Tj teachers - Be prepared!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS in court said TJ is not a gifted school, so there is no guarantee they are looking for students in advanced classes.

FALSE. The court ruled that TJ IS a gifted school. Stop spreading fake information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe there will be less cheating with a different mix of kids.

Yeah! Now that the classes will be filled with the descendants of King Solomon! Moron!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can current TJ parents just answer the question here.

What do you want to know? TJ is tough. Our DC (Asian) is a senior, went there from a non-feeder MS having never did any of the coding/robotics stuff that most Carson-like school kids do. No prep. Freshman year was a shocker. Struggled a bit but survived intact. Math is still a shocker (DC is probably more of a "B+ to A-" kid when it comes to math, though). Don't expect to be spoon-fed at TJ. Your kid WILL struggle. Whatever the system of admission, they cannot eliminate all the high-performing Asians from getting in. Period. Even if that's down to 40%, those kids will be at the top end of the grading curve screwing up everyone else's grade. Folks need to decide if that's something they want for their kids. It's not just about being smart. It's about working hard and competing against kids that have been trained to work hard for many years. most of them at least as smart as your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They explained this. It is unweighted GPA they look at, you have to have a 3.5, and be in gifted classes.

That's just not true, all you need is three honors classes including math and science

So, there's no boost for taking all honors or for taking Algebra rather than M7H in 7th grade? That's absurd. A kid in the higher level math should be given some credit for it. Likewise, a kid taking 4 Honors or AAP classes is taking a tougher load than a kid in only 3 Honors and should get some credit. It seems like people who want to maximize their chances of getting into TJ should then take regular English or History, whichever subject is weaker, and take M7H even if they easily qualify for Algebra. That would be the easiest way to guarantee a 4.0, which would land a kid in the top 1.5% over the kids who took harder courses but maybe got an A- in something.

Haven't you heard? Merit, innate talent and hard work don't matter anymore. Equity over everything else now. USA is on the fast track to socialism now, baby!!! If you're curious what life will be like in the coming years, just ask anyone from Cuba, Venezuela, China, Zimbabwe, Soviet countries, etc. This is only the beginning.

+1000 Open your eyes. Stop trying to rationalize all of this equity over opportunity, cancel culture, censorship, and identity politics. Brush up on the history of socialism in other countries. It might be too late, but I'm still doing everything I can to try to reverse our downward spiral toward socialism. I urge you to do the same.

sweet, where do I sign up for Nordic style healthcare?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is 100% untrue. My daughter is a freshman at the school and the teachers are incredibly fabulous. Quit it with the stupid negativity and secondhand information.

Senior TJ parent here. Just wait. The toxic teachers are in later grades... and there, the OPs assertion is true spot-on for some courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard from my friend’s son , first year freshman that their teachers don’t teach much. They just give them links to videos and they are expected to figure out on their own. It works so far, but of course with the new admission changes, teachers are going to be in shock with the class results if they don’t improve their teaching skills & instead expect kids to figure out, or TJ is going down.

I will not comment on the new admission part, but the bold part is true. I have a 9th grader at TJ, the math class consists on watching teaching videos the night before and teachers are answering questions during class time after kids try to understand the video themselves. Tests include materials not covered in the videos and are timed. It was a shock for my kid and sadly the grades reflect that. Other subjects are fine.

Same. Addressing the bolded part and not the troll-ish other part.
But this is actually a pedagogical method that is popular there, which is to flip the way we utilize school hours. Instead of the teaching happening at school and then homework done at home where no one is there to help, they flip it and have students do the learning part at home and then school is used to serve as a clarification point or a time for students to be able to use the teacher as a resource for further understanding. It's definitely different and takes some getting used to. But not a terrible way to learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to give this stupid thread a boost, but can't help myself.

I am a TJ parent. The TJ teachers openly welcome the new admissions system - they are excited for a different crop of kids. There are many, many qualified children who would thrive at TJ who don't get in every single year - it is a crap shoot-so why not be a lottery instead of a crap shoot. And the truly elite kids (yes, they exist) will have no problem being identified in the top 1.5%.

Perfect analogy about the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is it that the top 1.5% will still be found, as PPs have said? There will be way more than 1.5% of students at each school who have straight As. There are no teacher recommendations or standardized test results to distinguish between all the straight A students, only a subjectively graded essay test that is largely about character traits that have no explicit connection to STEM. I truly do not understand how this process will catch the top STEM kids.

Because the 1.5% will have essays like, "As the youngest Nobel laureate ever, I would bring unparalleled scientific curiosity to my courses at TJ...."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They explained this. It is unweighted GPA they look at, you have to have a 3.5, and be in gifted classes.

That's just not true, all you need is three honors classes including math and science

So, there's no boost for taking all honors or for taking Algebra rather than M7H in 7th grade? That's absurd. A kid in the higher level math should be given some credit for it. Likewise, a kid taking 4 Honors or AAP classes is taking a tougher load than a kid in only 3 Honors and should get some credit. It seems like people who want to maximize their chances of getting into TJ should then take regular English or History, whichever subject is weaker, and take M7H even if they easily qualify for Algebra. That would be the easiest way to guarantee a 4.0, which would land a kid in the top 1.5% over the kids who took harder courses but maybe got an A- in something.

Haven't you heard? Merit, innate talent and hard work don't matter anymore. Equity over everything else now. USA is on the fast track to socialism now, baby!!! If you're curious what life will be like in the coming years, just ask anyone from Cuba, Venezuela, China, Zimbabwe, Soviet countries, etc. This is only the beginning.

