Workload at Richard Montgomery IB magnet program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9:44 again--the one thing I did not like about the IB program was English. I learned how to write one heck of a paper and how to close-analyze the bejabbers out of one line of text, or one word, or the punctuation, or what the author didn't say. But by the end of 4 years of "unpacking" little chunks of texts, boy, was I sick to death of it and I really do think it damaged my enjoyment of classic literature. We were never able to just enjoy any books because we had to sit down and nitpick them to death, or constantly have in the backs of our minds how we could nitpick it to death. I think some of it resulted in losing the forest for the trees, and working so hard at going "deeper" all the time that we may have gone pretty far afield and wound up attributing motives and hidden meanings to the author that weren't actually there.

I haven't really picked up a work of "classic literature" since I graduated. I read a ton, of course, but it's mostly non-fiction and modern novels. I was a science major in college, so maybe I'm just not a literature person, but I can't help but wonder if I've always been that way or if IB English ruined it for me. IB History was absolutely fantastic and college history was a big disappointment in comparison, but man I hated IB English.

I have yet to meet anyone that compares to Hines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:9:44 again--the one thing I did not like about the IB program was English. I learned how to write one heck of a paper and how to close-analyze the bejabbers out of one line of text, or one word, or the punctuation, or what the author didn't say. But by the end of 4 years of "unpacking" little chunks of texts, boy, was I sick to death of it and I really do think it damaged my enjoyment of classic literature. We were never able to just enjoy any books because we had to sit down and nitpick them to death, or constantly have in the backs of our minds how we could nitpick it to death. I think some of it resulted in losing the forest for the trees, and working so hard at going "deeper" all the time that we may have gone pretty far afield and wound up attributing motives and hidden meanings to the author that weren't actually there.

I haven't really picked up a work of "classic literature" since I graduated. I read a ton, of course, but it's mostly non-fiction and modern novels. I was a science major in college, so maybe I'm just not a literature person, but I can't help but wonder if I've always been that way or if IB English ruined it for me. IB History was absolutely fantastic and college history was a big disappointment in comparison, but man I hated IB English.

I have yet to meet anyone that compares to Hines.

+1 everyone loves mr. hines!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It sounds to me like RMIB will encourage efficiency, writing, analysis, communication, and factual understanding (all good things) -- but not creativity, because there is no time or space for it.

Not true - there are many options of IB arts classes students can choose from to fulfill their sixth subject area. And with courses like Theory of Knowledge, and with the interdisciplinary approach, students DO have time and space for creativity.

Additional classes and classwork are not what provides time and space for creativity.

You do not know the program but...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:9:44 again--the one thing I did not like about the IB program was English. I learned how to write one heck of a paper and how to close-analyze the bejabbers out of one line of text, or one word, or the punctuation, or what the author didn't say. But by the end of 4 years of "unpacking" little chunks of texts, boy, was I sick to death of it and I really do think it damaged my enjoyment of classic literature. We were never able to just enjoy any books because we had to sit down and nitpick them to death, or constantly have in the backs of our minds how we could nitpick it to death. I think some of it resulted in losing the forest for the trees, and working so hard at going "deeper" all the time that we may have gone pretty far afield and wound up attributing motives and hidden meanings to the author that weren't actually there.

I haven't really picked up a work of "classic literature" since I graduated. I read a ton, of course, but it's mostly non-fiction and modern novels. I was a science major in college, so maybe I'm just not a literature person, but I can't help but wonder if I've always been that way or if IB English ruined it for me. IB History was absolutely fantastic and college history was a big disappointment in comparison, but man I hated IB English.

I have yet to meet anyone that compares to Hines.

+1 everyone loves mr. hines!!

+1 Yup!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It sounds to me like RMIB will encourage efficiency, writing, analysis, communication, and factual understanding (all good things) -- but not creativity, because there is no time or space for it.

Not true - there are many options of IB arts classes students can choose from to fulfill their sixth subject area. And with courses like Theory of Knowledge, and with the interdisciplinary approach, students DO have time and space for creativity.

Additional classes and classwork are not what provides time and space for creativity.

You do not know the program but...

You're right, I do not know the program. But since my point is that you need some down time for creativity, I don't think that I need to know the program to know that courses like Theory of Knowledge (or any other courses) don't provide that down time, basically by definition.

