Magnet not "cool" enough?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:279 would be below average for 8th grade TPMS, not easy for her to get in Blair

STFU you pain-in-the-ass mom. You are loathed by all. Even your own kids and husband.

Lol.... sounds like someone needs an adult coloring book and an emotional support donkey.

keep in mind, this forum is open to the public that includes mental hospitals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
If she were in a magnet now, she would realize that there are cool kids there, who hang out all weekend and have sleepovers every Friday and Saturday nights, and somehow still manage to do well in their enriched classes. I don't entirely approve of it, but this is what certain 8th graders do at the Takoma Park STEM magnet.

Perhaps this is not the real reason? The magnet high schools are incredibly selective, and your daughter might not want to apply if she's afraid of rejection. What MAP scores does she have?

OP, this is why your child doesn't want a magnet. It is the parents and how they raise the kids and how they are demeaning of any other kids besides their own. They disapprove of any fun and socialization instead opting for weekend homework or other college resume builders. Trust your child. They don't want to go. They want to stay with their friends. They will have plenty of opportunity to thrive in their home school and still have high school years they can look back on fondly.

It sounds like she already knows this but reinforce to her that "cool" girls cannot also be smart. All the cute HS boys are below average in school and very self-conscious about their intellect. They don't want to feel like their girlfriend is smarter than they are so it's important that your daughter not appear "nerdy" at all. She might want to purposefully fail a class or two just to get the street cred she needs to land the QB.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend she applies in order for you to put off the decision until April or so. She can then attend the open house for admitted students. This may help - it may not. My daughter said the same thing - that they are nerds and that no one looked like her and no one acted like her. My son graduated from Blair's magnet program so she understood the typical student.

However, I had her apply, she was admitted, and I told her she needed to go. She always loved math, was good at it, and would excel in the program. The program makes a difference to those who love math. It's not the same as your home school - the teachers are amazing in the program and she'll actually gain confidence. My daughter would have dropped it. She said within the first month that she was glad she's in the program.

This is normal for girls to say at this point. It's why so many girls drop out of STEM -- they don't see people like them in the program AND everyone around them says "that's ok, just give up". Just look at all these comments here. If it was a boy, they would think differently (they will deny that).

It's only 4 classes out of 8. She can take a study hall 9th period every year to make it manageable (mine will). There are students who play sports and even three varsity sports. They aren't all in the math Olympics. She can still see her friends. I'm going to talk to director of the program about who they have on the panel for admitted students.

And my daughter came from Eastern MS - so not TPMS. She has straight As as of right now so it's not like everyone there is curing cancer. Many will just go get PhDs in computer science!

So, my daughter said the same thing. It was the best program for her and it is one that makes a difference for what they do in college (that was evident by my son). She's done very well even after claiming it would be the end of her social life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:279 would be below average for 8th grade TPMS, not easy for her to get in Blair

STFU you pain-in-the-ass mom. You are loathed by all. Even your own kids and husband.

Why? This is factual info. NP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:by the way, high map-m score does not mean being math gifted. map-m test is more knowledge based.

Came on here to post the same thing. My non-mathematically-inclined child always has great MAP-M scores because he studies ahead of his grade level. The questions are not "problem-solving" type questions, they're "spit back the formula" type questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:279 would be below average for 8th grade TPMS, not easy for her to get in Blair

STFU you pain-in-the-ass mom. You are loathed by all. Even your own kids and husband.

Lol.... sounds like someone needs an adult coloring book and an emotional support donkey.

I was going to report the first response for pure nastiness, but your reply is too cute -

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader is resisting applying to Magnet programs -- the Blair program, in particular -- because she perceives it as insufficiently "cool."

She's always loved math and her MAP scores are the highest in her MS. She admits that her classes now aren't really challenging. But at this moment in her life, she's most interested in her social life and her after-school activities, so she wants to go to her home HS (where her friends are going.)

My thought is she should apply now and decide later -- who knows, right? -- but I was curious if anyone with experience could speak to the social dynamics at Blair, and whether it might be a good fit for a teen who is much more interested in using her free time to shop than study.

Doesn't sound like she will be a good fit there. Why bother?

What makes you say it doesn't sound like she would be a good fit there? Do you have experience with the program?

The reason to "bother" is that she's genuinely gifted in math and science. I worry that she's going to struggle academically -- especially in math and science -- for the next four years unless she finds her academic peers.

But socially she's a typical teen and is interested in dating and pop culture and all that stuff, and at the moment she's saying she chooses social fit over academic. I'm asking those with experience if that's a real choice or a false one.

