Anonymous wrote:My old boss who made 10 million a year sent kids to public school, and in state college. He also is giving them no inheritance or helping them financially Post college.
Does not want spoiled kids. Good for him. He is worth like 100 million and is giving it all away to people who need it.
Plenty of spoiled kids go to public school.
Sending your kid to a top private school will not necessarily spoil them.
I don't mind "spoiling" my kid with private school. There's a lot worse things to spoil you kid with.
Wealthy private school parent here. Yep, I admit I spoiled my children with a top notch education. I’m not spoiling them with designer clothes, the newest tech devices or fancy cars. I like to think that I have my priorities straight!
And this is exactly why I send my kid to private school...so they are surrounded by families like yours who prioritize education over material things like cars, clothes, homes, and vacations.
Private school families - prioritizing education
Public school families - Prioritizing ????
Prioritizing education has nothing to do with private or public. People opt of different options due to various reasons.
eh. most private school parents send their kids to private schools because they can, not because the "prioritize" education. Do these rich people think all these public school Asian American parents don't prioritize their kids' education? If they thought private school was the best, they'd scrimp and save to send their kids to private school.
Plenty of Asian Americans do just that.
? define "plenty"? Oh, you mean the handful of token Asians you see in private schools?
please.
-signed an Asian American
Or you mean the half the kids in my daughter’s private school class who aren’t white?
Do you understand that "not white" doesn't mean only Asian?
Please post which school/grade, and % of Asian students in the grade that shows "half your daughter's private school class is Asian". Thanks.
Thanks, I’m well aware. I’m part-Asian myself.
I don't know that you actually do, since you stated "half the kids in my daughter’s private school class who aren’t white" in a discussion about Asian students in private school.
So, again, please post the private school and % of Asians to show that "half the class is Asian". Thanks.
I didn’t say half the class is Asian. I said half the class isn’t white.
And I’m not risking outing myself by naming my kid’s school, but if you look at the websites of most of the private schools in this area, they’re about 40% students of color. They don’t usually break it down further than that.
ok, but this particular discussion was about Asians in private school.
Someone stated that only private school parents prioritize education.
I stated that Asian parents also prioritize education, probably more than any other group, and that most Asian parents with means still send their kids to public school.
Then you or someone stated that "plenty of Asian parents" send their kids to private.
So I asked, "define plenty".
To which you responded: "half the kids in your kid's class is non white". That doesn't answer the question. You get an F there.
Then I asked you to post the % of Asian students in the class, to which you responded, "I didn't say Asian". So, again, you didn't understand the question. Another F.
So, once again, Asian parents, who prioritize education more so than any other group, largely send their kids to public school.
Hopefully, that was clear.
Yeah, no.
Given that 90% of kids go to public school, the majority of any demographic group sends their kids to public school. That doesn’t mean anything except that most people can’t afford private school.
? a PP stated that private school parents are the only ones prioritizing education.
I stated Asian parents with means who also prioritize education send their kids to public.
That means that Asian parents with means who also prioritize education send their kids to public school.
Or maybe you could stop stereotyping "Asian parents"?
I think this has more to do with the fact that Asian parents are reluctant to spend money in fee wrap and so will take what is free over paying for it. Many white parents and other races (we are African American) don’t mind making the investment in private school if we can afford it. Luckily we are in a position where we can.
You are gross and racist and narrow minded. The Asian parents we know, and I'm talking Asian parents who are immigrants from Asia, are used to huge schools with lots of competition and still rising to the top so they don't worry about that aspect. I also know several Asian or Asian-American families that turned down top private schools for top publics because the privates tend to be small and insular and not value their type of diversity. I know several Black families who also left or never enrolled privates because they didn't like the lack of diversity. What is wrong with you?
