Time for a mutiny yet? MCPS = crummy math, no grammar, poor writing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think she is justifying it. Some want to pay for a better education with families that care about education. I wish I could afford that type of learning atmosphere. I feel like my school is a giant daycare to most of the families in our school. There are always discipline issues, disruptions, and so many kids that need basic preschool learning that my child does not get a decent education unless I offer a lot of other things at home.

I really, really wish that people would stop with the belief that families doing their best to function under difficult economic and social conditions are families that don't care about education. Most parents love and want good for their children. This is true for most middle-class, more-educated parents, and it's also true for most low-income, less-educated parents.

YES! JESUS!

Yes yes yes!!

I used to work for an organization that runs parent education workshops (among other things) in struggling DCPS schools (so all in Anacostia or deep NE). The parents who went to those workshops were almost all 1) poor, 2) not college-educated themselves, and 3) DESPERATE for their kids to get a great education. All they wanted to know about was how to get their kids into the charter schools (aka the best option they had for them). We had grandmothers taking care of young kids on their own because the parents are in prison, people who couldn't read children's books trying to figure out how to petition the DC Council to fix the school's broken playground equipment, etc.

These people were driven like no other. Our job was to help them advocate for their kids by arming them with information they didn't know how to access. The fact that anyone would suggest otherwise is astonishingly offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think all parents, from all walks of life, want the best for their kids. Just like all human beings want to have a fit, healthy, strong and athletic body.

However, not all parents put in the time. effort and money towards their children education for a variety of reasons, just like not everyone puts in the effort towards the fit, healthy, strong and athletic body. In other words, wanting something is not the same as doing something. Parents can want the best education for their children but for that they need to make that a priority over anything else in their lives. It needs a priority over their leisurely weekend, it needs to be a priority over summer vacations, it needs to be a priority over a whole lot of non-essentials.

Yes. We can easily afford private school, but just because we choose not spend our money on it does not mean we are not prioritizing our kids education. We wholeheartedly think that we are doing the best for our kids by putting them in public school! YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think all parents, from all walks of life, want the best for their kids. Just like all human beings want to have a fit, healthy, strong and athletic body.

However, not all parents put in the time. effort and money towards their children education for a variety of reasons, just like not everyone puts in the effort towards the fit, healthy, strong and athletic body. In other words, wanting something is not the same as doing something. Parents can want the best education for their children but for that they need to make that a priority over anything else in their lives. It needs a priority over their leisurely weekend, it needs to be a priority over summer vacations, it needs to be a priority over a whole lot of non-essentials.

Huh. In my middle-class family, here are some things that are a higher priority than our children's education:

1. Maintain paid employment.
2. Keep a roof over our heads and food on the table.
3. Address urgent health care needs as they arise.

How about in your family?

Now, how about in the families of people who have far more difficult circumstances than I do (or maybe you do, but I don't know about you)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Kirwan commission has been pretty harsh about the state of Maryland education and the path it needs to take to restore itself to its former glory. But it looks like Annapolis is less interested in funding that than throwing tax breaks at Amazon.

Yes and yet Maryland still rank #1

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/how-states-compare

Or #37 when student demographics are taken into account: https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-do-states-really-stack-2015-naep

Oh right, demographics eh? And 2015?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hah...nice try! Another MCPS parent in complete denial.

DP.

Me: My kids are getting a good education in MCPS.
You: No, they're not!

PP here. I am just basing my assumption on the fact that there are 18 pages of unhappy mcps parents whining about the lack of grammar and writing instruction among other things. Perhaps you are happy, but that doesn't mean the curriculum is competitive with the rest of the country/world and private schools that are light years ahead of mcps.

18 pages of mostly private schools parents trying to bash MCPS.
MCPS is the most competitive school system in the DC area. It is proven in any academic competition. Period.
The "least desirable "school in MCPS will beat the best any other school system has to offer, that includes the privates .
When was the last time a school other than MCPS has won the "it's academics " competition?

