How hard will Blair's Functions class be for a kid who currently finds Algebra 2 "easy"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am confused by the functions class. If magnet precalc is an average of 45 minutes of class and 60 minutes of HW for 270 school days, that’s 472.5 hours of math. Then if functions is 45 minutes of class and 4 hours of HW for 180 days that’s 855 hours. Why so much more time? Is there additional content? Or are 14 year olds just really inefficient at HW? Or are people exaggerating?

For starters, Functions is compacted Precalculus. It covers everything Precalculus covers (supposedly) but in two semesters instead of three semesters. The magnet precalculus class supposedly is compacted Hon. Algebra 2 and Precalculus. So Functions covers two years of honors math in one year.

DC took functions, so I don't know how much time precalculus takes for homework but functions involves a lot of proofs and is a very hard class. It probably does average 15-20 hours of homework per week to get an A for most kids. It's designed to weed out students who aren't very serious about math. Yes, 14-year-olds are inefficient at homework, especially since most have never before had to do proofs like that.

According to DC, more than half of the magnet kids are more interested in biology and chemistry than in math, physics, or computer science. Unless your child is in the latter group there is no reason to put them through the functions class.

Would regular magnet precalc cover the same material like proofs in more time?

PP poster here. When I said precalculus, I was talking about magnet. When DC took the class functions and 1st year magnet precalc had the same teacher (by design), so I think there's a good chance they have very similar content. If you want to know, that should be covered at admitted students night.

OP said their child had only taken Geometry in 8th. My DC had Alg 2 in 8th and got an easy A, and functions was very hard for them. If your child hasn't already taken Alg. 2, don't try functions. No matter how talented the child is, it will be extremely difficult for them to do well, and it could make them dislike math.

1. Couple of years ago the two courses had the exact same content. In fact the teachers used to make it a point to tell the students that there is no extra content in functions that they will not learn in magnet precalc.

2. It used to be the case that most of the kids who took functions had not already taken algebra 2. This may have changed within the last couple of years, because after metis-report initiated change in MS magnet admissions, MCPS became more flexible in allowing sixth graders to take algebra 1.

3. I am confused as to why anyone would think there is a linear (inverse?) relationship ("If magnet precalc requires 1 hour of homework every two days, shouldn't functions only take 1.5 hours of homework every two days?"). We are talking about fourteen year olds. And the course, because it is fast paced, requires more self study than they are used to. Also, the tests are shorter - for example, for the same test, if magnet precalc students got one hour, functions students would get, say, 40 or 45 minutes. The shortened tests made it imperative that the student is lot more fluent with the content. But if a student has to be that fluent, homework becomes lot more important.
So it all adds up - homework becomes a lot more important and more challenging since some self study is involved. And you slip one week, it is a lot more challenging to catch up.

4. It is absolutely not essential to do functions just for the sake of college admissions, etc. It is intended for certain types of students, and unfortunately, just because it is there, other students get sucked in too sometimes )

My DC didn't do functions but ended up having a great math experience. It is a great school. No need to be in such a rush. You know your kids. Better to ramp up slowly that just hate math after 9th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1
makes me not want to send my child here. is that the point?

Absolutely not. Please send your kids there. It is a great place as long as you don't get into competition mode. You kids will be challenged. No need to break them. There are some really top kids - maybe 10 in the class and then there are 10 kids who you may think are not that great but end up hitting it out of the park as they start enjoying the math. You know your kid.
I know some kids who were supposed to be more advanced who may not have been that strong and ended up just hating math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DP. Many parents on these magnet threads sound nuts. Why are people going back and forth about this 7th grade poster? She should have identified her situation. That should not be up for debate. She is welcome to read and post. Again, should not be up for debate. Are we done now and can we stop this thread and can we get back to discussing other things?

fascinating

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Aren’t you lucky that $50k a year is so little that you don’t have to consider ways to save it!

I don't think you have anything to worry about, since you seem to lack the reading comprehension and reasoning skills that these colleges expect in their admissions process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Aren’t you lucky that $50k a year is so little that you don’t have to consider ways to save it!

I don't think you have anything to worry about, since you seem to lack the reading comprehension and reasoning skills that these colleges expect in their admissions process.

Huh? I’ve already been to college, thanks, not planning to apply again. Maybe you need help with reading compensation. And obviously math too as you don’t seem about to contemplate how removing one year of tuition costs can make college more affordable for this of us that aren’t Richie rich like you.

[Anonymous]

No, please do enroll your kid if you are from a normal family that just wants their kid to have a great high school education and have some fun too. That is our feeling and the more normal, not hyper intense families, the better. I had a blast in high school AND figured out how much I loved learning. Both are possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, please do enroll your kid if you are from a normal family that just wants their kid to have a great high school education and have some fun too. That is our feeling and the more normal, not hyper intense families, the better. I had a blast in high school AND figured out how much I loved learning. Both are possible.

Yes
There are some crazy bro culture kids, but most are great & just like being with likes minded kids who are finally challenged but not overwhelmed. It’s a great school.

