Culture at Carson vs. Franklin

[Anonymous]

I would be less concerned about academics and more concerned about Carson administration brushing racism, sexual assault, and cheating under the rug to continue there “stellar reputation”. The racism in particular is abhorrent.

[Anonymous]

My son is in 8th grade AAP at Carson. He loves it! He does say there are some issues he sees around, but honestly that’s not within the AAP community kids. His friends are all from there since he is in class with them. The teachers are so qualified! Was very impressed with each one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is in 8th grade AAP at Carson. He loves it! He does say there are some issues he sees around, but honestly that’s not within the AAP community kids. His friends are all from there since he is in class with them. The teachers are so qualified! Was very impressed with each one!

That's interesting because I've heard the AAP kids are the worst offenders. They only stick to their own groups - both AAP and ethnically - and are really rude to everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be less concerned about academics and more concerned about Carson administration brushing racism, sexual assault, and cheating under the rug to continue there “stellar reputation”. The racism in particular is abhorrent.

You can't throw out these accusations without giving examples. Unless you're talking about something that happened 20+ years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Franklin’s principal just sent out a notice about the use of a racial slur recently…so I think we can agree that type of behavior happens at both schools.

Better than at Carson where we no longer send out the letters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How are the math teachers at Carson versus Franklin?

Math teachers at Carson are phenomenal! Both math 7HN and algebra.

Math 7 HN at Franklin has been awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is in 8th grade AAP at Carson. He loves it! He does say there are some issues he sees around, but honestly that’s not within the AAP community kids. His friends are all from there since he is in class with them. The teachers are so qualified! Was very impressed with each one!

That's interesting because I've heard the AAP kids are the worst offenders. They only stick to their own groups - both AAP and ethnically - and are really rude to everyone else.

Your envy is apparent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really doesn’t matter which state college a teacher went to or how much math or science they studied there. What matters is whether students are only doing the basics at grade level or if they’re ready to take on advanced work. At Carson, teachers see students who are eager for that next step—whether it’s Olympiads, robotics, MathCounts, and more. Franklin, on the other hand, leans more toward the fine arts, with a focus on music, theater, and similar areas. FCPS acknowledges this difference, check their individual school characterization.

It sort of does. We’ve have Radford teachers vs JMU/UVA teachers and there’s a huge difference.

It is ridiculous to think the college a teacher attended has anything to do with how effective or knowledgeable they are, especially when most teachers in schools such as Carson and Franklin have been teaching for 10-30+ years. Their experience and creativity are far more important than the college they attended.

Some people went to "top schools" and are brilliant in their subject, but they are absolutely horrific teachers. Knowing the subject does not make someone an effective educator. My daughter experienced that with a teacher who went to Yale. Her fancy Ivy League education did nothing to make her a good teacher.

This has to be the dumbest thing I’ve read in a long time. lol!

DP. You’re misguided. You can talk to lawyers at top law firms and they can tell you how young lawyers who’ve graduated from George Mason (Scalia) or American Law Schools frequently are harder working and better at their jobs than Yale Law Schools graduates. Similarly, high school teachers who’ve attended lower ranked colleges often are more dedicated and better at imparting knowledge than teachers who graduated from top universities and fell back on a teaching career when something else didn’t work out.

This is a very insightful comment and it's sad that more parents don't appreciate how top schools can produce some pretty bad teachers, in a holistic sense. Teachers who graduated from top schools might have more empathy for and affinity with gifted students and be good at engaging them with more challenging material, but they often have other issues that negate these positives, like lack of patience, overt favoritism that sours the classroom atmosphere, etc. They often lack certain soft skills that are just as important as being knowledgeable about the subject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is in 8th grade AAP at Carson. He loves it! He does say there are some issues he sees around, but honestly that’s not within the AAP community kids. His friends are all from there since he is in class with them. The teachers are so qualified! Was very impressed with each one!

That's interesting because I've heard the AAP kids are the worst offenders. They only stick to their own groups - both AAP and ethnically - and are really rude to everyone else.

