MS focus on math all the time
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Anonymous
Ignorant to pretend Asians aren’t dominating maths and sciences. I was talking about my experience only. I have no idea who plays what except my school. My daughter went to a summer enrichment program that had the arts, academics and sports. When my daughter walked in to the math class the teacher asked her if she was a basketball player. I could say it was racist of her to say something like that. The academics program had only a couple of non Asians and the basketball program had none. And no, the kids who are obsessive about sports wouldn’t be called creative and certainly wouldn’t be called better . And sports parents can be obnoxious, no doubt. |
Anonymous
Because they play tennis |
Anonymous
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OP, what is your issue? Why so triggered that others talk about their kids? Sheeesh - if you don't like the conversation, what is stopping you from finding other people to talk with? Why so offended that someone else enjoys and even excels in a subject different than your kid's favorite?
And for the record, it isn't either or - plenty of math kids are creative, great at writing/editing, voracious readers, artsy, musical, sporty, charismatic, etc. And some people don't care for any of these things. what's up with all the closed-minded stereotypes on this thread? What a strange thread. |
Anonymous
Really? Mine is in Mathcounts, RSM, rec soccer, and Scouts. He spends more time with soccer in a week and Scouts over the course if the month. He loves math competitions and backpacking. And yes, he does just fine in his other classes. He is not the strongest writer but we are working on that. |
Anonymous
While I don’t agree with all the comments in this thread, OP does have a point in the general sentiment of ELA skills not being nurtured and valued in the same way math is. It’s exceedingly rare for a middle school to offer anything beyond grade level “honors” ELA. Which, let’s be frank, is still pretty dumbed down. Yet, nearly all middle schools offer 9th grade math (Alg I), and many others offering geometry as well. There are even middle schools that will facilitate kids taking Alg II and precalc through various ways if they need it. But the kids that want ELA enrichment are left to source it on their own. |
Anonymous
This may be a case of "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence." I do not think math kids are that highly valued at all. I recall one of my kid's friends doing extremely well at a difficult and prestigious national math competition. Not a single announcement was made at the school. Nothing in the school newspaper, no celebration at all. I felt truly bad for the kid because you know all the sports victories were celebrated at the school. As for gifted education, public schools may give kids the chance to move ahead in math classes, but they are still mostly mediocre classes that are nothing like what kids in foreign countries get. The kids who are great at math usually have to learn this stuff on their own unless their parents can afford Russian math or some other supplemental program. Just like the kids who are brilliant at ELA are reading their own novels, working on their own writing on their own time. |
Anonymous
Maybe not in elementary, so yes, they need to supplement at home. But by middle schools, these kids are literally taught upper level high school in their middle school. They are given opportunities to participate in math competitions, math clubs, etc. There just isn’t that acceleration for English, nor are promoting essay competitions or any other extra writing opportunities (or even teaching writing for that matter). It is pretty much a forgotten subject. |
Anonymous
Some racist postings from someone who can’t even spell “cocky”. |
Anonymous
About 75% of FCPS students will take Algebra 1 by the end of MS. 8th graders can chose between Algebra 1 or Honors, 7th graders all take H. I was a kid who took three years of regular math in HS and then stopped, I have learning issues which made math really challenging for me. I took stats in college and worked hard for my C. I was an A student in most of my classes, math was the exception, and my learning issues explain that. My kid is naturally inclined to math; he loves it and is one of the white kids in his Mathcounts club at MS. I am happy for him that math is intuitive and impressed with his willingness to work hard at the subject to do well in math competitions, which translates to doing well in his math class at school. His accomplishments are no different than kids who make the all-star team in their sport, which we have no problem celebrating, or the kid who wins debate tournaments. But if I post that he scored in the 95th percentile on AMC 10 as a 7th grader, people point a finger that we are tiger parents and bragging about his math ability. They can post about their kid scoring 2 goals in soccer or a touchdown in football or hitting homeruns in softball or baseball and everyone praises that. So I don't post it, I also don't post when he scores in soccer or has a great game. |
Anonymous
But the big difference is your kid- and most others are given extra acceleration opportunities and extra clubs to further promote their math skills. But kids aren’t given opportunities to accelerate in English. Schools aren’t offering 9/10 honors English to middle schoolers- or prompting literature clubs or any of the national essay competitions open to this age group. |
Anonymous
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There are plenty of literature/writing competitions - Reflections is one and that is heavily promoted by MCPS. Scholastic competitions is another. A 1 minute Google search will give you dozens of writing competitions. MS has book club as an after school activity. HS have plenty of writing clubs. The public library has kid writing clubs. There are plenty of opportunities.
Even math has to be enriched on one's own. I enriched my kids in both math and writing. The school system is not there to solely teach your kid - the school is there to help you teach your own kid. That is the difference right there - that difference in perspective between the families whose kids excels and those who don't. It is YOUR job as parents to raise and teach your kids - you enlist the school to help you with that endeavor, not to completely replace you. So much whining about other people not taking care of your own kid. |
Anonymous
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This feels like a false dichotomy, particularly when talking about clubs.
For example, there is acceleration in math but not any other STEM classes like the sciences. Is that fair? On the other hand schools offer theater programs, and music, and arts as electives and clubs but not sciences. Picking one STEM area that has several clearly identifiable offerings and comparing it to one humanities offering that doesn’t seems like a false comparison. I think if you compare STEM as a whole to Humanities as a whole it becomes much more balanced. |
Anonymous
Kids are given the chance to accelerate in English through AAP and then Honors/AAP classes. My kid is in Geometry as an 8th grader; he could have accelerated further by taking Geometry this summer but choose camps and fun activities over math class. He followed the advanced math/AAP path that FCPS has. Twenty percent of the kids in the County are in AAP and another group is in the Advanced Math only track. The same acceleration for LA exists in AAP. I believe that there are DE LA classes in HS as well as the AP offerings. How would you suggest that a kid be accelerated in LA? Your kid start a club for creative writing or a book club to discuss more advanced books after school. The HS that DS is supposed to attend does not have math clubs, outside of the honor society. Other HS in FCPS have 2-3 dedicated math clubs. If DS wants to continue with team math competitions in HS, and he does not get accepted at TJ, he will have to start a club at his HS. I am sure that there are LA clubs/groups that your kid can search for and start at school. |
Anonymous
Our FCPS ES promoted a reading program, Virginia Reads, and a writing competition, I can't remember the name. I would bet that there are book clubs and writing groups in the after-school program at my kids MS, I am not sure what they are because my kid isn't interested in them. I know that there is debate club. The schools that tend to have fewer kids in A1H and GH in MS are also the schools that don't have mathcounts in MS. You need to have an interest in the activity for their to be clubs and programs at the school. Some of the MS have 120 kids trying to get into mathcounts or Science Olympiad, other schools have limited to no real interest so the clubs are small or don't exist. |
Anonymous
“Honors” English isn’t the same. Unless your kid is receiving high school credits for these honors English classes. Your kid in geometry in 8th will have already received 2 yrs of high school credit for math before they even enter 9th grade. That same is not true for these BS honors English classes. Come back when kids can receive credit for 9th and 10 the grade English in middle school and have the ability to start high school in honors 11 English or AP English |