Am I crazy to be considering 6th at Hardy over Deal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm rooting for Hardy, too, but I think it has farther to go than the other posters appear to believe. All of the tours visit that advanced STEM class, and the kids are really impressive. But it's a tiny percentage of kids at Hardy who are in advanced math (7th grade algebra). I think it was 5-10%. Does anyone know the numbers for Deal?

Only 30% total at Hardy are at least in grade level math, meaning algebra in either 7th or 8th. 70% at Hardy are below grade level for math, meaning that they will take algebra for the first time in high school and miss a chance to take calculus. This might not seem important to you if your oldest child is still in elementary school, but believe me, it will matter to you when your child is applying for Walls or Banneker or trying for higher-level classes at Wilson, and even more when the college process starts.

Using the excuse that this is because more than 70% of Hardy kids are OOB is insulting to those children. Surely more than a few children over the years have been ready for advanced math, or could have been given the preparation while at Hardy to be prepared by high school. To think otherwise is to believe that a child's math trajectory is set in stone by age 10, which is ridiculous. Great schools take children as they come but they don't stop there, keeping everyone on the track they were on when they arrived. They identify the ones who can speed ahead if given a chance, and they work to make it happen. They don't wait for their in-boundary demographics to change and then claim improved results as their own success.

Hardy also offers nothing for children with existing foreign language skills, especially native Spanish speakers. Totally different league from Deal in this area.

I'm hopeful that Hardy will commit to making progress in math and languages by the time my youngest is ready for middle school in a few years. I think if it can rededicate itself to these areas, it will be a solid choice for both in-boundary and OOB families. But I don't think it's a peer to Deal at this point.

Only in DC to somebody who doesn't know what they're talking about speak with such authority. Algebra 1 in 9th grade is grade-level on a national level. How have you done such a deep dive when you only have a what. 7-year-old?

This. Furthermore, as someone with a PhD in a close relative of math, the current thinking, I'm told, is to teach math slowly so that middle and high school students get an intuitive feel for the big concepts. Taking a derivative and setting it equal to zero is well and good, but understanding why this is how you solve an optimization problem is the real point. Research has now found that rushing students in math produces proficiency in the former but deficiency in the latter.

This depth of understanding is what CC is all about. Even with that, many kids are gaining a deep understand and still advancing faster than their peers. It seems that this really kicks in between 3rd and 6th, which makes a lot of kids ready for Algebra in 7th and 8th. Even in Algebra, they are not just being shown how to solve problems, they are studying the problems questioning the results and explaining the whys and hows as they go. They are also required to apply the math to real world simulated problems and tasks. It is so different from the way I learned math. And possibly because they are learning the depth, they are "getting it" faster.

[Anonymous]

You're replying to me.

I agree and support common core. I've tried to defend it to other parents by asking them to answer simple
math questions and describe the actual steps they used. Overwhelmingly, they already use common core methods without being taught them or being aware they were using them. (The easiest example is to find the product of 9 and 12. Almost everyone remotely math-competent will do 10*12-12.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're replying to me.

I agree and support common core. I've tried to defend it to other parents by asking them to answer simple
math questions and describe the actual steps they used. Overwhelmingly, they already use common core methods without being taught them or being aware they were using them. (The easiest example is to find the product of 9 and 12. Almost everyone remotely math-competent will do 10*12-12.)

(9x10)+(9x2)? Not Common Core, huh? Which one is this? Singapore math?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're replying to me.

I agree and support common core. I've tried to defend it to other parents by asking them to answer simple
math questions and describe the actual steps they used. Overwhelmingly, they already use common core methods without being taught them or being aware they were using them. (The easiest example is to find the product of 9 and 12. Almost everyone remotely math-competent will do 10*12-12.)

(9x10)+(9x2)? Not Common Core, huh? Which one is this? Singapore math?

Also very common. Also Common Core. The point is you're not multiplying 9 and 12 directly, but instead doing what seems like a more complex operation to leverage a 10 somewhere.

[Anonymous]

A lot of these conversations just mystify me. I didn't take calculus in high school. I took it in college...and never used it again in my entire life. My parents were not wracked with regret at my apparently subpar education.

And if you are a native Spanish speaker, what exactly do you need your school to provide for you? I don't get it.

For me, especially in the middle school years, the most important thing about the school is the psychosocial support and a community where my kid feels welcome and able to thrive. The right school probably depends on your kid. Honestly, isn't a middle schooler old enough to have his or her own thoughts about the school? Which would your kid rather go to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of these conversations just mystify me. I didn't take calculus in high school. I took it in college...and never used it again in my entire life. My parents were not wracked with regret at my apparently subpar education.

And if you are a native Spanish speaker, what exactly do you need your school to provide for you? I don't get it.

For me, especially in the middle school years, the most important thing about the school is the psychosocial support and a community where my kid feels welcome and able to thrive. The right school probably depends on your kid. Honestly, isn't a middle schooler old enough to have his or her own thoughts about the school? Which would your kid rather go to?

Re calculus -- it totally depends on where your child wants to go to college and what he/she wants to study when they get there. Many more students going now then when we went, and it is more competitive. If our child wants to pursue engineering or math or science at a strong college or university, they need calculus in high school.

As for native Spanish speakers -- they won't get 'academic' Spanish from speaking at home. Many people can speak Spanish, but can't write it, for example.