Your envy is apparent

Why would I be envious of AAP kids? My mixed race child is getting a great education at Carson in Honors classes and has not experienced any racism or bullying. They'll end up in the same AP classes as your kid in high school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really doesn’t matter which state college a teacher went to or how much math or science they studied there. What matters is whether students are only doing the basics at grade level or if they’re ready to take on advanced work. At Carson, teachers see students who are eager for that next step—whether it’s Olympiads, robotics, MathCounts, and more. Franklin, on the other hand, leans more toward the fine arts, with a focus on music, theater, and similar areas. FCPS acknowledges this difference, check their individual school characterization.

It sort of does. We’ve have Radford teachers vs JMU/UVA teachers and there’s a huge difference.

It is ridiculous to think the college a teacher attended has anything to do with how effective or knowledgeable they are, especially when most teachers in schools such as Carson and Franklin have been teaching for 10-30+ years. Their experience and creativity are far more important than the college they attended.

Some people went to "top schools" and are brilliant in their subject, but they are absolutely horrific teachers. Knowing the subject does not make someone an effective educator. My daughter experienced that with a teacher who went to Yale. Her fancy Ivy League education did nothing to make her a good teacher.

This has to be the dumbest thing I’ve read in a long time. lol!

DP. You’re misguided. You can talk to lawyers at top law firms and they can tell you how young lawyers who’ve graduated from George Mason (Scalia) or American Law Schools frequently are harder working and better at their jobs than Yale Law Schools graduates. Similarly, high school teachers who’ve attended lower ranked colleges often are more dedicated and better at imparting knowledge than teachers who graduated from top universities and fell back on a teaching career when something else didn’t work out.

This is a very insightful comment and it's sad that more parents don't appreciate how top schools can produce some pretty bad teachers, in a holistic sense. Teachers who graduated from top schools might have more empathy for and affinity with gifted students and be good at engaging them with more challenging material, but they often have other issues that negate these positives, like lack of patience, overt favoritism that sours the classroom atmosphere, etc. They often lack certain soft skills that are just as important as being knowledgeable about the subject.

+1

The teachers who seem to be best with AAP kids are the ones who were in GT, TAG, AAP, etc. themselves, NOT necessarily the ones who went to "top schools." (And NO, not every AAP/GT/TAG kid goes to a "top school," just as not every kid who is at a "top school" was in AAP, GT, TAG, etc.)

One of the best teachers I've ever met went to a "middle-of-the-road" college, but she had been a GT kid when she was in school. She was outstanding with all three of our kids who were lucky enough to have her.

[Anonymous]

Not envious at all especially after neighbor sent this to us — “engage in destructive behavior, specifically pulling off paper towel dispensers, tearing down soap dispensers, and creating excessive mess in the restrooms.”

Her son at Carson said boys are literally shitting on the floors for fun.

[Anonymous]

I play basketball in an adult league that uses several different FCPS schools for gyms. Multiple schools have closed bathrooms in low traffic areas for similar reasons. The bathroom I used at Justice tonight didn't have any functional locks on the doors because they had all been torn off.
They need to put cameras up outside the bathrooms. It's easy enough to identify who is going in and doing these things. IP cameras are really cheap these days (< $100) and it wouldn't even have to be a wired system. Just stick an SD card in it and you only need to pull it out for review when something gets damaged.

[Anonymous]

Or maybe FCPS should start suspending and kicking boys out of school when they are caught doing this sort of thing. THERE SHOULD BE CONSEQUENCES FOR BAD BEHAVIOR.

Also, friends, this is happening in every middle and high school in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or maybe FCPS should start suspending and kicking boys out of school when they are caught doing this sort of thing. THERE SHOULD BE CONSEQUENCES FOR BAD BEHAVIOR.

Also, friends, this is happening in every middle and high school in FCPS.

Could not agree more. There are no consequences for boys and the SROs have their hands tied at our school. Where are the counselors? Where are the administrators? Absolute crickets. As a fairly recently retired teacher from FFX who has now moved to Loudon, I can tell you that every single time I tried to enforce post-COVID even with AAP kids or not, we get shut down in FFX because no one wants to get sued for little Brett Kavanaughs having their records sullied. The new equity and inclusion office and the terrible superintendent are making huge mistakes. Bring back zero tolerence and I guarantee you this would shift back to how it used to be.

[Anonymous]

Franklin’s after school activities absolutely suck compared to Carson’s.