Umm, why so defensive? I am just staying the obvious. I live in a 'W' school zone and it is abundantly clear that the Asian families have moved into this neighborhood exclusively for the schools. (I am in Stonebridge for reference, btw). They are absolutely NOT going to pay for private school. Where we live, there are clearly generations of Asian families living in one house in order to afford to live here (i.e., multiple incomes; eliminating daycare costs because grandparents live in the basement so parents save on 5 years of daycare expenses). That said, the Asian population at Stone Mill has EXPLODED in the last 5-10 years, such that it is now 47.7% Asian (2022 stats). It is now very overcrowded and is heavily worksheet dependent and very factory-like. This not what a lot of wealthy parents are looking for, especially those of us who understand what "whole child" academic environments like private schools are able to offer.
dp.. you are a racist. You assume that the school is now "factory" like because the Asian American population there has "exploded". You think Asian parents have that much sway with MCPS such that they could make the school "factory" like with all the worksheets? You think a 40% white school doesn't have worksheets?
It's good you left that school. Clearly, you're a racist, and we don't want racists in MCPS. I bet if your private school became 40% Asian you'd leave that school, too, claiming it's become "factory" like.
Of all things, I am NOT a racist. I am a factist. Look up the definition. I live here and am telling you what I see and experience.
Fact: Stone Mill is 40% Asian - I said this.
Racist: it's become a factory of worksheets because it's now 40% asian. I did not say this.
I'll repeat:
You think Asian parents have that much sway with MCPS such that they could make the school "factory" like with all the worksheets? You think a 40% white school doesn't have worksheets? I bet if your private school became 40% Asian you'd leave that school, too, claiming it's become "factory" like.
There was a thread recently about how wealthy white people leave schools when they become too Asian because their white kids can't compete with the Asian kids academically. IMO, that's you.
Reading comprehension is your friend. I made two separate statements and your tiny brain interpreted what I said to mean that Asian parents carried enough weight to make the school factory-like. First, I have worked very closely with MCPS. They don't give any flying effs about what Asian parents think. My point is that Asian parents tend to like the worksheets because there is no gray - it is just black in white. There is a score given - if the score is high enough, they are happy. So you have a heavily worksheet driven school combined with overzealoused parenting by tiger parents. It is a perfect match and increases the Asian population at that school. Nothing I am saying is untrue.
I am also familiar with the thread you are referring to - and the consensus after pages and pages of discussion and then finally you complaining to Jeff and the thread being locked was, that parents aren't moving their kids out of predominantly Asian schools because of a competition issue, but because the atmosphere and culture just wasn't one they wanted for their kids. Trust me, Asian parents will always be outspent, out-connected and out-networked by wealthy white parents no matter how high your kids score on exams, so it's not an issue of Asians edging out white families for college placement and employment. YOU rely on scores and grades - everyone else relies on a more rounded approach that considers everything - grades, scores, personality, extracurricular activities, leadership abilities, likability and who you know.
The End.
This is so racist by stereotyping Asians to be only focused on scores. Asian kids are more well-rounded than ever. Just look at stone mill elementary school where many Asian kids are so talented in swimming, ice hockey, musical instruments, etc. Stonebridge swim team is in the division A and the best kids there are Asians.
This hits the nail on the head. Alot of parents are sending their kids to privates because they see it as an escape route. Their kids used to easily stand out because of their privilege but are now finding the sheer numbers diminishntheir kids overall and specifically that other ethnicities are as or more competitive about both academics and sports. It's better to be a big fish in a small pond.
Again it is not that. Who is paying $40/50k to get away from Asians? Are you crazy? You must not know a single private school parent - most of them are leaving because MCPS curriculum sucks, they don't teach how to write, there is no true "gifted" program anymore, everyone is in honors, drugs, violence, behavior, etc. Just go read the private school board - Asian and 'W' competition NEVER comes up. Believe me, those private school parents are leaving MCPS, even the 'W' schools because they think their kids are academically superior, not because they are "running away from competition." Plus, white families can call a friend or work colleague or someone they play golf with to get into whatever schools they want. You can't.
I think honestly, you cannot stand the fact that you are causing white flight when in the end, all you wanted was to be them. 🤷♀️
NP. What are you even talking about? Your view of the world is really outdated. Do you think we're in the 1960s? Most of the Asian American families at the Big 3/5 we know are very well connected and believe me no one, absolutely no one, wants to be anything like you. My guess is your child is at a lower private school and you feel insecure about it.
