MS focus on math all the time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of listening to all these parents talk about their math wiz kids and how they need their kid to be accelerated 3 grades. Good for them - they also can’t string a coherent sentence together without the help of AI and my kid happens to be very creative and artsy (looooves to write). FWIW I was a B student in math and took 1 math lite class in college so don’t see the need for all this crazy focus on math if it’s not your thing. I found a job and have a career that pays well. Can’t we focus on other things besides math and not punish kids for not being mathaletes ( mine happens to have an IEP for math) which is what this feels like. He could spend all his time on math and still not get more than a C. What happened to being well rounded?

Jealous much

My kids can read and do math and are creative . Why because they graduated from MCPS got a great well rounded education. All are in C Suites in their thirties…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of listening to all these parents talk about their math wiz kids and how they need their kid to be accelerated 3 grades. Good for them - they also can’t string a coherent sentence together without the help of AI and my kid happens to be very creative and artsy (looooves to write). FWIW I was a B student in math and took 1 math lite class in college so don’t see the need for all this crazy focus on math if it’s not your thing. I found a job and have a career that pays well. Can’t we focus on other things besides math and not punish kids for not being mathaletes ( mine happens to have an IEP for math) which is what this feels like. He could spend all his time on math and still not get more than a C. What happened to being well rounded?

Jealous much

My kids can read and do math and are creative . Why because they graduated from MCPS got a great well rounded education. All are in C Suites in their thirties…

God help me if I’m still reading the DCUM teen forum when my kids are in their 30s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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

And he will take 4 years of math in HS, that is what is expected. Colleges are not looking for kids with 4 years of HS math; they are looking for kids with 4 years of math in HS. He will get as many college credits as your kid will get taking AP exams in LA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of listening to all these parents talk about their math wiz kids and how they need their kid to be accelerated 3 grades. Good for them - they also can’t string a coherent sentence together without the help of AI and my kid happens to be very creative and artsy (looooves to write). FWIW I was a B student in math and took 1 math lite class in college so don’t see the need for all this crazy focus on math if it’s not your thing. I found a job and have a career that pays well. Can’t we focus on other things besides math and not punish kids for not being mathaletes ( mine happens to have an IEP for math) which is what this feels like. He could spend all his time on math and still not get more than a C. What happened to being well rounded?

Jealous much

My kids can read and do math and are creative . Why because they graduated from MCPS got a great well rounded education. All are in C Suites in their thirties…

God help me if I’m still reading the DCUM teen forum when my kids are in their 30s

Doesn’t have a life obviously

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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

And he will take 4 years of math in HS, that is what is expected. Colleges are not looking for kids with 4 years of HS math; they are looking for kids with 4 years of math in HS. He will get as many college credits as your kid will get taking AP exams in LA.

You are missing the point. It isn’t about getting credits so they don’t have to take 4 yrs of math/English in high school. Of course all students should, regardless of level. It’s about what those classes will be. Kids knocking 2 yrs of high school math out in middle school will have the opportunity to take AP and DE classes in high school. The same should be true for an English track. My teen is actually in one of the extremely few programs that does offer middle schooler and accelerated English (and math) that fulfills high school requirements. My teen will enter 9th grade in AP lang, take AP lit in 10th and then dual enroll for 11/12. But these types of programs should be universal, just like they are for math, instead there are probably a handful of programs in where this is possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of listening to all these parents talk about their math wiz kids and how they need their kid to be accelerated 3 grades. Good for them - they also can’t string a coherent sentence together without the help of AI and my kid happens to be very creative and artsy (looooves to write). FWIW I was a B student in math and took 1 math lite class in college so don’t see the need for all this crazy focus on math if it’s not your thing. I found a job and have a career that pays well. Can’t we focus on other things besides math and not punish kids for not being mathaletes ( mine happens to have an IEP for math) which is what this feels like. He could spend all his time on math and still not get more than a C. What happened to being well rounded?

Jealous much

My kids can read and do math and are creative . Why because they graduated from MCPS got a great well rounded education. All are in C Suites in their thirties…

God help me if I’m still reading the DCUM teen forum when my kids are in their 30s

Doesn’t have a life obviously

The life is bragging about her kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

Most schools are getting better at recognizing academics. And I’d rather have a kid who loves math and is good at it vs a kid who loves playing sports. Math people have good brains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

Most schools are getting better at recognizing academics. And I’d rather have a kid who loves math and is good at it vs a kid who loves playing sports. Math people have good brains.

Newsflash: some people have both

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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

And he will take 4 years of math in HS, that is what is expected. Colleges are not looking for kids with 4 years of HS math; they are looking for kids with 4 years of math in HS. He will get as many college credits as your kid will get taking AP exams in LA.

You are missing the point. It isn’t about getting credits so they don’t have to take 4 yrs of math/English in high school. Of course all students should, regardless of level. It’s about what those classes will be. Kids knocking 2 yrs of high school math out in middle school will have the opportunity to take AP and DE classes in high school. The same should be true for an English track. My teen is actually in one of the extremely few programs that does offer middle schooler and accelerated English (and math) that fulfills high school requirements. My teen will enter 9th grade in AP lang, take AP lit in 10th and then dual enroll for 11/12. But these types of programs should be universal, just like they are for math, instead there are probably a handful of programs in where this is possible.

