MCPS High School 10th grade Honors English: Is there a more challenging option?

[Anonymous]

Even in magnet programs, you will be occasionally have insipid teachers and a not great cohort, in some subjects. My son is currently facing this in a magnet program. The English is too easy in 9th grade and it is an easy A for him. He is using this opportunity to do most of his homework at school and at home he is following another curriculum regarding reading, vocabulary and writing.

The curriculum may be to blame but more than that, it is the teacher who is to be blamed.

[Anonymous]

Bumping this thread to see if any recent students are (or will) take AP English Language in 10th grade at BCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no AP English options in grade 10 - that starts in grade 11.

The only other options are schools with IB magnets that have separate classes for magnet students in grades 9-10.

OP, I'm curious. What are they up to in his class, and what grades has he received so far?

OP here:

They are reading short stories and writing definitions of basic English concepts like "setting" and "plot".
His English grades are not clear - lots of ungraded assignments waiting. Honestly, he resents what he sees as busywork so much that sometimes it is hard to get him to complete assignments.
His Honors Chemistry class grade is currently a 99%.

He almost made it into the Blair Math/Science/Computer Science magnet -- was in the waiting pool but didn't get picked in the end.

My first grader was doing the same thing in their class!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this thread to see if any recent students are (or will) take AP English Language in 10th grade at BCC.

Why not take it in 11th like everyone else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this thread to see if any recent students are (or will) take AP English Language in 10th grade at BCC.

That’s just not an option. Graduation requirements are 4 years English.
English 9 - reg, Hon, ESOL equiv
English 10 - reg, Hon, ESOL equiv
English 11 - reg, Hon, AP Lang
English 12 - reg, Hon AP Lit

And I think regular (on-level) is in process of phase out at many schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with you people who think it’s okay for schools to offer year after year after year of unchallenging classes and expect highly able children to remain engaged and interested? Would you voluntarily sign up to sit in classes for six hours a day for many years in a row being lectured with information you already know?

The only reason this is happening is because no one knows how to fix the achievement gap, so the current solution is to keep everyone at the same level rather than group by ability so that more able children can, you know, actually find something interesting going on in their classes.

Let’s at least be clear that this is a political decision rather than one designed by educational specialists who actually understand what children need.

So these kids were born with an innate knowledge of these things? How did they manage to learn all this stuff without school?