From HGC to non-magnet middle school - what's it been like for your child?

[Anonymous]

Assuming your child loved the HGC experience (which mine has), how did s/he find the change in pace or work load? Thanks for any information you can provide.

[Anonymous]

Very very easy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very very easy

The kids that were a year ahead of my daughter said the same thing.

[Anonymous]

easy in a bad way...like disappointing?

[Anonymous]

At times disappointing..however I don't think my child wishes she had applied to a Magnet middle. Her HGC friends were heading back to our neighborhood school so the idea of going to a magnet alone was not appealing. The commute would have interfered with outside interests. Perhaps it would have been different if she had applied and been rejected. She can apply for HS if she chooses.

[Anonymous]

Great question. For our HGC kid there is no choice but to apply to MS Magnet because our own home MS sucks big time.

[Anonymous]

Awful...totally not challenging, gotten all A's in 6th grade this year w/out even trying; hardly any homework, very low expectations

[Anonymous]

Are any of you at Pyle? We're probably headed there next year as the commute to Takoma wouldn't work for our DC.

[Anonymous]

Great, back with the neighborhood and has time for time hockey and swimming instead of long bus commutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Awful...totally not challenging, gotten all A's in 6th grade this year w/out even trying; hardly any homework, very low expectations

+1

Very easy in a bad way. And she misses her HGC friends (still).

[Anonymous]

For those of you who found home middle school to be easy with low expectations - do you happen to be on the eastern part of the county? I am and this is my fear.

[Anonymous]

Look for the math team, debate etc that allow for additional challenges outside of class.

[Anonymous]

I have heard from several non HGC kids that 6th grade is a pretty easy year, they basically ease them in and then 7th grade becomes much harder and even more homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At times disappointing..however I don't think my child wishes she had applied to a Magnet middle. Her HGC friends were heading back to our neighborhood school so the idea of going to a magnet alone was not appealing. The commute would have interfered with outside interests. Perhaps it would have been different if she had applied and been rejected. She can apply for HS if she chooses.

This was exactly our thought process. We zone for Pyle, so we also didn't feel like there would be any real disadvantage to returning to the home school, certainly not enough to override the commute, loss of EC time, and social impact concerns. So our kid did not apply to any magnets. Would be interested in hearing from parents of kids who returned from HGC to Pyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At times disappointing..however I don't think my child wishes she had applied to a Magnet middle. Her HGC friends were heading back to our neighborhood school so the idea of going to a magnet alone was not appealing. The commute would have interfered with outside interests. Perhaps it would have been different if she had applied and been rejected. She can apply for HS if she chooses.

This was exactly our thought process. We zone for Pyle, so we also didn't feel like there would be any real disadvantage to returning to the home school, certainly not enough to override the commute, loss of EC time, and social impact concerns. So our kid did not apply to any magnets. Would be interested in hearing from parents of kids who returned from HGC to Pyle.

How is Pyle different from other middle schools vis-a-vis there being any "real disadvantage"?