That’s the measure of it all, right? A Saturday morning half hour trivia bowl? The kids that win automatically get a BS from MIT after all.

Also, it’s ‘It’s Academic’

Let me simplify it for you.
You all can't even compete with MCPS in this simple trivia bowl, even after paying up $40000 . Don't even need to mention STEM competitions.
Like I said, keep bashing the big dog so you can feel better about paying for an inferior product.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I highly doubt private school parents are thinking about MCPS so much they’d fill 18 pages—the most notable posts in this thread are from disappointed public school parents sharing their anecdotal evidence and concerns.

Just read the posts and you will see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hah...nice try! Another MCPS parent in complete denial.

DP.

Me: My kids are getting a good education in MCPS.
You: No, they're not!

PP here. I am just basing my assumption on the fact that there are 18 pages of unhappy mcps parents whining about the lack of grammar and writing instruction among other things. Perhaps you are happy, but that doesn't mean the curriculum is competitive with the rest of the country/world and private schools that are light years ahead of mcps.

18 pages of mostly private schools parents trying to bash MCPS.
MCPS is the most competitive school system in the DC area. It is proven in any academic competition. Period.
The "least desirable "school in MCPS will beat the best any other school system has to offer, that includes the privates .
When was the last time a school other than MCPS has won the "it's academics " competition?

That’s the measure of it all, right? A Saturday morning half hour trivia bowl? The kids that win automatically get a BS from MIT after all.

Also, it’s ‘It’s Academic’

Let me simplify it for you.
You all can't even compete with MCPS in this simple trivia bowl, even after paying up $40000 . Don't even need to mention STEM competitions.
Like I said, keep bashing the big dog so you can feel better about paying for an inferior product.

Your response doesn't make any sense. Of course the top students in a 50,000 student pool will beat private school kids. That doesn't tell you anything about the quality of education in MCPS versus privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Your response doesn't make any sense. Of course the top students in a 50,000 student pool will beat private school kids. That doesn't tell you anything about the quality of education in MCPS versus privates.

Why doesn't it? If the MCPS students, who are receiving an MCPS education, are beating the [Insert Name of Private School Here] students, who are receiving a [Insert Name of Private School Here] education?

If you think that you're getting your money's worth from your checks to your private school, that's great. Be happy, and please stop telling me that my kids in MCPS are getting a crummy education. I don't think they are, and I know more about my kids' education than you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Your response doesn't make any sense. Of course the top students in a 50,000 student pool will beat private school kids. That doesn't tell you anything about the quality of education in MCPS versus privates.

Why doesn't it? If the MCPS students, who are receiving an MCPS education, are beating the [Insert Name of Private School Here] students, who are receiving a [Insert Name of Private School Here] education?

If you think that you're getting your money's worth from your checks to your private school, that's great. Be happy, and please stop telling me that my kids in MCPS are getting a crummy education. I don't think they are, and I know more about my kids' education than you do.

Because whether kids perform well on It's Academic is mostly a reflection of inherent ability that has little to do with the quality of education they are receiving. You could hand me the WISC-V scores of a bunch of 5 year olds and I could tell you which ones will be the best students in 10 years. Whether they go to MCPS or private won't fundamentally change any of that.

I know kids who have been threatened with expulsion from MCPS for consistently sleeping in class, yet they get straight As because they can just show up and ace every exam without being awake for a single second of instruction. Their performance isn't a reflection of the quality of MCPS, it's a reflection of their own abilities.

If you have data that shows that kids in the 50th percentile of MCPS beat private school kids in the 50th percentile of their class, that would be more interesting data about the two environments than whether the top kids in a 50,000 population happen to outperform the top kids in a smaller population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hah...nice try! Another MCPS parent in complete denial.

DP.

Me: My kids are getting a good education in MCPS.
You: No, they're not!

