TJ language

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids both took TJ Spanish. Not native speakers. Did great. Not hard if you treat it like a real class. Most TJ students don’t do that and in other languages they get away with it. So I guess Spanish is “harder” in that sense. But not hard. Plenty of kids take it. There are many teachers.

Maybe your kids have a natural proficiency for language but the general consensus at TJ among the students is that spanish is the hardest class and kids are wishing they switched to german their freshman year. It's like everyone else is taking 16 credits and the spanish language kids are taking 20 credits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids both took TJ Spanish. Not native speakers. Did great. Not hard if you treat it like a real class. Most TJ students don’t do that and in other languages they get away with it. So I guess Spanish is “harder” in that sense. But not hard. Plenty of kids take it. There are many teachers.

Maybe your kids have a natural proficiency for language but the general consensus at TJ among the students is that spanish is the hardest class and kids are wishing they switched to german their freshman year. It's like everyone else is taking 16 credits and the spanish language kids are taking 20 credits.

We heard the same from almost everyone whenDD started at TJ - to NOT take Spanish and are glad we took the advice. DD took German and LOVES it. The teacher is awesome and so is the class/language. For kids who want to do nothing and get straight A's take Russian Apparently there is practically nothing taiught/learnt and kids get straight As - DDs bestie has taken Russian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids both took TJ Spanish. Not native speakers. Did great. Not hard if you treat it like a real class. Most TJ students don’t do that and in other languages they get away with it. So I guess Spanish is “harder” in that sense. But not hard. Plenty of kids take it. There are many teachers.

Maybe your kids have a natural proficiency for language but the general consensus at TJ among the students is that spanish is the hardest class and kids are wishing they switched to german their freshman year. It's like everyone else is taking 16 credits and the spanish language kids are taking 20 credits.

We heard the same from almost everyone whenDD started at TJ - to NOT take Spanish and are glad we took the advice. DD took German and LOVES it. The teacher is awesome and so is the class/language. For kids who want to do nothing and get straight A's take Russian Apparently there is practically nothing taiught/learnt and kids get straight As - DDs bestie has taken Russian.

DD also switched from Spanish to German when starting TJ (thank God). She really enjoys it and I agree the teacher is wonderful.

[Anonymous]

What about French and Latin? Where do they fall on the Spanish (hard) to Russian (easy) spectrum?

[Anonymous]

Not to be contrarian, but my kid has found Spanish at TJ to be pretty easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son was advised to not take Spanish since it is extremely hard at TJ. He took German and LOVES it.

In the other TJ thread about rank falling to 14, someone wrote “Bonitatibus has ruined the foreign languages department since she started at TJ.” Anyone know what this means?

And why would Spanish be harder at TJ than other languages? Is it the teacher or it is taught at faster speed?

TJ Spanish curriculum condenses 4 years of FCPS Spanish or 5 years of LCPS Spanish into just 3 years at TJ. So the student is ready to take AP Spanish, right after TJ Spanish 3, without needing an additional year.

Moreover, TJ empasizes on getting to working proficiency of Spanish, meaning student must develop fluent speaking skill. It is relatively easy to develop reading/writing and listening skill in a language, but developing speaking skill is relatively more difficult. TJ Spanish requires developing speaking skill.

Furthermore, TJ places emphasis on attaining a working proficiency level in Spanish, which requires students to develop fluent speaking skills. While it is relatively easier to develop reading, writing, and listening skills in a language, developing speaking skills is comparatively more challenging. TJ Spanish focuses on the development of speaking skills.

This is not specific to TJ Spanish. In the United States, Spanish is widely regarded as a second language, spoken by over 40 million people. Therefore, there are higher expectations for teachers to impart sufficient depth in teaching it, and for students to learn it effectively for future use in the workplace.

On the other hand, German is more commonly perceived as an academic language, with fewer speakers in the US, and is primarily useful when traveling to German-speaking countries. As a result, teachers tend to adjust the course rigor accordingly.

What in the ChatGPT?

Explain yourself, poster.

This is not organic content.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to be contrarian, but my kid has found Spanish at TJ to be pretty easy.

Same for mine. She’s currently taking AP and finds it a breeze.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son was advised to not take Spanish since it is extremely hard at TJ. He took German and LOVES it.

In the other TJ thread about rank falling to 14, someone wrote “Bonitatibus has ruined the foreign languages department since she started at TJ.” Anyone know what this means?

And why would Spanish be harder at TJ than other languages? Is it the teacher or it is taught at faster speed?

Bonitatibus seems more like a status quo cheerleader running around as TJ continues on its usual course. She doesn't appear to have the leadership skills or STEM knowledge to make a change, improve, or set new direction. Constantly mentions GPS without any apparent reason, baffles everyone.

She has to somehow keep the bottom from falling out and the wheels from coming off while making the diversity effort seems successful somehow.
Keeping her head above water is about all she can manage right now.

I don't know where you get these false stories but TJ is now stronger than ever and a lot less toxic too. Bonitatibus played a large part in making it a safer and healthier place for our students.

I guess I'm getting it from the drop in ranking, the 120 point drop in PSAT scores, the dramatic drop in SOL advance pass rates, the 50% drop in national merit semi-finalists, the number of AIME and IMO participants. Pretty much every objective academic metric that comes up is worse now and Bonitatubus has to put lipstick on that pig.

Having students with different academic credentials doesn't make it a worse school. It makes it a healthy mix more like the Ivy League schools that TJ parents obsess over. The top kids are happy to be at the top, and the non-top kids are happy to be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is contemplating between taking Spanish 2 and German 1 at TJ. They heard that Spanish was quite difficult, but they took spanish 1 last year. Is it better to take Spanish 2 or German 1 at TJ if dc doesn't like learning languages very much?

Which language does DC actually want?

You can go back to Spanish 1, use the lag to study ahead to make Spanish less stressful than students who are starting Spanish for the first time at TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son was advised to not take Spanish since it is extremely hard at TJ. He took German and LOVES it.

In the other TJ thread about rank falling to 14, someone wrote “Bonitatibus has ruined the foreign languages department since she started at TJ.” Anyone know what this means?

And why would Spanish be harder at TJ than other languages? Is it the teacher or it is taught at faster speed?

She axed the Japanese language program without giving indication to current students. The Russian program is gone too.

[Anonymous]

TJ class of 24 parent. My DC HATED Spanish at TJ. Teachers were horrible and Spanish 3 teacher don’t right rude to DC. She made at least 3 kids in his class cry.

DC dropped Spanish after his Spanish 3 class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son was advised to not take Spanish since it is extremely hard at TJ. He took German and LOVES it.

In the other TJ thread about rank falling to 14, someone wrote “Bonitatibus has ruined the foreign languages department since she started at TJ.” Anyone know what this means?

And why would Spanish be harder at TJ than other languages? Is it the teacher or it is taught at faster speed?

Russian 1, 2, 3 is being added back next year.

She axed the Japanese language program without giving indication to current students. The Russian program is gone too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about French and Latin? Where do they fall on the Spanish (hard) to Russian (easy) spectrum?

The Latin students at TJ simply LOVE the whole program! The Latin club is super fun and popular; it is one of the favorites.

Plus, seeing Latin on a transcript is highly valued by the Ivies.