Anonymous wrote:IF both W schools and privates were free, what would you choose?
I am a new poster and have not been able to read all 46 pages of this thread but I did skim through a it and approached our choice much like you posed this question. We are in a W cluster but had considered private. Particularly Bullis. We decided to stick with our W cluster for many reasons but mostly because the diversity that you speak of at Bullis turned us off. We went to a football game and all the kids they bussed in were playing and the remaining student section was not diverse at all. I also truly believe that the math curriculm in our W cluster is leaps and bounds ahead of Bullis. Other factors lead to our decision as well but in the end even if it was free we decided to pass on private. In my opinion Private is worth it if you go for name recognition which is therefore only worth it when looking for single sex schools and that was not appealing for us.
Students who play sports are also students who are in the classroom. The Bulls football program is one of the best high school football program in the US. It has phenomenal athletes that earn the attention of D1 schools for college scholarship opportunities. Same for other athletic programs at the school.
A better measurement of the academic atmosphere is a tour of the school during the school day. Unlike public schools, athletes wear the same uniform as all other students. There’s nothing on them that represents themselves as a football player.
For math, child left Churchill for Bullis specifically for their STEM program. There were more advanced classes at Bullis for math and electives not offered at Churchill. The peer group for advanced math was around 12 students to Churchill’s 2 (hence why my son, if he stayed at Churchill, wouldn’t have a math class past 11th grade). The top math, science, and AP economics classes were taught by university professors. The quality of instruction and availability for help during office hours was also a huge benefit at Bullis.
Finally, help with the college search process was another benefit of private. Counselors at Bullis have a small fraction of students compared to their MCPS counterparts. Bullis counselors actually have several meetings with students to help them come up with a list of colleges, read essays, and provide feedback. They also help students chunk out the deadlines. At Churchill there was zero help with navigating the college process.
dp.. I call BS. It's a simple numbers game. Public schools like the Ws have way more students than Bullis, and many are also UMC. There are way more high achieving students in public schools than there are at Bullis simply because there are more public school students than private schools.
if your DS was that advanced in math he could've gone to Blair STEM, but it seems to me that he is probably not intuitively advanced as much as he is coached to be advanced. And yes, a lot of public school students are also tutored and coached to be advanced in math, as well, but they don't send their kids to private because they think private is much more advanced in STEM than Blair, for example.
BS meter is showing all the way to the right.
PP - this thread is asking if money wasn’t a factor, would you send your child to a W school or private. Blair is not a W school nor do most people in Potomac wish to put their child on a 45 minute bus ride to Silver Spring for access to a challenging math class and a segregated school within a school.
You may not agree with our choice, however, Bullis was a wonderful experience for my son. Bullis met his needs and provided a more challenging curriculum than Churchill. Bullis was also only 10 minutes from our house.
How did Bullis provide a more challenging math curriculum than your W school?
I’m not the person you’re responding to, but we’ve posted course catalogs for private schools repeatedly and compared them to W schools. The course offerings at private schools on the high school level are just as advanced if not more than the W schools.
Here’s a Course Catalog for Bullis. I’m sure other private school catalogs can also be Googled.
The technology and course offerings at Bullis is beyond what students are offered at W high schools in MCPS. Bullis also offers special learning opportunities at the beginning and ending of the year so students interact with peers in their grade who may not be in the same classes.
Anonymous wrote:
You've hit the nail on the head and the reason we have one in private and her little brother will soon be joining her. My oldest was in a 'W' school with great grades and easily scored in the upper 90s on standardized tests but we wanted a different experience for her and didn't like what we were seeing. I went to a school similar to the one you described while growing up in Los Angeles - an amazing and happy experience and wanted this same experience for my kids. When I attended my high school. it was approximately 60% white and about evenly split Asian and Latino and maybe around 5% African-American. It is now over 75% Asian and the culture has completely changed according to my nephews and nieces who have attended. Before it was full of really smart and creative kids but interestingly, not high pressure and cut throat/competitive. Now, it is extremely academically competitive, the cultural arts is no longer highlighted, the sports team is abysmal and the kids are solely focused on GPAs and standardized test scores.
