Letter to MCPS Superintendent Sent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the eastern-western hostility would diminish if people realize that the schools are pretty much kingdoms unto themselves. Moved to ES in western MC and the principal is utterly closeminded. AT our old eastern MC ES the school was wonderfu and the parents respectful. Never thought I'd miss it so much.

This is what we parents should jointly fight to get rid of MCPS, the school kingdom. A school system should be consistent in its instructions in every school based on assessment.

The good kingdoms gets dismantled as soon as someone higher up with a "pseudo social equity" pedagogical philosophy realizes what is going on. The changes for consistency and high expectations for all (including the advanced learners) need to come from top. However, the top of MCPS is infested with people who believe school is the place to get the social equity. School is part of the society and cannot change the society itself.

The BOE and MCPS gods (created by a stronger political organization in MCPS) are tring to change the main focus of schools from education to something else. As a result it is not just MCPS, the US school system itself is not being able to compete with that of Finland! We, the parents need to take this into our hand to change the direction of this downslide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the eastern-western hostility would diminish if people realize that the schools are pretty much kingdoms unto themselves. Moved to ES in western MC and the principal is utterly closeminded. AT our old eastern MC ES the school was wonderfu and the parents respectful. Never thought I'd miss it so much.

This is what we parents should jointly fight to get rid of MCPS, the school kingdom. A school system should be consistent in its instructions in every school based on assessment.

The good kingdoms gets dismantled as soon as someone higher up with a "pseudo social equity" pedagogical philosophy realizes what is going on. The changes for consistency and high expectations for all (including the advanced learners) need to come from top. However, the top of MCPS is infested with people who believe school is the place to get the social equity. School is part of the society and cannot change the society itself.

The BOE and MCPS gods (created by a stronger political organization in MCPS) are tring to change the main focus of schools from education to something else. As a result it is not just MCPS, the US school system itself is not being able to compete with that of Finland! We, the parents need to take this into our hand to change the direction of this downslide.

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And no organizations that want to curry favor with the administration. No secretive groups. Open and honest parent groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The OP is right. GTA couldn't get support form even a small fraction of parents. PP--not even one percent of those labeled have commented. 104 comments? You lost--just admit it that parents are fed up with the divisive ways of the new GTA administration. When did you guys get elected? What have you done with the money? Just stop attacking parents and get your leaders to stop emailing everyone in MCPS and the county council at the drop of a hat.

I do not really give a damn about the GTA, what you think about the GTA or whether you care about opportunities for your children to get a challenging education in MCPS. There are parents who do care their children get appropriate and challenging instruction in school (MCPS). Many of us have no where to turn for help. Some of us do not give a damn about your infatuation with "gifted" labels. We do give a damn if a 5-year-old child with mastery of addition, subtraction, division and multiplication is sitting in a MCPS classroom with 25 others simply counting up to 100 all day long for 2-3 years. When situations like this occur all over the MCPS landscape no amount of child education and development theory, power point presentations, smoke screens, secrecy, nontransparency, clandestine policies can cover up what is a simple farce masquerading as mathematics education (for this 5-year-old in question). Many parents find it hard to believe MCPS cannot find a mechanism to reach this particular 5-year-old at their math level. Are MCPS elementary math teachers in K-5 incompetent? Or are they forced to follow the lead of an incompetent Principal who may be following the lead of incompetent MCPS leadership? Each conspirator fearing backlash from above if they fail to tow the party line? Many parents are leery of speaking up and speaking their minds because the maturity level of those in MCPS schools assures a backlash against their children and many want to spare their children the psychological trauma of system vindictiveness. Parents simply put down their arms and take matters into their own hands ... or the hands of "outside tutors"...resigned to public school (MCPS) as a vehicle for developing friendships (MCPS teachers serving as 6 hour/day baby sitters) with the most important education (academic and intellectual challenge) occurring outside of the MCPS classroom (e.g., online and offline education). For many in MCPS the real education of their children occurs on the weekends (and evenings) ... ironically in many of the MCPS brick and mortar school buildings! MCPS is slowly transforming itself into a $2 billion/year massive after care social service with the teachers relegated to baby sitters...the Principal, the head baby sitter.

