Awful lot of myopic folks in here upset that TJ didn’t take the 550 kids who conform most closely to some artificial standard. |
Of course it isn't. Most kids who love math will push themselves and end up on a higher math track. Many of the super accelerated kids have also learned probability and some discrete math that isn't typically taught in schools, and their depth of understanding of Algebra and Geometry would put their middle school teachers to shame. Really, the bar is so low for 7th grade Algebra that any kid who has any degree of a deep love for math and any aptitude toward developing a strong understanding of the underlying concepts will easily place into 7th grade Algebra. I've worked with a lot of AAP 6th graders. From my experiences, kids who took Algebra in 6th were all quite talented in math. Kids who took it in 7th were a mixture of talented kids who love math and parentally pushed kids. I can't think of a single kid who failed to qualify for Algebra in 7th who loved math and had high aptitude in math. |
If TJ isn't picking the kids who most clearly and transparently meet the criteria for admission, there really isn't a compelling case to keep TJ open. Perhaps this will accelerate the closure of the schools as a magnet, which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, given how utterly ridiculous it is that one school has received such a disproportionate amount of attention over the past 18 months. Maybe that level of attention makes the narcissistic a-holes at TJ AAG happy, but it's not right. |
IDK. My kid graduated in 2019 and is following this closely. His take? “Mom, you know that TJ admissions are as sick of the school board as everyone else and this class is their revenge. The School Board has bashed TJ over equity at every turn. Well, now they can deal with equity.” And I laughed, but the more I thought about it... TJ admissions is completely separate from the school. So, it’s not like they have to deal with the fallout. |
By that logic, literally every university in America should close. Poor effort. |
It ain’t right darn Asian kids do better than white kids. They must be doing something wrong. Ain’t that so aunt Becky? |
Where do these little kids learn this? Remember that not every parent has discretionary income to pay for AOPS or the time (or the car) to take their child to extra classes and clubs. Many parents don’t even know what probability and discreet math are. Many parents just assume their smart kids are being challenged by the school’s curriculum, and being placed in accelerated math is the most accelerated a kid can be. |
My kid spent hours on Khan Academy even when he was in elementary school. Not because anyone made him but because he loved math and thought about it a lot. He would sit and be quiet and then announce some math thing he had figured out even when he was in early elementary. We never paid for extracurricular classes but he sought out every free resource he could find from library books to Khan Academy to clubs at school and free, application based summer programs. |
And forgot to mention FTW, the free game portion of the AoPS site. |
Ignorance is not a defense. Kids with “innate ability” and passion for math go online and find resources on their own and books are not that expensive and they read and learn on their own as well. |
Khan academy, AoPS forums, alcumus, books from the library, and tons of other free online resources or apps. Kids could also ask their advanced math teacher for resources and extensions. Kids in middle school could join the math team and practice for mathcounts or AMC8, learning a lot of math along the way. Kids who fail to qualify for Algebra in 7th and then likewise fail to pursue any extracurricular math aren't deliberately slowing down their math instruction because they love math and want to develop a deeper understanding. It's really because they like math okay but don't particularly love it and are bright but not notably so in math. I'm not saying that math should be the end all and be all..... but, a kid should show something. The kid who isn't advanced in math and isn't doing any extra math might be heavily invested in science olympiad or robotics team. Maybe that kid has achieved something in one of those arenas. Kids who haven't really achieved anything, aren't particularly advanced, and aren't heavily invested in some sort of STEM activity, and really just have a good GPA don't belong at TJ over the kids who are STEM rockstars. |
My kid has been playing at least a couple games of FTW every day. For those who don't know, it's a game where you compete with other kids to be the first one to answer the math question posted. Most of the questions are around a middle school to early high school level, like Mathcounts, AMC 8, and AMC 10 level. It's totally free. |
Khan Academy. It's free |
Where exactly are they screening 5th graders for Algebra1? Our center refused to even discuss this and I had a kid bored to death |
These idiots won't stop with their stereotypes, yet are offended if others stereotype them and their kids. Go figure! |