This is BS. I grew up in LA, and still have family/friends there.
Schools with a lot of Asian American students absolutely care about cultural arts. They are very into music and art, and many are into sports, just not the kind of sports you like for white kids.
IMO, you are like many of the white families who leave schools with a high Asian American population because you cannot handle the academic competition from these Asian American kids. You just use the excuse of "they are like robots" to leave the school.
It is true that when the percentage of Asian American students starts to increase, the academic benchmark goes way up, and some people cannot handle it. That's fine. If you don't like the pressure cooker environment for your kids, then certainly you shouldn't have your kids go to that school. I feel the same, so we don't live in a cluster where there is a lot of academic pressure. But your attitude is either racist or defensive.
Be honest with yourself.
As I have stated exhaustively, white parents aren't leaving because of the "competition." These are well-heeled kids with plenty of money and connections to do well in life. They JUST DON'T LIKE THE ATMOSPHERE ANYMORE. How much clearer do I have to be than that? You are so stubborn, you can't fathom that other kids don't want to be around your kids because of their personalities but it is true. Be honest - would you want to WORK in an environment like this? Of course not and kids don't want to attend schools where the kids have a one track mind and very little versatility or interest in anything that is not academic. It really isn't rocket science. Really. But if what you want is a school full of people like your kids, you all are doing a great job of creating that environment. Wootton for one, is well on its way. I have two friends who recently picked homes in the Quince Orchard cluster rather than Wootton because Q.O. offered a more well-rounded high school experience and these are kids who were in other MCPS magnet programs. See, everyone really does not see things the way you do. And that is okay.
AGAIN, a lot of those high achieving Asian American students do waaay more than just school work. They have very strong extra curricular activities; they play some sport; they play a musical instrument. They are just very high achieving in every way. It's hard to compete. I understand. I didn't want my kids under that pressure, so we purposefully chose a cluster that didn't have so many high achieving Asian American students.
We decided against the Wootton cluster, too, for that reason.
Instead we chose RM, but one of my kids ended up in the IB magnet program, anyways, that's like 90% Asian American, and most of them are very well rounded in terms of academics and extra curriculars. They are super high achieving kid.
I understand not wanting your kids around such high achieving super stars. It's hard to compete, and too much pressure.
We are a big private school family - alumni of two different top DMV schools, 2 kids currently in private and many extended family in same and other privates. Our third child got into a Big 3 and I really begged her to go but she wanted to go to public. She had a lot of local friends and really wanted a bigger and more diverse environment. I admit now I panicked because I thought she could not compete at a large public and did not want her to have too much pressure. Many other families have told us similar reasons for choosing private. They portray it as more positive but it is really the same message. In the end we let our DD choose and she's doing great and is extremely happy in public. She has a more driven personality than our other kids, and the environment is a good one for her. She is not fazed by high achieving super stars. I do think our other kids might have been. We are Asian-American.
Anonymous wrote:
You've hit the nail on the head and the reason we have one in private and her little brother will soon be joining her. My oldest was in a 'W' school with great grades and easily scored in the upper 90s on standardized tests but we wanted a different experience for her and didn't like what we were seeing. I went to a school similar to the one you described while growing up in Los Angeles - an amazing and happy experience and wanted this same experience for my kids. When I attended my high school. it was approximately 60% white and about evenly split Asian and Latino and maybe around 5% African-American. It is now over 75% Asian and the culture has completely changed according to my nephews and nieces who have attended. Before it was full of really smart and creative kids but interestingly, not high pressure and cut throat/competitive. Now, it is extremely academically competitive, the cultural arts is no longer highlighted, the sports team is abysmal and the kids are solely focused on GPAs and standardized test scores.
This is BS. I grew up in LA, and still have family/friends there.
Schools with a lot of Asian American students absolutely care about cultural arts. They are very into music and art, and many are into sports, just not the kind of sports you like for white kids.
