Blair SMCS Open House

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d guess that the parents who claim their kids don’t have much homework have kids who are not in the most rigorous classes, are letting their classmates carry their weight in group projects and are not among the highest achievers. My kid’s workload is very similar to the other very studious high achieving kids they spend time with and it’s a heavy load.

Ummm - rude much? Assuming that a kid is lazy or taking less rigorous classes - and that's why your child has to put in more hours - is a bit defensive, no?

There is a large subset of the magnet (more than half) that are not exceptional high performers, are not taking the toughest STEM classes and are lukewarm in their participation in group projects. Some of them are even clearly less interested in STEM than other topics and some are just not that motivated regardless of topic . It’s not an unreasonable assumption that there is an overlap between these kids and the ones who claim to not spend much time on homework.

Simply because your kid is like what you described or your kid's friends are like this, doesn't mean you can conclude half of the students are like this. As a matter of fact, my DC and their friends (since they came along from TPMS, there are ~ 20 kids actively involved in my DC's social circle) are quite the opposite: they are all highly self-motivated, put great effort and take responsibilities and pride of their group projects, and compete while also support one another as friends. It's normal to work on the cruise with purchased wifi because they don't want to delay the group project. Do they all have tiger parents? More or less yes. The parents are very involved in their early education and prioritize education. Are the tiger parents toxic? Maybe a few but most of them are only supportive, and know where to set healthy boundaries.

For the incoming students and parents: if you or your DC is not self-motivated, this program is not suitable for you. If you are, you don't need to be a genius to fit in and excel. The peer environment and excellent education resources will make you a better you.

My kid is probably one of the 20 you refer to! It’s also possible that our kids are focused on different tracks within the magnet (if they are even the same grade). Go ask your child about my characterization and come back and let me know what they say. Group project composition is almost always determined by the teachers. They are not with their friends. They all know who the core kids are that are highly motivated and focused on their magnet classes, and they know that a sizable number are not. My kid knows every single student in the program - presumably yours does too.

The kids that are putting in considerable effort are also mostly spending many hours on homework.

I do agree with you about self motivation. Parents who are pushing their kids into this program are making a poor choice. The students who succeed are self motivated and have exceptional executive functioning skills. Tiger parents are not doing their kids any favors.

You seem to have way too much information about the kids in your DC's class. Sounds like your DC gives you a detailed report. Toxic parent, toxic student.

Interesting. Seems to apply to both parties in this conversation. There are some truly off putting magnet parents here. Thankful I haven’t encountered any of them.

[Anonymous]

In our case, our student is very motivated and excited to go but does not know any incoming kids. I’m worried about fitting in and making friends. So question for the parents of kids who come in with a large friend circle already, are these kids open to letting a newbie join their circle?

[Anonymous]

What is the typical course selection of students in 9th grade in SMCS magnet? Do they take PE or arts their first semester? Do they take Spanish 3 or 4?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In our case, our student is very motivated and excited to go but does not know any incoming kids. I’m worried about fitting in and making friends. So question for the parents of kids who come in with a large friend circle already, are these kids open to letting a newbie join their circle?

You should have them do a shadow and ask the magnet coordinator to connect them with a present student, maybe with a similar situation when they came in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In our case, our student is very motivated and excited to go but does not know any incoming kids. I’m worried about fitting in and making friends. So question for the parents of kids who come in with a large friend circle already, are these kids open to letting a newbie join their circle?

My kid only came into the magnet last year with only a few people they knew, and they were not close friends. That said, they knew other kids at Blair and seemed to have both made some friends in the magnet, but also retained and added friendships outside of the magnet. I would emphasize that the magnet is only half of the day, so you don’t have to have good buddies in the magnet. Your kid will meet people through other classes, through school activities, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the typical course selection of students in 9th grade in SMCS magnet? Do they take PE or arts their first semester? Do they take Spanish 3 or 4?

DC took PE (both semesters) and Spanish 4 freshman year and now is taking Spanish 5 and photography (both semesters) sophomore year. The order of electives is really up to each student - PE, fine arts, health. And whether you do one semester or a full year may depend on the class. Health over the summer is also a popular choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the typical course selection of students in 9th grade in SMCS magnet? Do they take PE or arts their first semester? Do they take Spanish 3 or 4?