This

[Anonymous]

^^ RIght on. And it's even worse for kids who are advanced in reading/humanities. At least there are clearly delineated classes for math so you have something to shoot for, whereas -- the exception of magnet classes -- there's nothing similar in existence for humanities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the eastern-western hostility would diminish if people realize that the schools are pretty much kingdoms unto themselves. Moved to ES in western MC and the principal is utterly closeminded. AT our old eastern MC ES the school was wonderfu and the parents respectful. Never thought I'd miss it so much.

This is what we parents should jointly fight to get rid of MCPS, the school kingdom. A school system should be consistent in its instructions in every school based on assessment.

The good kingdoms gets dismantled as soon as someone higher up with a "pseudo social equity" pedagogical philosophy realizes what is going on. The changes for consistency and high expectations for all (including the advanced learners) need to come from top. However, the top of MCPS is infested with people who believe school is the place to get the social equity. School is part of the society and cannot change the society itself.

The BOE and MCPS gods (created by a stronger political organization in MCPS) are tring to change the main focus of schools from education to something else. As a result it is not just MCPS, the US school system itself is not being able to compete with that of Finland! We, the parents need to take this into our hand to change the direction of this downslide.

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And no organizations that want to curry favor with the administration. No secretive groups. Open and honest parent groups.

That's kind of what I got out of all this. My personal opinion is that the GTA has lost its focus, has weak leadership, isn't led by parents with a vested interest in real GT education, and so on. WE do need a new GTA and new leadership. I wish Hoven who started the GTA will kind of encourage a change in leadership. Please GTA leaders think of our kids who go to school in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the eastern-western hostility would diminish if people realize that the schools are pretty much kingdoms unto themselves. Moved to ES in western MC and the principal is utterly closeminded. AT our old eastern MC ES the school was wonderfu and the parents respectful. Never thought I'd miss it so much.

This is what we parents should jointly fight to get rid of MCPS, the school kingdom. A school system should be consistent in its instructions in every school based on assessment.

The good kingdoms gets dismantled as soon as someone higher up with a "pseudo social equity" pedagogical philosophy realizes what is going on. The changes for consistency and high expectations for all (including the advanced learners) need to come from top. However, the top of MCPS is infested with people who believe school is the place to get the social equity. School is part of the society and cannot change the society itself.

The BOE and MCPS gods (created by a stronger political organization in MCPS) are tring to change the main focus of schools from education to something else. As a result it is not just MCPS, the US school system itself is not being able to compete with that of Finland! We, the parents need to take this into our hand to change the direction of this downslide.

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And no organizations that want to curry favor with the administration. No secretive groups. Open and honest parent groups.

That's kind of what I got out of all this. My personal opinion is that the GTA has lost its focus, has weak leadership, isn't led by parents with a vested interest in real GT education, and so on. WE do need a new GTA and new leadership. I wish Hoven who started the GTA will kind of encourage a change in leadership. Please GTA leaders think of our kids who go to school in MCPS.

They kind of got carried away on this one. Do they have kids in centers/magnets? I am sure they'll be willing to change the leadership.

[Anonymous]

I completely disagree -- the GTA leader is smart, dedicated, and represents the issues well. I don't understand at all why people think the GTA leadership is out of touch or got carried away. It doesn't make any sense to me. What exactly do people think is the problem?

[Anonymous]

There are a few knuckle heads failing to recognise that the real problem is with the leadership at MCPS not GTA. High performing children in the County have been stopped dead in their academic tracks because of curriculum 2.0. For example, many capable 2nd graders performing at 3rd, 4th and 5th grade math levels prior to entering 2nd grade have been circulating the drain for almost a year now. These knuckle heads have not concept of what 2 to 3 years mired in this curricular swamp will potentially do the trajectory and aspirations of these children when they get to high school and beyond. These kids have effectively been held back by the County. What will happen next year in 3rd grade? Will these children be held back again? I do not think the GTA is responsible for holding back these children; it is the policies of the MCPS leadership that is holding this children back by such a draconian initiative effectively abolishing subject acceleration for appropriate challenge.