[Anonymous]

Functions is quite hard and requires a lot of dedication and time from the student. It WILL limit other extra-curricular activities that your child might be interested in. Also, I don't think it has any higher weight than Precalc when it comes to weighted GPA. So, as stated in the functions form that incoming students will be asked to sign, students should take functions ONLY if they really enjoy math and are willing to put in the work. Otherwise it is just not worth it at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a kids take it who fits that profile? Just trying to gauge what to expect and whether we should have DC forego APUSH. TIA!

All these classes are super easy because any of these advanced classes are all just fake honors in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
makes me not want to send my child here. is that the point?

Absolutely not. Please send your kids there. It is a great place as long as you don't get into competition mode. You kids will be challenged. No need to break them. There are some really top kids - maybe 10 in the class and then there are 10 kids who you may think are not that great but end up hitting it out of the park as they start enjoying the math. You know your kid.
I know some kids who were supposed to be more advanced who may not have been that strong and ended up just hating math.

DC is not into "competition mode" and loves the magnet. We sent them because they really wanted to go there. If your child wants to go, let them. If your child doesn't want to commit to the extra commute and longer school day, they still can be successful at any MCPS school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
makes me not want to send my child here. is that the point?

Absolutely not. Please send your kids there. It is a great place as long as you don't get into competition mode. You kids will be challenged. No need to break them. There are some really top kids - maybe 10 in the class and then there are 10 kids who you may think are not that great but end up hitting it out of the park as they start enjoying the math. You know your kid.
I know some kids who were supposed to be more advanced who may not have been that strong and ended up just hating math.

DC is not into "competition mode" and loves the magnet. We sent them because they really wanted to go there. If your child wants to go, let them. If your child doesn't want to commit to the extra commute and longer school day, they still can be successful at any MCPS school.

Yeah. And just to reiterate going to the magnet does not help and may in fact hurt with college admissions!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
makes me not want to send my child here. is that the point?

Absolutely not. Please send your kids there. It is a great place as long as you don't get into competition mode. You kids will be challenged. No need to break them. There are some really top kids - maybe 10 in the class and then there are 10 kids who you may think are not that great but end up hitting it out of the park as they start enjoying the math. You know your kid.
I know some kids who were supposed to be more advanced who may not have been that strong and ended up just hating math.

DC is not into "competition mode" and loves the magnet. We sent them because they really wanted to go there. If your child wants to go, let them. If your child doesn't want to commit to the extra commute and longer school day, they still can be successful at any MCPS school.

Yeah. And just to reiterate going to the magnet does not help and may in fact hurt with college admissions!

I always love reading the desperate posts by people trying to get others to decline in order to make room on the way list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
makes me not want to send my child here. is that the point?

Absolutely not. Please send your kids there. It is a great place as long as you don't get into competition mode. You kids will be challenged. No need to break them. There are some really top kids - maybe 10 in the class and then there are 10 kids who you may think are not that great but end up hitting it out of the park as they start enjoying the math. You know your kid.
I know some kids who were supposed to be more advanced who may not have been that strong and ended up just hating math.

DC is not into "competition mode" and loves the magnet. We sent them because they really wanted to go there. If your child wants to go, let them. If your child doesn't want to commit to the extra commute and longer school day, they still can be successful at any MCPS school.

Yeah. And just to reiterate going to the magnet does not help and may in fact hurt with college admissions!

I always love reading the desperate posts by people trying to get others to decline in order to make room on the way list.

This is 100% true. This questions should be asked from Magnet Blair Senior. Functions kids with 4.0 GPA (with all advance magnet classes) is going to UMD.

If you do well in your local high school, you can get admitted to UMD plus you save 2 extra hours daily commute time. These 2 hours (daily) can help student sleep, play, study, and grow.

[Anonymous]

Another data point in case it's helpful. Parent of Poolesville magnet senior here so similar. My kid said Functions was the first challenging math class they ever had in 10 years of MCPS. Came from magnet geometry and is not a math-competition type.

Not sure how much this helped with college admissions. I believe results at home HS would have been better but no way to know. My kid would still go to magnet since really enjoyed it. Will also be at Maryland but already have on the books credit and As for several of the UMd math classes from having taken Linear Algebra and Vector Calculus exams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1
makes me not want to send my child here. is that the point?

Absolutely not. Please send your kids there. It is a great place as long as you don't get into competition mode. You kids will be challenged. No need to break them. There are some really top kids - maybe 10 in the class and then there are 10 kids who you may think are not that great but end up hitting it out of the park as they start enjoying the math. You know your kid.
I know some kids who were supposed to be more advanced who may not have been that strong and ended up just hating math.

DC is not into "competition mode" and loves the magnet. We sent them because they really wanted to go there. If your child wants to go, let them. If your child doesn't want to commit to the extra commute and longer school day, they still can be successful at any MCPS school.

Yeah. And just to reiterate going to the magnet does not help and may in fact hurt with college admissions!

I always love reading the desperate posts by people trying to get others to decline in order to make room on the way list.

This is 100% true. This questions should be asked from Magnet Blair Senior. Functions kids with 4.0 GPA (with all advance magnet classes) is going to UMD.

If you do well in your local high school, you can get admitted to UMD plus you save 2 extra hours daily commute time. These 2 hours (daily) can help student sleep, play, study, and grow.

Your assumption that magnet kids come from certain zip codes is a little weird.

Blair is 0.4 miles closer and 3 minutes less time on my kid’s bike than his home school.