IMO, you are like many of the white families who leave schools with a high Asian American population because you cannot handle the academic competition from these Asian American kids. You just use the excuse of "they are like robots" to leave the school.
It is true that when the percentage of Asian American students starts to increase, the academic benchmark goes way up, and some people cannot handle it. That's fine. If you don't like the pressure cooker environment for your kids, then certainly you shouldn't have your kids go to that school. I feel the same, so we don't live in a cluster where there is a lot of academic pressure. But your attitude is either racist or defensive.
Be honest with yourself.
As I have stated exhaustively, white parents aren't leaving because of the "competition." These are well-heeled kids with plenty of money and connections to do well in life. They JUST DON'T LIKE THE ATMOSPHERE ANYMORE. How much clearer do I have to be than that? You are so stubborn, you can't fathom that other kids don't want to be around your kids because of their personalities but it is true. Be honest - would you want to WORK in an environment like this? Of course not and kids don't want to attend schools where the kids have a one track mind and very little versatility or interest in anything that is not academic. It really isn't rocket science. Really. But if what you want is a school full of people like your kids, you all are doing a great job of creating that environment. Wootton for one, is well on its way. I have two friends who recently picked homes in the Quince Orchard cluster rather than Wootton because Q.O. offered a more well-rounded high school experience and these are kids who were in other MCPS magnet programs. See, everyone really does not see things the way you do. And that is okay.
AGAIN, a lot of those high achieving Asian American students do waaay more than just school work. They have very strong extra curricular activities; they play some sport; they play a musical instrument. They are just very high achieving in every way. It's hard to compete. I understand. I didn't want my kids under that pressure, so we purposefully chose a cluster that didn't have so many high achieving Asian American students.
We decided against the Wootton cluster, too, for that reason.
Instead we chose RM, but one of my kids ended up in the IB magnet program, anyways, that's like 90% Asian American, and most of them are very well rounded in terms of academics and extra curriculars. They are super high achieving kid.
I understand not wanting your kids around such high achieving super stars. It's hard to compete, and too much pressure.
It is very manufactured. These kids don't even enjoy their extra curriculars. Their parents are pushing it on them to check boxes for the college application. If they had it their way, they would only focus on academics, but they realize that no longer works.
I’m not sure why a PP feels so defensive about MCPS. MCPS class sizes are ridiculously too large for students to receive individualized instruction. MCPS is demoralized by the demands due to the staffing shortages, unaddressed misconduct by superiors, and low pay.Finally, private schools returned to in person instruction for the 2020-2021 school year while MCPS remained online. Private schools never adjusted their curriculum during the pandemic and thus, students didn’t experience learning loss like their MCPS peers.
Keep fooling yourself that MCPS is superior school system. MCPS is the free option, not the academically superior option. Like another PP said, in life you get what you pay for.
Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure why a PP feels so defensive about MCPS. MCPS class sizes are ridiculously too large for students to receive individualized instruction. MCPS is demoralized by the demands due to the staffing shortages, unaddressed misconduct by superiors, and low pay.Finally, private schools returned to in person instruction for the 2020-2021 school year while MCPS remained online. Private schools never adjusted their curriculum during the pandemic and thus, students didn’t experience learning loss like their MCPS peers.
Keep fooling yourself that MCPS is superior school system. MCPS is the free option, not the academically superior option. Like another PP said, in life you get what you pay for.
I don't know about you, but I prefer not having my kid in a classroom where his classmate is vaping pot during class...but maybe that's just me.
Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure why a PP feels so defensive about MCPS. MCPS class sizes are ridiculously too large for students to receive individualized instruction. MCPS is demoralized by the demands due to the staffing shortages, unaddressed misconduct by superiors, and low pay.Finally, private schools returned to in person instruction for the 2020-2021 school year while MCPS remained online. Private schools never adjusted their curriculum during the pandemic and thus, students didn’t experience learning loss like their MCPS peers.
Keep fooling yourself that MCPS is superior school system. MCPS is the free option, not the academically superior option. Like another PP said, in life you get what you pay for.