DC took PE (both semesters) and Spanish 4 freshman year and now is taking Spanish 5 and photography (both semesters) sophomore year. The order of electives is really up to each student - PE, fine arts, health. And whether you do one semester or a full year may depend on the class. Health over the summer is also a popular choice.

Mine did the exact same but some leave PE to senior year or do their arts credit in 9th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the typical course selection of students in 9th grade in SMCS magnet? Do they take PE or arts their first semester? Do they take Spanish 3 or 4?

Mine did health over the summer virtual session, Spanish 3, and arts in freshman year. The art course led to an AP art in sophomore year. PE is left for the senior year to scratch out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In our case, our student is very motivated and excited to go but does not know any incoming kids. I’m worried about fitting in and making friends. So question for the parents of kids who come in with a large friend circle already, are these kids open to letting a newbie join their circle?

It’s hard if they are not outgoing. The kids in general are nerdy and not necessarily socially motivated. Mine knew a handful of kids going in but because of the way they are cohortec in 9th wasn’t in classes with most of the kids they already knew. The workload also doesn’t leave a lot of time for socializing. My recommendation would be for your kid to join some clubs as they will likely make stronger connections that way. This is all the downside of Blair being such an enormous school, even when in a smaller program it’s easy for an introverted kid to get lost amongst their peers.

I have a junior and their social experience could have been much better, even if it’s the right place academically. Having friends who don’t live near you adds an extra barrier to social interaction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In our case, our student is very motivated and excited to go but does not know any incoming kids. I’m worried about fitting in and making friends. So question for the parents of kids who come in with a large friend circle already, are these kids open to letting a newbie join their circle?

It’s hard if they are not outgoing. The kids in general are nerdy and not necessarily socially motivated. Mine knew a handful of kids going in but because of the way they are cohortec in 9th wasn’t in classes with most of the kids they already knew. The workload also doesn’t leave a lot of time for socializing. My recommendation would be for your kid to join some clubs as they will likely make stronger connections that way. This is all the downside of Blair being such an enormous school, even when in a smaller program it’s easy for an introverted kid to get lost amongst their peers.

I have a junior and their social experience could have been much better, even if it’s the right place academically. Having friends who don’t live near you adds an extra barrier to social interaction.

Just saw the question and agree with you. Joining clubs and varsity teams would help them blend in. Ultimately kids hang out with friends that share common language (I mean understanding those weird jokes and emojis) and interests.

[Anonymous]

How many hours your kid spends on homework is mostly based on how quickly they work. A really fast kid will spend much less time on homework. It’s not just time management or motivation… it’s how fast do they read, write/type, and think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many hours your kid spends on homework is mostly based on how quickly they work. A really fast kid will spend much less time on homework. It’s not just time management or motivation… it’s how fast do they read, write/type, and think.

Not really. The level of challenge is a huge leap from middle school. Kids who were always fast workers need to take much more time to get things right. And for some subjects there is just a very large volume to get through (eg precalc or functions)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many hours your kid spends on homework is mostly based on how quickly they work. A really fast kid will spend much less time on homework. It’s not just time management or motivation… it’s how fast do they read, write/type, and think.

Not really. The level of challenge is a huge leap from middle school. Kids who were always fast workers need to take much more time to get things right. And for some subjects there is just a very large volume to get through (eg precalc or functions)

Some kids are still able to work quickly even in functions. So yes it does vary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many hours your kid spends on homework is mostly based on how quickly they work. A really fast kid will spend much less time on homework. It’s not just time management or motivation… it’s how fast do they read, write/type, and think.

Not really. The level of challenge is a huge leap from middle school. Kids who were always fast workers need to take much more time to get things right. And for some subjects there is just a very large volume to get through (eg precalc or functions)

Homework is mostly not graded, just checked, so it's only as long as you make it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many hours your kid spends on homework is mostly based on how quickly they work. A really fast kid will spend much less time on homework. It’s not just time management or motivation… it’s how fast do they read, write/type, and think.

Not really. The level of challenge is a huge leap from middle school. Kids who were always fast workers need to take much more time to get things right. And for some subjects there is just a very large volume to get through (eg precalc or functions)

Homework is mostly not graded, just checked, so it's only as long as you make it

Except if you really want to do well in class, the practice that homework gives you is important.