Now, maybe you don't think that down time is necessary for creativity, and that people can be totally creative while doing lots and lots and lots of work and not getting enough sleep. In which case, ok. That's not been my experience, but different people are different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It sounds to me like RMIB will encourage efficiency, writing, analysis, communication, and factual understanding (all good things) -- but not creativity, because there is no time or space for it.

Not true - there are many options of IB arts classes students can choose from to fulfill their sixth subject area. And with courses like Theory of Knowledge, and with the interdisciplinary approach, students DO have time and space for creativity.

Additional classes and classwork are not what provides time and space for creativity.

You do not know the program but...

You're right, I do not know the program. But since my point is that you need some down time for creativity, I don't think that I need to know the program to know that courses like Theory of Knowledge (or any other courses) don't provide that down time, basically by definition.

Now, maybe you don't think that down time is necessary for creativity, and that people can be totally creative while doing lots and lots and lots of work and not getting enough sleep. In which case, ok. That's not been my experience, but different people are different.

NP - I don't get you. You need down time to be creative? I haven't heard that before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:9:44 again--the one thing I did not like about the IB program was English. I learned how to write one heck of a paper and how to close-analyze the bejabbers out of one line of text, or one word, or the punctuation, or what the author didn't say. But by the end of 4 years of "unpacking" little chunks of texts, boy, was I sick to death of it and I really do think it damaged my enjoyment of classic literature. We were never able to just enjoy any books because we had to sit down and nitpick them to death, or constantly have in the backs of our minds how we could nitpick it to death. I think some of it resulted in losing the forest for the trees, and working so hard at going "deeper" all the time that we may have gone pretty far afield and wound up attributing motives and hidden meanings to the author that weren't actually there.

I haven't really picked up a work of "classic literature" since I graduated. I read a ton, of course, but it's mostly non-fiction and modern novels. I was a science major in college, so maybe I'm just not a literature person, but I can't help but wonder if I've always been that way or if IB English ruined it for me. IB History was absolutely fantastic and college history was a big disappointment in comparison, but man I hated IB English.

I have yet to meet anyone that compares to Hines.

+1 everyone loves mr. hines!!

He was the first teacher to ever tear my writing to pieces. There was more red than black on my essay when I got it back. I didn't know what to do. But he was very generous with his time and gave me additional essays that he would review in order to improve my writing. The English teachers whose names I no longer remember just gave me As and Bs. I know that my ability to write a cohesive paper was due to Mr. Hines.

[Anonymous]

I went to college intending to major in history largely thanks to how much I'd enjoyed the subject at RM IB. Unfortunately, I discovered there that not all history teachers are that talented and when it's done badly, it's excruciatingly boring. Mr. Hines was an institution unto himself, but Mr. Beach was pretty awesome as well, and fortunately they are both still on staff. Mr. Evans could be a bit scary if you misbehaved or made a witless remark, but he knew his stuff and boy could he spark a discussion. Those are the three that stood out to me, but there really wasn't a bad teacher in the whole department. English was more hit or miss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that the rigor in pre-IB (9th and 10th) was necessary for these kids to be able to actually do the IB curriculum in 11th and 12th, to a world-class level. There is rigor in all magnet programs. Except, the RMIB is being graded by people in foreign countries. They do not care if someone was victim of curriculum 2.0, they will grade on the student's grasp, understanding and command of the subject.

RMIB is not for all students. They have to be very bright, but also have excellent organization and time management skills. If you are in the habit of procrastinating and not really working on short, medium and long term goals - you will find it tough.

For the person who commented on students getting C's and Ds in RMIB. Yes, that happens a lot. But these people do not graduate with low GPAs. They will work to bring their grades up. I like the fact that there is no grade inflation in RMIB. An essay that gets graded A is usually a work of art. The standards of grading is very tough, but surprisingly, these children actually end up rising to the expectation.

Yes, sleep deprivation is a big deal. Mostly for those kids who were really laid back in HGC and MS Magnet. This program is great for a child who is very bright, and very strategic in managing time. I cannot emphasize it enough.

It is doable. Everyone graduated with flying colors, with great opportunities in front of them in college, with skills that is useful in life. It has the highest retention rate, and highest rate of IB Diploma awarded in the WORLD.

Interestingly, my RMIB graduate thinks that it was the best experience in her life, and is loving college now because she is head and shoulders above others.

The child when she went into the program was very bright, very well read but a real procrastinator. It resulted in some major adjustments for her in the very first quarter. You have to really hit the ground running. At the end of this whole experience - she can write and churn out essays in her sleep, she knows how to study effectively, she can maximize her time by seeking out new opportunities.