My relative went to Eastern (back in the day where kids had to apply to magnets and competition wasn't as stiff as it is now) and then decided not to apply to magnet HS with a similar explanation your daughter is giving you: she wanted to 'have a life' that, supposedly, she did not have in middle school magnets. Ended up going to a local HS, took AP classes, everything went fine, she's finishing college this year.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, at that age, it is really hard, if not impossible, to 'make them' do things you want them to do. I'd say, let her be and take AP classes at her home school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:by the way, high map-m score does not mean being math gifted. map-m test is more knowledge based.

Came on here to post the same thing. My non-mathematically-inclined child always has great MAP-M scores because he studies ahead of his grade level. The questions are not "problem-solving" type questions, they're "spit back the formula" type questions.

DP. Not trying to be snarky, but why? I understand if a kid is into math and is just bored at grade level, but in your son's case..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Why would she struggle academically if she's genuinely gifted in math and science and she's in her home high school? I don't understand.

Because gifted kids who aren't challenged sometimes turn off. In theory, that's why these programs exist: Not to "get ahead" but to meet actual NEEDS.

Gifted kids also sometimes shy away from doing things they might fail at because they're afraid that failing will mean that they're not as smart as they thought they were.

I'd tell her she needs to apply, and then, if she gets in, it is completely up to her whether or not to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader is resisting applying to Magnet programs -- the Blair program, in particular -- because she perceives it as insufficiently "cool."

She's always loved math and her MAP scores are the highest in her MS. She admits that her classes now aren't really challenging. But at this moment in her life, she's most interested in her social life and her after-school activities, so she wants to go to her home HS (where her friends are going.)

My thought is she should apply now and decide later -- who knows, right? -- but I was curious if anyone with experience could speak to the social dynamics at Blair, and whether it might be a good fit for a teen who is much more interested in using her free time to shop than study.

Doesn't sound like she will be a good fit there. Why bother?

What makes you say it doesn't sound like she would be a good fit there? Do you have experience with the program?

The reason to "bother" is that she's genuinely gifted in math and science. I worry that she's going to struggle academically -- especially in math and science -- for the next four years unless she finds her academic peers.

But socially she's a typical teen and is interested in dating and pop culture and all that stuff, and at the moment she's saying she chooses social fit over academic. I'm asking those with experience if that's a real choice or a false one.

DP -

Blair magnet students are not all uniformly nerdy - there are definitely kids who are very social as well as kids who are into sports, music, etc. If she gets in, she can shadow or meet some students and then decide.

Regarding your concern about struggling academically due to lack of academic peers: If she did not struggle academically in ES and MS because of absence of academic peers, it is less likely to happen in HS for a few reasons: 1. The way MCPS is set up - as some other posters have already pointed out - there are more options in HS such as grade level/honors/AP courses for different ability levels. 2. The peers that she is comfortable with, and has been with in ES/MS are going to be there in HS. 3. Usually it is the younger kids who present problems if they are outside the norm at either end of the learning spectrum and their academic needs are not met. If no such issues have shown up so far, why do you think there will be issues in HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
If she were in a magnet now, she would realize that there are cool kids there, who hang out all weekend and have sleepovers every Friday and Saturday nights, and somehow still manage to do well in their enriched classes. I don't entirely approve of it, but this is what certain 8th graders do at the Takoma Park STEM magnet.

Perhaps this is not the real reason? The magnet high schools are incredibly selective, and your daughter might not want to apply if she's afraid of rejection. What MAP scores does she have?

I have to say that I love this response to the OP because this poster perfectly channels her inner mean girl to let us know her child is brilliant, popular, and cool.

Then she doubles down by demanding to know the map scores so she can tell you they're not that great, and obviously your kid is mediocre compared to dear Larla.

This is quite typical of the Tpms magnet parents... At least some of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
If she were in a magnet now, she would realize that there are cool kids there, who hang out all weekend and have sleepovers every Friday and Saturday nights, and somehow still manage to do well in their enriched classes. I don't entirely approve of it, but this is what certain 8th graders do at the Takoma Park STEM magnet.

Perhaps this is not the real reason? The magnet high schools are incredibly selective, and your daughter might not want to apply if she's afraid of rejection. What MAP scores does she have?

I have to say that I love this response to the OP because this poster perfectly channels her inner mean girl to let us know her child is brilliant, popular, and cool.

Then she doubles down by demanding to know the map scores so she can tell you they're not that great, and obviously your kid is mediocre compared to dear Larla.

This is quite typical of the Tpms magnet parents... At least some of them.

Plus bragging on MS sleepovers, whoa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:get admitted then decline it -- that is really cool

Yes. Get admitted first and then decide.

[Anonymous]

I am.. to sexy for the magnet.. to sexy for the magnet... toooo sexy..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:279 would be below average for 8th grade TPMS, not easy for her to get in Blair

STFU you pain-in-the-ass mom. You are loathed by all. Even your own kids and husband.

Why? This is factual info. NP.

Exactly, what is your problem ?? Your DC has score well below 279??
Don’t be delusional..