PP here. I am just basing my assumption on the fact that there are 18 pages of unhappy mcps parents whining about the lack of grammar and writing instruction among other things. Perhaps you are happy, but that doesn't mean the curriculum is competitive with the rest of the country/world and private schools that are light years ahead of mcps.

18 pages of mostly private schools parents trying to bash MCPS.
MCPS is the most competitive school system in the DC area. It is proven in any academic competition. Period.
The "least desirable "school in MCPS will beat the best any other school system has to offer, that includes the privates .
When was the last time a school other than MCPS has won the "it's academics " competition?

I still don't get it. You say MCPS wins in competitions. That is all well and good, but don't you think that is based on sheer numbers? If you have a team of MCPS students numbering in the tens of thousands competing with a couple thousand private school students, of course you are going to have an advantage. If you think just because the brightest of the brightest at MCPS (likely from magnet schools) are winning these competitions makes MCPS a good place for your DC, well good for you. Perhaps it is. But for many (mainly those in the middle who fly under the radar), it is not. And the sad thing is most parents don't even realize their kid is getting a crappy education. It is too hard to change a system of its magnitude. That is why we just left the system.

No, it's not based on sheer numbers otherwise schools with lot more magnet students would have won more and leading the pack. But they are not.
Like I said, even the so called "least desirable "schools in MCPS can go head to head with the best others have to offer.
No one in MCPS is getting a crappy education. That's the fake news being spread by haters, private schools parents and those who wish for "whiter" MCPS.
MCPS does have its problems but it's still better than anything in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We can afford private schools and we looked into it extensively. Unfortunately, they are not the best place for highly gifted children. MCPS magnet programs are what best suited our children and they were able to go there. However, they were prepared to go to the magnet programs, by the education they got in MCPS ES. Now they are in MCPS magnet HS.

We have revisited private schools each and every time time we were apprehensive about if they would be accepted or not into the program. In other words, we looked at private schools when it came time to apply to MS and HS magnets. Each time, the private schools were far inferior in terms of rigor, EC activities and peer group. And I have two kids in magnet HS now.

Another thing I noticed that private schools had more kids who had learning or behavior issues who are in the regular classes. I did not want disruptions in the classroom regardless of if the parent of the disruptive child was donating megabucks. YMMV.

For now, MCPS is better than what is being offered by any school in this region. I do admit that it is not high praise for the school system in US as a whole.

For clarity, are you talking about Blair SMAC and Takoma Park, or RMIB? Also, when you looked at privates, are you including DC privates or the ones in MoCo?

The public schools magnet program were in MCPS - test in admissions. The private schools we looked at were in DMV area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We can afford private schools and we looked into it extensively. Unfortunately, they are not the best place for highly gifted children. MCPS magnet programs are what best suited our children and they were able to go there. However, they were prepared to go to the magnet programs, by the education they got in MCPS ES. Now they are in MCPS magnet HS.

We have revisited private schools each and every time time we were apprehensive about if they would be accepted or not into the program. In other words, we looked at private schools when it came time to apply to MS and HS magnets. Each time, the private schools were far inferior in terms of rigor, EC activities and peer group. And I have two kids in magnet HS now.

Another thing I noticed that private schools had more kids who had learning or behavior issues who are in the regular classes. I did not want disruptions in the classroom regardless of if the parent of the disruptive child was donating megabucks. YMMV.

For now, MCPS is better than what is being offered by any school in this region. I do admit that it is not high praise for the school system in US as a whole.

For clarity, are you talking about Blair SMAC and Takoma Park, or RMIB? Also, when you looked at privates, are you including DC privates or the ones in MoCo?

The public schools magnet program were in MCPS - test in admissions. The private schools we looked at were in DMV area.