So, check out the program. Trust the wisdom of the selection committee. If they think your kid will be a great RMIB candidate, then he/she will be. Know your child and lastly let this be their choice.

If sleep deprivation is a big deal, why is the school not dealing with it? Do the teachers just give out hours of homework and enjoy watching the kids come in like zombies in the AM? It is completely unhealthy. No 14yr old should be sleeping 4-5hrs a night just to handle the school workload. Do they do a block schedule in IB or do the kids go to every class with assignments due every day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think that the rigor in pre-IB (9th and 10th) was necessary for these kids to be able to actually do the IB curriculum in 11th and 12th, to a world-class level. There is rigor in all magnet programs. Except, the RMIB is being graded by people in foreign countries. They do not care if someone was victim of curriculum 2.0, they will grade on the student's grasp, understanding and command of the subject.

RMIB is not for all students. They have to be very bright, but also have excellent organization and time management skills. If you are in the habit of procrastinating and not really working on short, medium and long term goals - you will find it tough.

For the person who commented on students getting C's and Ds in RMIB. Yes, that happens a lot. But these people do not graduate with low GPAs. They will work to bring their grades up. I like the fact that there is no grade inflation in RMIB. An essay that gets graded A is usually a work of art. The standards of grading is very tough, but surprisingly, these children actually end up rising to the expectation.

Yes, sleep deprivation is a big deal. Mostly for those kids who were really laid back in HGC and MS Magnet. This program is great for a child who is very bright, and very strategic in managing time. I cannot emphasize it enough.

It is doable. Everyone graduated with flying colors, with great opportunities in front of them in college, with skills that is useful in life. It has the highest retention rate, and highest rate of IB Diploma awarded in the WORLD.

Interestingly, my RMIB graduate thinks that it was the best experience in her life, and is loving college now because she is head and shoulders above others.

The child when she went into the program was very bright, very well read but a real procrastinator. It resulted in some major adjustments for her in the very first quarter. You have to really hit the ground running. At the end of this whole experience - she can write and churn out essays in her sleep, she knows how to study effectively, she can maximize her time by seeking out new opportunities.

So, check out the program. Trust the wisdom of the selection committee. If they think your kid will be a great RMIB candidate, then he/she will be. Know your child and lastly let this be their choice.

If sleep deprivation is a big deal, why is the school not dealing with it? Do the teachers just give out hours of homework and enjoy watching the kids come in like zombies in the AM? It is completely unhealthy. No 14yr old should be sleeping 4-5hrs a night just to handle the school workload. Do they do a block schedule in IB or do the kids go to every class with assignments due every day?

9;44 again--I won't pretend to speak for everybody in that situation but when I was in IB, my friends that complained about keeping hours like this were usually inefficient in some way that they didn't notice or didn't acknowledge. This was in the days before the prevalence of social media but they'd do homework with the AIM window open and split their time between working and bitching on AIM about how much they were working, comparing every answer, etc. making it take twice as long. Or they "had" to do this thing or "had" to do that thing before they actually sat at their desk and buckled down, or everything had to be 100% perfect in both substance and appearance when "very good" would have been plenty sufficient (not that proper effort isn't called for, but you have to think about priorities and diminishing marginal returns at some point before midnight). Or they had procrastinated and were then in the soup. Some people were just more efficient at prioritizing and powering through work without a lot of distractions. But it was like a badge to kvetch and moan about how much work you had.

[Anonymous]

This is not a program for a student who is not self motivated and or can't manage their time.

They will find it very hard to make up lost time if they procrastinate. Still most RMIB kids do learn very quickly how to manage time, prioritize their work and also participate in EC activities.

So, let your child decide if RMIB is for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think that the rigor in pre-IB (9th and 10th) was necessary for these kids to be able to actually do the IB curriculum in 11th and 12th, to a world-class level. There is rigor in all magnet programs. Except, the RMIB is being graded by people in foreign countries. They do not care if someone was victim of curriculum 2.0, they will grade on the student's grasp, understanding and command of the subject.

RMIB is not for all students. They have to be very bright, but also have excellent organization and time management skills. If you are in the habit of procrastinating and not really working on short, medium and long term goals - you will find it tough.

