I have average-bright kids and I hate Starr and 2.0 too

[Anonymous]

Commenter at 10:25: I would not put any weight on the opinion of anonymous posters on a blog (including me); I would listen to real live actual people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another bad idea of 2.0. Get the writing solid first, then add in technology. Unless a child has a LD, no need to use computers for writing until they start big essays.

The more I hear about 2.0, the worse it sounds.

For me at least, I write much better typing than ever did long hand. What is lacking is good typing classes and limiting the google searching which kids abuse to cut/paste. No way t catch all of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another bad idea of 2.0. Get the writing solid first, then add in technology. Unless a child has a LD, no need to use computers for writing until they start big essays.

The more I hear about 2.0, the worse it sounds.

For me at least, I write much better typing than ever did long hand. What is lacking is good typing classes and limiting the google searching which kids abuse to cut/paste. No way t catch all of them.

I am the one you quoted. I write better typing now as well. But we are talking about k to 2 here. Typing can wait until writing is more established. Unless it is a student who has dysgraphia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were thinking of buying a home in Bethesda, but all this negative talk about 2.0 has made us reconsider. We are now thinking of McLean.
Is it really that bad? The few people we have spoken with in person have no issues with it. I don't want to be in a situation where I regret
having my children at Montgomery County schools.

I wouldn't make any real estate decision based on anything you read on an anonymous board. You could easily hear the same things amongst a group of parents in McLean or in DC (substitute 2.0 for whatever their gripe is). For that matter, read the private school boards and you'll think that everyone with kids there is going broke or being duped for NOT sending their kids to MoCo schools. Pick your house/school/community based on what you like and want not based on the complaints of strangers. There are probably more parents who are perfectly happy with 2.0 but they aren't going to post about how well something is working. People with complaints are always more likely to post/complain than people who are happy. Take everything you read with a grain of salt.

This really isn't the case. You'll hear some parents in McLean complain about large class sizes and a sense that they subsidize other schools in the county with more FARMS kids and smaller class dizes. And some parents complain about not enough art and music, or schools teaching too much to the test. But there doesn't seem to be a comparable degree of angst as there is in MCPS right now as to whether the curriculum is sufficiently challenging. Of course, we will be getting a new Superintendent soon, who for all we know may impose his or her own version of 2.0 in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Apparently, the MCPS is a consultant to the FCPS school board on hiring the new super. You know, we did such a stellar job and all.

[Anonymous]

PP, fwiw, I think the angst is much more intense on DCUM than in real life. I have a third grader and don't ever hear any of the parents I know from my child's school talk the way some on this forum do about MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, fwiw, I think the angst is much more intense on DCUM than in real life. I have a third grader and don't ever hear any of the parents I know from my child's school talk the way some on this forum do about MCPS.

Disagree. It is a HUGE issue in both of my kids schools. PTA involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, fwiw, I think the angst is much more intense on DCUM than in real life. I have a third grader and don't ever hear any of the parents I know from my child's school talk the way some on this forum do about MCPS.

Disagree. It is a HUGE issue in both of my kids schools. PTA involved.

Yes in out school too. And everyday after school all the moms complaining about it. Teachers we are friends with complaining about it. Nothing but complaints. I haven't spoke to one person who likes it. Many clueless people that don't know what some are talking about but the ones that understand and were around pre-2.0 are not happy.

[Anonymous]

PP, fwiw, I think the angst is much more intense on DCUM than in real life. I have a third grader and don't ever hear any of the parents I know from my child's school talk the way some on this forum do about MCPS.

I hear more in real life but worded differently if that makes sense. When you talk with other parents, its more along the lines of not being happy with it, comments about how easy it is, joking about the useless report card, and how there is hardly any homework or writing anymore. Its been an active topic at our PTA and parents have expressed the same concerns you here at every 2.0 meeting, PTA meeting and to the principal many times.

I'm worried that it will be hard to change anything to improve the situation for kids getting 2.0 now. The superintendent is arrogant and pretty open about not giving a damn what parents think. For him, this seems to be a philosophical mission. These types of leaders never lead well no matter where they think they are going because they can't adjust course. Beyond Starr, MCPS is just too large to be effective. They have no clue how they will manage the projected growth of the population. They have huge budget problems and have antagonized most of the other county and state's political leaders with bad positioning and bad management of resources. They are losing their support base as they screw up the curriculum so their ability to win budget battles is only going to decline. Its not good.

[Anonymous]

In real life, I haven't heard a peep out of anybody about 2.0, except for one parent whose third-grader took third-grade math last year and is taking it again this year -- and this parent is unhappy only about the math part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

PP, fwiw, I think the angst is much more intense on DCUM than in real life. I have a third grader and don't ever hear any of the parents I know from my child's school talk the way some on this forum do about MCPS.