I agree with you. I think the party line for a long time has been that teachers can push extra enrichment and extensions into the humanities and language arts classes, so there's no need to offer more advanced classes for the 99th percentile kids. In practice, it doesn't work because teachers don't want to spend extra time creating materials or grading, and kids tend to rebel when they feel like they're being given extra work for no tangible benefit. Language arts gifted kids effectively end up with the same offerings as all of the moderately bright ones.

For math, the party line has been that acceleration is the easiest and best way to deliver advanced content to the top kids.

[Anonymous]

I agree the schools should do more to support gifted ELA kids. But OP’s post still seems a bit petty and insecure and dismissive of other people’s kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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

And he will take 4 years of math in HS, that is what is expected. Colleges are not looking for kids with 4 years of HS math; they are looking for kids with 4 years of math in HS. He will get as many college credits as your kid will get taking AP exams in LA.

You are missing the point. It isn’t about getting credits so they don’t have to take 4 yrs of math/English in high school. Of course all students should, regardless of level. It’s about what those classes will be. Kids knocking 2 yrs of high school math out in middle school will have the opportunity to take AP and DE classes in high school. The same should be true for an English track. My teen is actually in one of the extremely few programs that does offer middle schooler and accelerated English (and math) that fulfills high school requirements. My teen will enter 9th grade in AP lang, take AP lit in 10th and then dual enroll for 11/12. But these types of programs should be universal, just like they are for math, instead there are probably a handful of programs in where this is possible.

I agree with you. I think the party line for a long time has been that teachers can push extra enrichment and extensions into the humanities and language arts classes, so there's no need to offer more advanced classes for the 99th percentile kids. In practice, it doesn't work because teachers don't want to spend extra time creating materials or grading, and kids tend to rebel when they feel like they're being given extra work for no tangible benefit. Language arts gifted kids effectively end up with the same offerings as all of the moderately bright ones.

For math, the party line has been that acceleration is the easiest and best way to deliver advanced content to the top kids.

I think math is a focus in ES and MS because the US does not rank high in international math scores. Parents see the scores coming out of most Asians countries and a fair number of European countries that are far higher than US scores and worry about those scores. Toss in that annual testing in math shows a large percentage of students not being at grade level or barely being at grade level and you have a real desire to find a way to improve math scores. At the same time, you have kids who are able to grasp the basic math concepts easily early on who are bored in school. Math clubs and math competitions are a great way to engage kids who are able to grasp math concepts quickly because they require a degree of creativity as well as technical skill. They are challenging in a different way then classroom math.

Differentiation in LA is easier than in math in ES. Teachers can break out reading groups and give kids who are more advanced harder material to read. They don't need to meet with them all that often in order to review the material. You can assign harder text to more advanced groupings in social studies and even science. It is harder to do that with math because kids need some instruction to understand the concepts, even if they pick it up quickly. You end up with advanced math because there are kids who can move faster and are becoming less engaged in the regular math class.

A teacher who sees that a child is ahead in reading comprehension can assign that student or group of students more advanced books and meet them where they are in the classroom. A teacher who sees that a child grasps a mathematical concept immediately cannot do much for that student was they spend a week or two on the same concept for the other kids in the class who need more time understanding the concept.

FCPS has separated the math track from the rest of ES/MS academics because it realizes that math is taught differently and approached differently than LA, social studies, and science which involve far more reading and reading comprehension then math does. Science does not become a combination of reading and math until you get to HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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

And he will take 4 years of math in HS, that is what is expected. Colleges are not looking for kids with 4 years of HS math; they are looking for kids with 4 years of math in HS. He will get as many college credits as your kid will get taking AP exams in LA.

You are missing the point. It isn’t about getting credits so they don’t have to take 4 yrs of math/English in high school. Of course all students should, regardless of level. It’s about what those classes will be. Kids knocking 2 yrs of high school math out in middle school will have the opportunity to take AP and DE classes in high school. The same should be true for an English track. My teen is actually in one of the extremely few programs that does offer middle schooler and accelerated English (and math) that fulfills high school requirements. My teen will enter 9th grade in AP lang, take AP lit in 10th and then dual enroll for 11/12. But these types of programs should be universal, just like they are for math, instead there are probably a handful of programs in where this is possible.

I agree with you. I think the party line for a long time has been that teachers can push extra enrichment and extensions into the humanities and language arts classes, so there's no need to offer more advanced classes for the 99th percentile kids. In practice, it doesn't work because teachers don't want to spend extra time creating materials or grading, and kids tend to rebel when they feel like they're being given extra work for no tangible benefit. Language arts gifted kids effectively end up with the same offerings as all of the moderately bright ones.

For math, the party line has been that acceleration is the easiest and best way to deliver advanced content to the top kids.

NP, +2.

And vastly more careers require good written communications skills than BC calc. It's sad how many folks can't compose a clear and concise email.

I don't think OP sounds any more "petty" than all the posts on hear whining about travel sports. All these kids are not such great athletes/mathematicians -- you're just paying for them to keep up.