I don't know about you, but I prefer not having my kid in a classroom where his classmate is vaping pot during class...but maybe that's just me.
Anonymous wrote:
You've hit the nail on the head and the reason we have one in private and her little brother will soon be joining her. My oldest was in a 'W' school with great grades and easily scored in the upper 90s on standardized tests but we wanted a different experience for her and didn't like what we were seeing. I went to a school similar to the one you described while growing up in Los Angeles - an amazing and happy experience and wanted this same experience for my kids. When I attended my high school. it was approximately 60% white and about evenly split Asian and Latino and maybe around 5% African-American. It is now over 75% Asian and the culture has completely changed according to my nephews and nieces who have attended. Before it was full of really smart and creative kids but interestingly, not high pressure and cut throat/competitive. Now, it is extremely academically competitive, the cultural arts is no longer highlighted, the sports team is abysmal and the kids are solely focused on GPAs and standardized test scores.
This is BS. I grew up in LA, and still have family/friends there.
Schools with a lot of Asian American students absolutely care about cultural arts. They are very into music and art, and many are into sports, just not the kind of sports you like for white kids.
IMO, you are like many of the white families who leave schools with a high Asian American population because you cannot handle the academic competition from these Asian American kids. You just use the excuse of "they are like robots" to leave the school.
It is true that when the percentage of Asian American students starts to increase, the academic benchmark goes way up, and some people cannot handle it. That's fine. If you don't like the pressure cooker environment for your kids, then certainly you shouldn't have your kids go to that school. I feel the same, so we don't live in a cluster where there is a lot of academic pressure. But your attitude is either racist or defensive.
Be honest with yourself.
As I have stated exhaustively, white parents aren't leaving because of the "competition." These are well-heeled kids with plenty of money and connections to do well in life. They JUST DON'T LIKE THE ATMOSPHERE ANYMORE. How much clearer do I have to be than that? You are so stubborn, you can't fathom that other kids don't want to be around your kids because of their personalities but it is true. Be honest - would you want to WORK in an environment like this? Of course not and kids don't want to attend schools where the kids have a one track mind and very little versatility or interest in anything that is not academic. It really isn't rocket science. Really. But if what you want is a school full of people like your kids, you all are doing a great job of creating that environment. Wootton for one, is well on its way. I have two friends who recently picked homes in the Quince Orchard cluster rather than Wootton because Q.O. offered a more well-rounded high school experience and these are kids who were in other MCPS magnet programs. See, everyone really does not see things the way you do. And that is okay.
AGAIN, a lot of those high achieving Asian American students do waaay more than just school work. They have very strong extra curricular activities; they play some sport; they play a musical instrument. They are just very high achieving in every way. It's hard to compete. I understand. I didn't want my kids under that pressure, so we purposefully chose a cluster that didn't have so many high achieving Asian American students.
We decided against the Wootton cluster, too, for that reason.
Instead we chose RM, but one of my kids ended up in the IB magnet program, anyways, that's like 90% Asian American, and most of them are very well rounded in terms of academics and extra curriculars. They are super high achieving kid.
I understand not wanting your kids around such high achieving super stars. It's hard to compete, and too much pressure.
It is very manufactured. These kids don't even enjoy their extra curriculars. Their parents are pushing it on them to check boxes for the college application. If they had it their way, they would only focus on academics, but they realize that no longer works.
Who are "they"? Why are these interests manufactured for Asian-Americans but not your kids who are presumably Black or white (based on what previous posters have said above about their race)? I've had lots of conversation with other white moms about their child's activities being "for college applications."
Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure why a PP feels so defensive about MCPS. MCPS class sizes are ridiculously too large for students to receive individualized instruction. MCPS is demoralized by the demands due to the staffing shortages, unaddressed misconduct by superiors, and low pay.Finally, private schools returned to in person instruction for the 2020-2021 school year while MCPS remained online. Private schools never adjusted their curriculum during the pandemic and thus, students didn’t experience learning loss like their MCPS peers.
Keep fooling yourself that MCPS is superior school system. MCPS is the free option, not the academically superior option. Like another PP said, in life you get what you pay for.