For the person who commented on students getting C's and Ds in RMIB. Yes, that happens a lot. But these people do not graduate with low GPAs. They will work to bring their grades up. I like the fact that there is no grade inflation in RMIB. An essay that gets graded A is usually a work of art. The standards of grading is very tough, but surprisingly, these children actually end up rising to the expectation.

Yes, sleep deprivation is a big deal. Mostly for those kids who were really laid back in HGC and MS Magnet. This program is great for a child who is very bright, and very strategic in managing time. I cannot emphasize it enough.

It is doable. Everyone graduated with flying colors, with great opportunities in front of them in college, with skills that is useful in life. It has the highest retention rate, and highest rate of IB Diploma awarded in the WORLD.

Interestingly, my RMIB graduate thinks that it was the best experience in her life, and is loving college now because she is head and shoulders above others.

The child when she went into the program was very bright, very well read but a real procrastinator. It resulted in some major adjustments for her in the very first quarter. You have to really hit the ground running. At the end of this whole experience - she can write and churn out essays in her sleep, she knows how to study effectively, she can maximize her time by seeking out new opportunities.

So, check out the program. Trust the wisdom of the selection committee. If they think your kid will be a great RMIB candidate, then he/she will be. Know your child and lastly let this be their choice.

If sleep deprivation is a big deal, why is the school not dealing with it? Do the teachers just give out hours of homework and enjoy watching the kids come in like zombies in the AM? It is completely unhealthy. No 14yr old should be sleeping 4-5hrs a night just to handle the school workload. Do they do a block schedule in IB or do the kids go to every class with assignments due every day?

9;44 again--I won't pretend to speak for everybody in that situation but when I was in IB, my friends that complained about keeping hours like this were usually inefficient in some way that they didn't notice or didn't acknowledge. This was in the days before the prevalence of social media but they'd do homework with the AIM window open and split their time between working and bitching on AIM about how much they were working, comparing every answer, etc. making it take twice as long. Or they "had" to do this thing or "had" to do that thing before they actually sat at their desk and buckled down, or everything had to be 100% perfect in both substance and appearance when "very good" would have been plenty sufficient (not that proper effort isn't called for, but you have to think about priorities and diminishing marginal returns at some point before midnight). Or they had procrastinated and were then in the soup. Some people were just more efficient at prioritizing and powering through work without a lot of distractions. But it was like a badge to kvetch and moan about how much work you had.

I agree. There are lots of kids who are not good at managing time and it is a hard program for them. My DC actually became quite efficient in 10th grade. But prior to that he had a tendency to while away time. So, 9th grade was actually toughest for him because he had to change his study habits radically. 11th was in many ways easier even with a boatload of IB/AP courses and SAT.

[Anonymous]

But even if you are still managing your time well, it is 4-5hrs a homework like previous people stated? Is that weekends too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But even if you are still managing your time well, it is 4-5hrs a homework like previous people stated? Is that weekends too.

You have to study on weekends too. I can't tell you how many hours but it's an intense program. When you attend the info session, make sure to ask the coordinator/current students. Technically speaking, HW might be only 2-3 hours per night but kids have to spend a lot of time "studying."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But even if you are still managing your time well, it is 4-5hrs a homework like previous people stated? Is that weekends too.

You have to study on weekends too. I can't tell you how many hours but it's an intense program. When you attend the info session, make sure to ask the coordinator/current students. Technically speaking, HW might be only 2-3 hours per night but kids have to spend a lot of time "studying."

That is the main thing. You are not only doing homework for the toughest courses that the school can offer, but you are taking AP classes too (starting from 9th), you are also doing EC activities, volunteer work, studying for SATs (subject SATs). All these take time. You are working towards long term, medium term and short term goals.

You are also working towards an IB Diploma, MCPS graduation requirements, college admissions (and requirements), EC activities and maintaining a high GPA in school. [u] Thankfully, the IB office does an excellent job of breaking it all down and tracking these students to make sure no one is dropping the ball. I do think they do an exceptional job.

IB requirements for IB diploma is the following - and it has to be done in the 11th and 12th grades.

1)150 hours of CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) - These are like SSL hours, but to be done in at least eleven discrete activities, over two years (11th and 12th grade). So 150 hours of theatre will not count towards 150 CAS hours .

2) 6 IB exams taken in - Math, Science, English, Foreign Language, History

3) Extended Essay (Sort of a dissertation on an assigned subject area, with an advisor assigned).


So, it is a lot of work. Most of these kids also take AP exams, SAT subject exams, work as interns, some have part-time jobs...