Unbelievable. Why would you assume that kids getting in under the new system don't have innate talent or that they don't work hard?

I am a TJ mom of a 9th grader who is thriving there and will welcome the incoming freshmen in with open arms. Her teachers are NOT at all opposed to the new admissions process. They are paid to TEACH and that is what they will do. And, she has had amazing teachers - even for math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They explained this. It is unweighted GPA they look at, you have to have a 3.5, and be in gifted classes.

That's just not true, all you need is three honors classes including math and science

So, there's no boost for taking all honors or for taking Algebra rather than M7H in 7th grade? That's absurd. A kid in the higher level math should be given some credit for it. Likewise, a kid taking 4 Honors or AAP classes is taking a tougher load than a kid in only 3 Honors and should get some credit. It seems like people who want to maximize their chances of getting into TJ should then take regular English or History, whichever subject is weaker, and take M7H even if they easily qualify for Algebra. That would be the easiest way to guarantee a 4.0, which would land a kid in the top 1.5% over the kids who took harder courses but maybe got an A- in something.

Haven't you heard? Merit, innate talent and hard work don't matter anymore. Equity over everything else now. USA is on the fast track to socialism now, baby!!! If you're curious what life will be like in the coming years, just ask anyone from Cuba, Venezuela, China, Zimbabwe, Soviet countries, etc. This is only the beginning.

Unbelievable. Why would you assume that kids getting in under the new system don't have innate talent or that they don't work hard?

I am a TJ mom of a 9th grader who is thriving there and will welcome the incoming freshmen in with open arms. Her teachers are NOT at all opposed to the new admissions process. They are paid to TEACH and that is what they will do. And, she has had amazing teachers - even for math.

Agree with your sentiment.. However, the OP was about how much TJ's teaching will have to change and I don't think it won't change by much. Teachers will still expect the same level of effort from the kids as they do now. This will definitely impact kids who are expecting to have a "normal" base-school like experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS in court said TJ is not a gifted school, so there is no guarantee they are looking for students in advanced classes.

FALSE. The court ruled that TJ IS a gifted school. Stop spreading fake information.

I'm not familiar with court rulings in this case. I was talking about what was argued by the defendant.

[Anonymous]

I am a TJ mom of a 9th grader who is thriving there and will welcome the incoming freshmen in with open arms. Her teachers are NOT at all opposed to the new admissions process. They are paid to TEACH and that is what they will do. And, she has had amazing teachers - even for math.

Agree with your sentiment.. However, the OP was about how much TJ's teaching will have to change and I don't think it won't change by much. Teachers will still expect the same level of effort from the kids as they do now. This will definitely impact kids who are expecting to have a "normal" base-school like experience.

Given that they are making all these changes in response to accusations of discrimination, I think teachers will be under a lot of pressure not to have minorities doing poorly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I am a TJ mom of a 9th grader who is thriving there and will welcome the incoming freshmen in with open arms. Her teachers are NOT at all opposed to the new admissions process. They are paid to TEACH and that is what they will do. And, she has had amazing teachers - even for math.

Agree with your sentiment.. However, the OP was about how much TJ's teaching will have to change and I don't think it won't change by much. Teachers will still expect the same level of effort from the kids as they do now. This will definitely impact kids who are expecting to have a "normal" base-school like experience.

Given that they are making all these changes in response to accusations of discrimination, I think teachers will be under a lot of pressure not to have minorities doing poorly.

Why is everyone operating under the assumption that the "minorities" somehow need "help"?

Here's how I think things will play out based on the assumption that Asians will be down to 50%, Whites up to 40% and Hispanics/Blacks to 10% (Don't recall the exact numbers. Will leave it to the pedantic among you to correct this).

The really smart 2-4% at the top will not be impacted by any of this. This could be Asians, Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, or whatever.. They will excel in whatever is thrown at them and do well in all scenarios. ONLY if the lottery helps identify more people in this group, is it a win. If not, it's a dumb idea as a lot of people claim.

Scenario 1: TJ teachers are "fearful" of backlash and ease things up to make the "minorities" feel welcome. Winner = Asians. Asians will be at the top end of the class with less competition. They will have higher GPAs as a group and will have more time for ECs, etc. to round things up for them. Losers: Those who do not put in the effort to score the highest GPAs. Best part: They won't even know about it until they are done with TJ.

Scenario 2: TJ teachers couldn't GAF about these changes and continue things as they are now. Winner = Asians. They are coming into TJ prepared for this scenario. They will keep up with the teachers and score higher GPAs, etc. Losers: Those who can't keep up and wish they hadn't picked up that lottery ticket. Most will drop off to go back to base after year 1.

Any other scenarios?

[Anonymous]

It is going to be interesting.

[Anonymous]

Posted this on another thread, but the one significant change that you're going to see is in the level of incoming advancement in math for the new freshmen class.

They'll be every bit as INTELLIGENT, MOTIVATED, and CAPABLE - they just won't be walking in ready to take Pre-Calc, BC, and beyond on Day 1. Advancement in math does not necessarily indicate interest, intelligence, or aptitude for STEM - what it indicates is usually opportunity and parental ambition.

This will happen because the admissions process will no longer self-select for students who are this far advanced in math, in part because it does not rely on an exam that significantly favors students who have been exposed to concepts of logic and spatial thinking that are heavily emphasized in a traditional Honors Geometry course.

So you won't see TJ being any less rigorous - you'll just see it slightly less advanced from a pure math perspective.