While I certainly recognize the problems facing MCPS and other public school districts, private schools are not superior for everyone. DD's best friend hated their private. Other parents would kill to have their kids there but for her it was not really challenging, not enough smart kids, not enough ideas. She felt the classroom discussion was always mediocre because only a small percentage of kids were actually smart and motivated. She was bored. Most of them came from similar backgrounds. In her public magnet the entire class is smart and motivated and the perspectives are more eye-opening. FWIW, DD is very smart and likes the private.
Anonymous wrote:
You've hit the nail on the head and the reason we have one in private and her little brother will soon be joining her. My oldest was in a 'W' school with great grades and easily scored in the upper 90s on standardized tests but we wanted a different experience for her and didn't like what we were seeing. I went to a school similar to the one you described while growing up in Los Angeles - an amazing and happy experience and wanted this same experience for my kids. When I attended my high school. it was approximately 60% white and about evenly split Asian and Latino and maybe around 5% African-American. It is now over 75% Asian and the culture has completely changed according to my nephews and nieces who have attended. Before it was full of really smart and creative kids but interestingly, not high pressure and cut throat/competitive. Now, it is extremely academically competitive, the cultural arts is no longer highlighted, the sports team is abysmal and the kids are solely focused on GPAs and standardized test scores.
This is BS. I grew up in LA, and still have family/friends there.
Schools with a lot of Asian American students absolutely care about cultural arts. They are very into music and art, and many are into sports, just not the kind of sports you like for white kids.
IMO, you are like many of the white families who leave schools with a high Asian American population because you cannot handle the academic competition from these Asian American kids. You just use the excuse of "they are like robots" to leave the school.
It is true that when the percentage of Asian American students starts to increase, the academic benchmark goes way up, and some people cannot handle it. That's fine. If you don't like the pressure cooker environment for your kids, then certainly you shouldn't have your kids go to that school. I feel the same, so we don't live in a cluster where there is a lot of academic pressure. But your attitude is either racist or defensive.
Be honest with yourself.
As I have stated exhaustively, white parents aren't leaving because of the "competition." These are well-heeled kids with plenty of money and connections to do well in life. They JUST DON'T LIKE THE ATMOSPHERE ANYMORE. How much clearer do I have to be than that? You are so stubborn, you can't fathom that other kids don't want to be around your kids because of their personalities but it is true. Be honest - would you want to WORK in an environment like this? Of course not and kids don't want to attend schools where the kids have a one track mind and very little versatility or interest in anything that is not academic. It really isn't rocket science. Really. But if what you want is a school full of people like your kids, you all are doing a great job of creating that environment. Wootton for one, is well on its way. I have two friends who recently picked homes in the Quince Orchard cluster rather than Wootton because Q.O. offered a more well-rounded high school experience and these are kids who were in other MCPS magnet programs. See, everyone really does not see things the way you do. And that is okay.
AGAIN, a lot of those high achieving Asian American students do waaay more than just school work. They have very strong extra curricular activities; they play some sport; they play a musical instrument. They are just very high achieving in every way. It's hard to compete. I understand. I didn't want my kids under that pressure, so we purposefully chose a cluster that didn't have so many high achieving Asian American students.
We decided against the Wootton cluster, too, for that reason.
Instead we chose RM, but one of my kids ended up in the IB magnet program, anyways, that's like 90% Asian American, and most of them are very well rounded in terms of academics and extra curriculars. They are super high achieving kid.
I understand not wanting your kids around such high achieving super stars. It's hard to compete, and too much pressure.
It is very manufactured. These kids don't even enjoy their extra curriculars. Their parents are pushing it on them to check boxes for the college application. If they had it their way, they would only focus on academics, but they realize that no longer works.
Who are "they"? Why are these interests manufactured for Asian-Americans but not your kids who are presumably Black or white (based on what previous posters have said above about their race)? I've had lots of conversation with other white moms about their child's activities being "for college applications."
Anonymous wrote:private schools parents can try to justify paying up to $55000 for a subpar education from here to the heaven, but the fact is none of them can compete with the Ws.