Has the MCPS leadership ever asked themselves how the most sophisticated country, and arguably one of the most highly educated Counties in the richest Country on the globe, could conceive of pursuing an educational strategy, in effect, putting a cap/ceiling/brake on the ability of children to get a challenging academic program? This brilliant solution (curiculum 2.0 with children jailed in classrooms of mixed ability) is occurring at a time when we are questioning why multi-lingual children from poorer and less developed lands are intellectually and academically outperforming our children in a century (21st) that will go down in history as the age of Moore's law (and the age of rapid doubling of information/knowledge). This strategy of trying to walking down an elevator moving in the reverse upward direction will fail and leave the leadership of MCPS with a black eye.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a few knuckle heads failing to recognise that the real problem is with the leadership at MCPS not GTA. High performing children in the County have been stopped dead in their academic tracks because of curriculum 2.0. For example, many capable 2nd graders performing at 3rd, 4th and 5th grade math levels prior to entering 2nd grade have been circulating the drain for almost a year now. These knuckle heads have not concept of what 2 to 3 years mired in this curricular swamp will potentially do the trajectory and aspirations of these children when they get to high school and beyond. These kids have effectively been held back by the County. What will happen next year in 3rd grade? Will these children be held back again? I do not think the GTA is responsible for holding back these children; it is the policies of the MCPS leadership that is holding this children back by such a draconian initiative effectively abolishing subject acceleration for appropriate challenge.

Has the MCPS leadership ever asked themselves how the most sophisticated country, and arguably one of the most highly educated Counties in the richest Country on the globe, could conceive of pursuing an educational strategy, in effect, putting a cap/ceiling/brake on the ability of children to get a challenging academic program? This brilliant solution (curiculum 2.0 with children jailed in classrooms of mixed ability) is occurring at a time when we are questioning why multi-lingual children from poorer and less developed lands are intellectually and academically outperforming our children in a century (21st) that will go down in history as the age of Moore's law (and the age of rapid doubling of information/knowledge). This strategy of trying to walking down an elevator moving in the reverse upward direction will fail and leave the leadership of MCPS with a black eye.

Here we go again. Yeah they got stopped dead in their tracks under your watch. Get it? All the bad things happened under your watch. Going around calling people "knuckle heads" shows why no one listens to you people. Don't you get it when you whine that MCPS doesn't listen to you, the BOE doesn't listen to you, the Special Populations Committee doesn't listen to you---you are telling the world that you've lost your credibility. I was just reading you head honcho's email about some MCPS committee not liking him. You guys are divisive, disruptive, and have lost your credibility.

When the President of the GTA writes a letter whining that no one listened to him and the fella publicly posts it, you gotta ask yourself who the knuckle head is. Just elect a new slate of leaders and move forward. Stop grinding GT into the ground to salve your egos and stop the name calling.

[Anonymous]

Here we go again. Yeah they got stopped dead in their tracks under your watch. Get it? All the bad things happened under your watch. Going around calling people "knuckle heads" shows why no one listens to you people. Don't you get it when you whine that MCPS doesn't listen to you, the BOE doesn't listen to you, the Special Populations Committee doesn't listen to you---you are telling the world that you've lost your credibility. I was just reading you head honcho's email about some MCPS committee not liking him. You guys are divisive, disruptive, and have lost your credibility.

When the President of the GTA writes a letter whining that no one listened to him and the fella publicly posts it, you gotta ask yourself who the knuckle head is. Just elect a new slate of leaders and move forward. Stop grinding GT into the ground to salve your egos and stop the name calling.

Let me be frank. You sound like a lunatic. I am the poster... new to MCPS and Maryland. I do not belong to GTA and do not know a single member. You on the other hand are an air-filled knuckle head. Some of us could care less for your entitled "gifted" labels for your kids; but do not want our childen sitting unchallenged in the MCPS system if they are performing 1 to 2 standard deviations from mean performance. Do you get it? No child deserves to count to 100 in a class with 25 other children for an entire year when that child has already mastered arithematic operations. Do you get it? Or, is this rocket science or too difficult a concept for your thimble-sized tympanic brain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Here we go again. Yeah they got stopped dead in their tracks under your watch. Get it? All the bad things happened under your watch. Going around calling people "knuckle heads" shows why no one listens to you people. Don't you get it when you whine that MCPS doesn't listen to you, the BOE doesn't listen to you, the Special Populations Committee doesn't listen to you---you are telling the world that you've lost your credibility. I was just reading you head honcho's email about some MCPS committee not liking him. You guys are divisive, disruptive, and have lost your credibility.

