual collaboration. Instead of coming in and getting to know the staff and the students first, he has dictated everything without any clear vision or justification. He flip-flops constantly to the point that teachers cannot trust anything he says and he bullies any teachers who question anything he says or does.

All I have heard is that the culture at TJ has been negative and toxic in the 8 years I have been on this board. It doesn’t seem to matter who the Principal is or what they are doing, it is bad.

As someone with direct experience for several years, the culture has taken a nosedive since Mukai took over. He is not a leader. That would require actually being present and caring about his staff and students.

He's removed almost all channels for students and faculty to have meaningful dialogue about what happens at the school. Say what you will about Dr. B, and Dr. Glazer before her, but they allowed the SGA to have a voice, they had lunch time meetings with kids and town halls and were generally transparent and open to feedback. Mukai discontinued those meetings. The only kids' names he knows are the ones who win big stuff. So if he doesn't know the kids, how is he to make decisions about curriculum that is actually in their best interest? Zero pulse on the community, it's kind of gross actually.

Yes! All of this is true. Mukai avoids interacting with staff and students as much as possible. His excuse is that he is always pulled to Gatehouse or he blames the Collective Bargaining Agreement for his limited availability, which is absolute BS. He came into TJ saying that his door is always open and he is open to staff sharing different ideas and perspectives when the actual experience has been the complete opposite. He runs the school like a dictator. When staff try to share how overworked and overstressed they are this year, he just brushes off their concerns and says maybe they should teach somewhere else, instead of working to identify the root of the problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ohhhh Japanese is back. Awesome! That could be good for my kid if they are accepted this year.

I really like that this new Principal is doing things to make TJ academically excellent rather than engaging in social engineering.

By making TJ like any other high school?

+1
I like the guy (and I liked Dr B too) but this is my sr TJ kid's complaint. They've been stripping out some of the things that makes it different.

Like what?

The entire culture at TJ has become very negative and toxic and this all a result of Mukai's lack of leadership. He doesn't respect his teachers and has shut them out and even the division leaders out of actual collaboration. Instead of coming in and getting to know the staff and the students first, he has dictated everything without any clear vision or justification. He flip-flops constantly to the point that teachers cannot trust anything he says and he bullies any teachers who question anything he says or does.

All I have heard is that the culture at TJ has been negative and toxic in the 8 years I have been on this board. It doesn’t seem to matter who the Principal is or what they are doing, it is bad.

As someone with direct experience for several years, the culture has taken a nosedive since Mukai took over. He is not a leader. That would require actually being present and caring about his staff and students.

He's removed almost all channels for students and faculty to have meaningful dialogue about what happens at the school. Say what you will about Dr. B, and Dr. Glazer before her, but they allowed the SGA to have a voice, they had lunch time meetings with kids and town halls and were generally transparent and open to feedback. Mukai discontinued those meetings. The only kids' names he knows are the ones who win big stuff. So if he doesn't know the kids, how is he to make decisions about curriculum that is actually in their best interest? Zero pulse on the community, it's kind of gross actually.

Thank you for letting us know that we should ignore you.