Choose any academic competition and the W schools will run circles around them.
Post proof. Oh wait — you won’t. We’ve been through this over and over.
Mathcounts, amc8, 10, C-span, It's academic and on and on.....
Too many to count
Anonymous wrote:private schools parents can try to justify paying up to $55000 for a subpar education from here to the heaven, but the fact is none of them can compete with the Ws.
Choose any academic competition and the W schools will run circles around them.
Post proof. Oh wait — you won’t. We’ve been through this over and over.
Mathcounts, amc8, 10, C-span, It's academic and on and on.....
Too many to count
That’s a list. Not proof. Might want to go back to school.
Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure why a PP feels so defensive about MCPS. MCPS class sizes are ridiculously too large for students to receive individualized instruction. MCPS is demoralized by the demands due to the staffing shortages, unaddressed misconduct by superiors, and low pay.Finally, private schools returned to in person instruction for the 2020-2021 school year while MCPS remained online. Private schools never adjusted their curriculum during the pandemic and thus, students didn’t experience learning loss like their MCPS peers.
Keep fooling yourself that MCPS is superior school system. MCPS is the free option, not the academically superior option. Like another PP said, in life you get what you pay for.
While I certainly recognize the problems facing MCPS and other public school districts, private schools are not superior for everyone. DD's best friend hated their private. Other parents would kill to have their kids there but for her it was not really challenging, not enough smart kids, not enough ideas. She felt the classroom discussion was always mediocre because only a small percentage of kids were actually smart and motivated. She was bored. Most of them came from similar backgrounds. In her public magnet the entire class is smart and motivated and the perspectives are more eye-opening. FWIW, DD is very smart and likes the private.
This thread is comparing W schools to private if money wasn’t an option. None of the magnets are W schools.
Most people in W schools do not view magnets as a great option because of the long commute. If you live in a non-W neighborhood, I can see why a magnet would be an attractive option to get out of the disciplinary problems and safety concerns reported in those schools. However, schools like Blair also have safety issues so I guess it depends on which magnet your child is aspiring to get into.
Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure why a PP feels so defensive about MCPS. MCPS class sizes are ridiculously too large for students to receive individualized instruction. MCPS is demoralized by the demands due to the staffing shortages, unaddressed misconduct by superiors, and low pay.Finally, private schools returned to in person instruction for the 2020-2021 school year while MCPS remained online. Private schools never adjusted their curriculum during the pandemic and thus, students didn’t experience learning loss like their MCPS peers.
Keep fooling yourself that MCPS is superior school system. MCPS is the free option, not the academically superior option. Like another PP said, in life you get what you pay for.
I don't know about you, but I prefer not having my kid in a classroom where his classmate is vaping pot during class...but maybe that's just me.
+1 Private schools can expel students who bring drugs on campus. They also can expel for bullying. Disciplinary problems are dealt with so students can focus on learning.
What is MCPS doing to keep drugs out of schools including the W schools? Ignoring the problem including when students are over dosing at school.
Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure why a PP feels so defensive about MCPS. MCPS class sizes are ridiculously too large for students to receive individualized instruction. MCPS is demoralized by the demands due to the staffing shortages, unaddressed misconduct by superiors, and low pay.Finally, private schools returned to in person instruction for the 2020-2021 school year while MCPS remained online. Private schools never adjusted their curriculum during the pandemic and thus, students didn’t experience learning loss like their MCPS peers.
Keep fooling yourself that MCPS is superior school system. MCPS is the free option, not the academically superior option. Like another PP said, in life you get what you pay for.
I don't know about you, but I prefer not having my kid in a classroom where his classmate is vaping pot during class...but maybe that's just me.
+1 Private schools can expel students who bring drugs on campus. They also can expel for bullying. Disciplinary problems are dealt with so students can focus on learning.
What is MCPS doing to keep drugs out of schools including the W schools? Ignoring the problem including when students are over dosing at school.
+2 Years ago there were some boys vaping something in the parking lot across the street from my son's school (not on school property). The boys were suspended. MCPS would never take that sort of action.
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