Forum Index
»
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)
"Why You Should Hate This School" cover story
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Anyone see the current cover story on TJ in The Washingtonian this month? A few interesting quotes from the article:
"...Thomas Jefferson High School, better known as America's Best High School, where smart kids from all over Northern VA plot to take over the world, or at least get into Princeton." "...more National Merit Semifinalists than probably at any other school in the country." "Because it culls top talent from all over, Jefferson is often likened to the New York Yankees - and hated with the same passion". "US News awarded Jefferson the top spot in its 'Americas Best High Schools' issue in 2007 and again in 2008 (the 2009 issue is due out soon)." "Outsiders assume Jefferson is lavishly funded, but it gets the same per student allocation from the county as the other high schools, plus a 7% boost from the state. A foundation tied to Jefferson is trying to raise $750,000..." "What makes Jefferson the number one high school in the nation is almost settled right out of admissions" says former principal Geoff Jones, now head of the private Potomac School in McLean". Only the most elite colleges draw applicants with this type of intellectual firepower, he says, "and they are selecting for a broad range of things. They have to pay attention to putting out football teams, they've got legacies to worry about. They don't have that luxury of building a freshman class almost entirely on intellect." "You have to be smart to get in" Brian says, "But its a combination of being smart and being driven. I realized toward the end of my sophomore year that it's not a school for smart kids, its a school for motivated kids". "About 9 of 10 students arrive at Jefferson from public middle schools. Families who can't afford the $30,000 price tag of a Potomac School or Sidwell Friends see Jefferson as a private-school equivalent." "The Jefferson dynamics that get the most attention revolve around race and ethnicity".... this fall Asian-Americans make up 54% of freshman... whites account for 36%... blacks and Hispanics together are about 3% "Economics play a big role in the low numbers. Middle schools in poorer neighborhoods of Fairfax, particularly along Route 1 in the southern part of the county, seldom send kids to Jefferson". "Tension over the school's mission has simmered for years. Though a science and tech magnet, Jefferson aims to be a comprehensive high school with strong offerings in the social sciences, humanities, and arts." That's just a small sampling, there's a ton more in the article (12 pages) - would recommend picking up a copy of the magazine. What do folks think? |
Anonymous
|
I think it's a stupid cover line.
Let's hate academic excellence? Also, likening TJ and the New York Yankees is cognitive dissonance at its finest. |
Anonymous
|
Where to start?
The Title of the article was poorly chosen, given that people in this geographic area need no further encouragement to dislike ("hate") other schools. Secondly, I would argue that attempting to cull the very brightest and highest achieving students across the area into one school benefits the selected students by creating an incrediblely rich and exciting peer group and environment for advanced learning. But it ALSO benefits those bright and high achieving students not selected for attendance at TJ, as many academic and leadership opportunities are opened up at their high schools that might very well have been taken by those redirected to TJ. Third, I agree that TJ is a magnificent school that I would be very pleased to see my child attend IF he were a good candidate. However, my DC would never make it at TJ not because he isn't bright or motivated, but because he has certain LDs that make a small class size and small school size imperative for him to fully realize his potential. So I do not see TJ as a "poor man's private school" ... it is indeed fantastic but not an appropriate fit for some students regardless of whether tuition is charged or not. I will limit my comments to these few. |
Anonymous
|
Yeah, I thought this was a "fake problem" article during a slow news week. What is wrong? The kids are too smart? Too hard-working? Too exceptional?
Please, find some real problems in some schools that are ACTUALLY struggling. DUMB. |
Anonymous
| I thought the title of the article was dumb too. Other public schools in the area should be using TJ as a benchmark and not mock it....DCPS anyone? |
Anonymous
|
This is what newspapers, tv, and magazines do to sell copies. Creating a controversy, no matter how flimsy, sells copies.
Personally, we decided not to apply to TJ for a number of reasons. I think creating a specialized and controlled environment may not be the healthiest for the real world out there. I'm also concerned that my child would feel enormous and unabated pressure there. There are so many ways to be successful in life and there is no one recipe. I think it's important for a child to carve out whatever he or she wants to - and to enjoy their teen years. Quite frankly, I'd rather that my child be a large fish in a small pond rather than the other way around. College apps would also pose a problem when you've got over 60 kids applying to Harvard and Harvard taking 10 of them (last year). You have a better chance getting into a highly-desired college going to another high school. Besides, how many of us really know what we want to do in life while in high school? |
Anonymous
| I agree with PP that TJ is not necessarily the best place for many kids ... it is a real pressure cooker. So if your kid sort of puts him/herself under that kind of pressure anyway and is truly smart enough and hard-working enough to ENJOY that level of intellectual activity, then go for it. Otherwise, the fact that the school is free is not enough reason alone to select the school, even for very smart and motivated kids. It is a difficult decision for some I would think. |
Anonymous
It's funny, that's exactly what I would say about Sidwell (and GDS and St. Albans and Maret) at the high school level. A great experience for a very smart, self-motivated kid, but not for everyone. Do you think that's what the author meant when describing it as "Sidwell or Potomac for free"!? |
Anonymous
| I suppose that could be what they meant ... and I agree with you that Sidwell, et al are definitely not for everyone. It is hard to ignore the prestige and really think about what one's child would experience, especially if you have a really smart child. Quality of life is very important to me in addition to excellent high school education. Glad I have many years to ruminate ... and then my child will have plenty to say about it too, I imagine!! That is the one aspect I liked about applying for K ... I only considered child's opinion after I pre-selected his options! |
Anonymous
As an alum, I completely agree with you. TJ is not necessarily the best place for many kids.. for those who can't keep up with the demands, it's awful. On the other hand, it is the best school in the world for those that can. So, the decision's not too difficult really.. you might even call it binary. |
Anonymous
| Comparing Sidwell, St. Alban's or any other high school in the country to TJ is laughable. Third and fourth years at TJ are harder than the first two years at most (competitive) colleges. |
Anonymous
And humble too! |
Anonymous
I'm a long way from having to deal with this - my DD is 2 - but I don't consider that a good thing. |
Anonymous
|
TJ is academically synonymous with the best private schools in the country (Andover, Exeter, St. Albans). STA is the only school in the area that falls in the same upper echelon of high school academia as TJ. The math and science taught at TJ are matched only by other nationally recognized magnet programs. Its rare that public high schools have the intellectual firepower to compete with Americas best prep schools, but TJ is close to the top.
The problem with high school rankings is the limited use of acceptable and relevant criterion. In order to stay positive (in a statistical sense) only numerical values are usable. Normative values are tossed to the wayside despite their importance in preparatory education. Bureaucracy and gov. oversight force classifications, standardized course rankings and numerical regularity allowing public schools to be easily comparable. The same attention to detail with regards to labeling is far less evident in private institutions. Exeter has little need to label a class in modern British-American lit as an AP; to do so would be unnecessary, everyone already knows the class is challenging, and colleges are well aware of the curriculum. Honors classes and college level courses provide no boost in GPA to the students at Andover for the same reasons, most of these schools don't even operate on the same 4.0 system. All this makes it impossible to gather relevant data for statistical comparison. College placement would be the best gauge, but even that is jaded by other contributing factors. |