You're not really answering my question. For example, I think Blair/TP math and computer science are in a different league to most of the other MCPS magnet programs. I also think the rigor at places like the Cathedral schools is quite different than what you get at privates in MoCo. I think it's quite a stretch to say that what's offered in MCPS is "better than what is being offered by any school in the region." There are some excellent MCPS magnet programs, but they also have their weaknesses. Similarly, there are some privates in the DMV that offer a well-rounded education that is tough to find in MCPS IMO. Overall, I think it's very hard to say either is necessarily "better".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Because whether kids perform well on It's Academic is mostly a reflection of inherent ability that has little to do with the quality of education they are receiving. You could hand me the WISC-V scores of a bunch of 5 year olds and I could tell you which ones will be the best students in 10 years. Whether they go to MCPS or private won't fundamentally change any of that.

I know kids who have been threatened with expulsion from MCPS for consistently sleeping in class, yet they get straight As because they can just show up and ace every exam without being awake for a single second of instruction. Their performance isn't a reflection of the quality of MCPS, it's a reflection of their own abilities.

If you have data that shows that kids in the 50th percentile of MCPS beat private school kids in the 50th percentile of their class, that would be more interesting data about the two environments than whether the top kids in a 50,000 population happen to outperform the top kids in a smaller population.

Um.

You're the one who says that private school education -- at any private school, apparently -- is better than an MCPS education. You go find the data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think all parents, from all walks of life, want the best for their kids. Just like all human beings want to have a fit, healthy, strong and athletic body.

However, not all parents put in the time. effort and money towards their children education for a variety of reasons, just like not everyone puts in the effort towards the fit, healthy, strong and athletic body. In other words, wanting something is not the same as doing something. Parents can want the best education for their children but for that they need to make that a priority over anything else in their lives. It needs a priority over their leisurely weekend, it needs to be a priority over summer vacations, it needs to be a priority over a whole lot of non-essentials.

Huh. In my middle-class family, here are some things that are a higher priority than our children's education:

1. Maintain paid employment.
2. Keep a roof over our heads and food on the table.
3. Address urgent health care needs as they arise.

How about in your family?

Now, how about in the families of people who have far more difficult circumstances than I do (or maybe you do, but I don't know about you)?

Fair enough. So after your prioritize your job and basic needs like shelter, food, security and medicine. What other thing are you doing for your kids education?

Let me pose the same question in another way.

Even the poorest of Asian students are doing well inspite of the same priorties many of us have (job, basic needs, financial security) - http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/why-asian-students-well-parents-are-the-primary-educators/54Dqdw1fhAMEn5xdsBN5SM/ , so how are you teaching your children?

Just wanting the best for your children is not enough. You have to be investing your time in their education. I speak this as a parent of a high achieving MCPS student.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/04/asian-students-carry-high-expectations-for-success/2615483/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think all parents, from all walks of life, want the best for their kids. Just like all human beings want to have a fit, healthy, strong and athletic body.

However, not all parents put in the time. effort and money towards their children education for a variety of reasons, just like not everyone puts in the effort towards the fit, healthy, strong and athletic body. In other words, wanting something is not the same as doing something. Parents can want the best education for their children but for that they need to make that a priority over anything else in their lives. It needs a priority over their leisurely weekend, it needs to be a priority over summer vacations, it needs to be a priority over a whole lot of non-essentials.

Huh. In my middle-class family, here are some things that are a higher priority than our children's education:

1. Maintain paid employment.
2. Keep a roof over our heads and food on the table.
3. Address urgent health care needs as they arise.

How about in your family?

Now, how about in the families of people who have far more difficult circumstances than I do (or maybe you do, but I don't know about you)?

Fair enough. So after your prioritize your job and basic needs like shelter, food, security and medicine. What other thing are you doing for your kids education?

Let me pose the same question in another way.

Even the poorest of Asian students are doing well inspite of the same priorties many of us have (job, basic needs, financial security) - http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/why-asian-students-well-parents-are-the-primary-educators/54Dqdw1fhAMEn5xdsBN5SM/ , so how are you teaching your children?

Just wanting the best for your children is not enough. You have to be investing your time in their education. I speak this as a parent of a high achieving MCPS student.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/04/asian-students-carry-high-expectations-for-success/2615483/