When the President of the GTA writes a letter whining that no one listened to him and the fella publicly posts it, you gotta ask yourself who the knuckle head is. Just elect a new slate of leaders and move forward. Stop grinding GT into the ground to salve your egos and stop the name calling.

Let me be frank. You sound like a lunatic. I am the poster... new to MCPS and Maryland. I do not belong to GTA and do not know a single member. You on the other hand are an air-filled knuckle head. Some of us could care less for your entitled "gifted" labels for your kids; but do not want our childen sitting unchallenged in the MCPS system if they are performing 1 to 2 standard deviations from mean performance. Do you get it? No child deserves to count to 100 in a class with 25 other children for an entire year when that child has already mastered arithematic operations. Do you get it? Or, is this rocket science or too difficult a concept for your thimble-sized tympanic brain.

Are your children as insufferable and prone to name calling when they run out of useful things to say?? good night!!!

[Anonymous]

Are your children as insufferable and prone to name calling when they run out of useful things to say?? good night!!!

Get out of the kitchen if you can't take the heat. You can dish it out but wilt on the receiving end. I'm sure you are the natural expert of insufferable children with lots of experience to share with us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Are your children as insufferable and prone to name calling when they run out of useful things to say?? good night!!!

Get out of the kitchen if you can't take the heat. You can dish it out but wilt on the receiving end. I'm sure you are the natural expert of insufferable children with lots of experience to share with us.

The anti-GTA bully is a union/apple ballot troll that tries to undermine useful discussion on education and GTA in an anonymous forum. This person is on other threads and always takes the union/apple ballot position (No Labels, in this case). They don't present a useful argument for their view. Instead, they just resort to name calling. MAny parents are unhappy with the MCPS, whether it is GT, Special Ed, or some other topic. Parents have the least influence on the system and also are the most frustrated stakeholders. Hopefully, Dr. Starr is listening and can change the culture around here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Are your children as insufferable and prone to name calling when they run out of useful things to say?? good night!!!

Get out of the kitchen if you can't take the heat. You can dish it out but wilt on the receiving end. I'm sure you are the natural expert of insufferable children with lots of experience to share with us.

The anti-GTA bully is a union/apple ballot troll that tries to undermine useful discussion on education and GTA in an anonymous forum. This person is on other threads and always takes the union/apple ballot position (No Labels, in this case). They don't present a useful argument for their view. Instead, they just resort to name calling. MAny parents are unhappy with the MCPS, whether it is GT, Special Ed, or some other topic. Parents have the least influence on the system and also are the most frustrated stakeholders. Hopefully, Dr. Starr is listening and can change the culture around here.

I am very convinced now that this anti-GTA poster has no gifted child, and is a NLNL operative, who wants to stop all discussions on GT, by throwing personal accusations on GTA leaders. If he/shehad anything legitimate to let us know he/she would have done it by now. So, please do not respond his/her provocation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Are your children as insufferable and prone to name calling when they run out of useful things to say?? good night!!!

Get out of the kitchen if you can't take the heat. You can dish it out but wilt on the receiving end. I'm sure you are the natural expert of insufferable children with lots of experience to share with us.

The anti-GTA bully is a union/apple ballot troll that tries to undermine useful discussion on education and GTA in an anonymous forum. This person is on other threads and always takes the union/apple ballot position (No Labels, in this case). They don't present a useful argument for their view. Instead, they just resort to name calling. MAny parents are unhappy with the MCPS, whether it is GT, Special Ed, or some other topic. Parents have the least influence on the system and also are the most frustrated stakeholders. Hopefully, Dr. Starr is listening and can change the culture around here.

I am very convinced now that this anti-GTA poster has no gifted child, and is a NLNL operative, who wants to stop all discussions on GT, by throwing personal accusations on GTA leaders. If he/shehad anything legitimate to let us know he/she would have done it by now. So, please do not respond his/her provocation.

I agree
This person has disrupted every single serious discussion about gt issues on multiple threads
We should not rise to his or her bait
I don't understand the personal attacks against people on the gta
The poster seems troubled