I hear more in real life but worded differently if that makes sense. When you talk with other parents, its more along the lines of not being happy with it, comments about how easy it is, joking about the useless report card, and how there is hardly any homework or writing anymore. Its been an active topic at our PTA and parents have expressed the same concerns you here at every 2.0 meeting, PTA meeting and to the principal many times.

I'm worried that it will be hard to change anything to improve the situation for kids getting 2.0 now. The superintendent is arrogant and pretty open about not giving a damn what parents think. For him, this seems to be a philosophical mission. These types of leaders never lead well no matter where they think they are going because they can't adjust course. Beyond Starr, MCPS is just too large to be effective. They have no clue how they will manage the projected growth of the population. They have huge budget problems and have antagonized most of the other county and state's political leaders with bad positioning and bad management of resources. They are losing their support base as they screw up the curriculum so their ability to win budget battles is only going to decline. Its not good.

I'm the first PP (who said she doesn't hear this kind of angst in real life) and I find your response kind of surprising.... I have NEVER heard a parent of a young elementary school student anywhere complain about not getting ENOUGH homework. Are you really talking about parents of current 3rd graders (who are the roll-out year for 2.0), or younger? My oldest is in third grade, and the discussions among parents at our school pickup sound very different from whatyou and the other PP describe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

PP, fwiw, I think the angst is much more intense on DCUM than in real life. I have a third grader and don't ever hear any of the parents I know from my child's school talk the way some on this forum do about MCPS.

I hear more in real life but worded differently if that makes sense. When you talk with other parents, its more along the lines of not being happy with it, comments about how easy it is, joking about the useless report card, and how there is hardly any homework or writing anymore. Its been an active topic at our PTA and parents have expressed the same concerns you here at every 2.0 meeting, PTA meeting and to the principal many times.

I'm worried that it will be hard to change anything to improve the situation for kids getting 2.0 now. The superintendent is arrogant and pretty open about not giving a damn what parents think. For him, this seems to be a philosophical mission. These types of leaders never lead well no matter where they think they are going because they can't adjust course. Beyond Starr, MCPS is just too large to be effective. They have no clue how they will manage the projected growth of the population. They have huge budget problems and have antagonized most of the other county and state's political leaders with bad positioning and bad management of resources. They are losing their support base as they screw up the curriculum so their ability to win budget battles is only going to decline. Its not good.

I'm the first PP (who said she doesn't hear this kind of angst in real life) and I find your response kind of surprising.... I have NEVER heard a parent of a young elementary school student anywhere complain about not getting ENOUGH homework. Are you really talking about parents of current 3rd graders (who are the roll-out year for 2.0), or younger? My oldest is in third grade, and the discussions among parents at our school pickup sound very different from whatyou and the other PP describe.

My daughter in 5th grade BEFORE 2.0 got very little homework. They do NOT prepare them for middle school at all. No Study Skills whatsoever. She was in Math 7 and was still only getting 1 page of homework and she would get the same old boring spelling sheet of 10-15 words every other week. That was it. No writing, no grammar, no vocabulary, no history, no science, critical or logical thinking extra credit. I have heard from the moms in the class before me that it is worse. The teachers still use the same projects my daughter used in 6 years ago. STALE I do not want her home with 2hrs of homework but they should have had weekly homework assignments that make them think and write; that are due at the end of the week. Enough of the lame old spelling tests. Also extra credit should be given more.

[Anonymous]

Do the kids in the highly gifted centers escape these problems?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do the kids in the highly gifted centers escape these problems?

We chose not to test my daughter in because the commute for her would add 2.5 hours in her day. It was ridiculous. We would have to drive her to school and wait for the bus who stops all over the place before going to school. Then I would pick her up at 4:14 in the afternoon. Too much for a 9yr old.

I am not sure how much better it would be honestly. 2 out of the 6 kids came back to the original school in 5th grade because the day was too long and 1 more came back because he was having a bully issue for being a "nerd." I don't think anyone complained of the curriculum though but no one was raving about it. 3 out of 6 coming back overall is bad. I think the MS and HS gifted programs are better overall but this is just an opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do the kids in the highly gifted centers escape these problems?

We chose not to test my daughter in because the commute for her would add 2.5 hours in her day. It was ridiculous. We would have to drive her to school and wait for the bus who stops all over the place before going to school. Then I would pick her up at 4:14 in the afternoon. Too much for a 9yr old.

I am not sure how much better it would be honestly. 2 out of the 6 kids came back to the original school in 5th grade because the day was too long and 1 more came back because he was having a bully issue for being a "nerd." I don't think anyone complained of the curriculum though but no one was raving about it. 3 out of 6 coming back overall is bad. I think the MS and HS gifted programs are better overall but this is just an opinion.

Which center? I've heard very good things about ours and no kids have returned.