Why does BCC get so much hatred?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BCC has major problems; anyone who denies this is understandably defending the school their kids go to. The kids roam around aimlessly, there’s no lunchroom, and it seems like it’s basically an IB degree mill for parents who enrich heavily at home and a four year purgatory for those who don’t. The kids we’ve met fall into these categories as well; the rich, enrichment focused parents in east Bethesda push their kids hard and they do well, and then there’s a big divide to a lot very underwhelming, poor discipline kids. Pot has become a huge problem, too, but we can’t talk about that because marijuana is good now, or something. I’d put BCC below WJ and WC at this point.

You betray your lack of real knowledge about BCC when you say, “there’s no lunchroom” like it’s some kind of failing. Yes, there’s no lunch room but kids and parents prefer it that way. No one is eating lunch at 10:30 am as was necessary when lunch in the lunchroom was scheduled for all. BCC has one lunch period for all teachers and students. This is a good thing. You can see your friends no matter what grade. You can eat lunch off campus or anywhere in the school - even outside on nice days. You can visit teachers and get extra help. You can just eat lunch in a teacher’s room, which is actually how some students make friends. You can go to club meetings or work on class projects. “No lunch room” is actually fine - more than fine - great.

BTW, as a parent who sent a kid to Eastern Magnet and Takoma Park Magnet, I’m dying of laughter that you think “East Bethesda” parents (who aren’t even the wealthiest neighborhood at BCC) are pushing their kids with enrichment. When I sent my kids to middle school magnets, most of my Bethesda Chevy Chase parent friends said they would never consider it. Wealthy parents don’t push “enrichment” - they push social networks. It’s far more important to them that Larlo has a social circle of friends. Of course, if Larlo is failing, they will get a tutor, but wealthy parents push sports, and social life and experiences like travel because wealthy parents have a social network that ensures their kids will get good jobs. Many of those “underwhelming poor discipline kids” to which you refer are actually the wealthy kids (one of which in my DC’s year was a pot dealer)

By contrast, I’ve never seen “enrichment” like I did at Eastern and Takoma in immigrant, Asian, and first generation American populations - they all value education much more than wealthy BCC parents. And they all believe that their kids have to do all kinds of after school enrichment - Dr. Li’s, math team, music lessons, science projects, summer internships, etc. They believe that their kids have yo work much harder to get the same opportunities as wealthy white kids. And they may not be wrong about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it should be noted that I have seen from BCC many examples of kids from poor, immigrant families who have been elevated by going to school with motivated white kids. All of such kids in my DD’s elementary school class who graduated from BCC last year are now at UMD. All are first in their families to go to college. It’s really really nice to see.
I know people like these stories but don’t want it at the cost of their child’s education. That didn’t happen. My DD is at a great college and I think going to a school with such a big socio-economic mix was good for her.

So, if we are an international, educated family here, but not wealthy in DC-terms, my kid should do just fine, right? We were contemplating between Pyle/Whitman and Westland/BCC, but wanted a more economically diverse school population and hoping the IB program will be a good option.

BCC has a component of the student body that is international in multiple ways. Many “low income” kids from Silver Spring are actually African (lots of Ethiopian), Hispanic or Middle Eastern immigrants due to home country conflict or economics. These families and students are often very well-educated and/or highly motivated, but because the parents are immigrants and not fluent in English, often don’t have well-paying jobs. Some of this population composes the “FARMS” kids to which PPs derogatorily refer. These kids are a blessing to the community, not a burden.

Then there are the kids of international workers - World Bank, other international institutions and NGOs. Many of them have parents with ties to multiple countries. They are often in the IB program, because this syncs with going back to home country to complete HS or accept a University offer. (Universities which are often free or much lower cost than America, but equally prestigious in home country.). These kids are often matriculating at Canadian or European schools.

Then there are the American students whose parents work at the State Department, CIA or other intel, FBI, DoD, White House, or Hill, etc. Some of these kids do IB, others do AP or a mix. These families are well off, but usually not uber wealthy, as they are often double income government families.

Kids from all 3 groups mix and make friends.

We are from the 3rd group - DC went abroad for university, as did many of her friends in group 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BCC has major problems; anyone who denies this is understandably defending the school their kids go to. The kids roam around aimlessly, there’s no lunchroom, and it seems like it’s basically an IB degree mill for parents who enrich heavily at home and a four year purgatory for those who don’t. The kids we’ve met fall into these categories as well; the rich, enrichment focused parents in east Bethesda push their kids hard and they do well, and then there’s a big divide to a lot very underwhelming, poor discipline kids. Pot has become a huge problem, too, but we can’t talk about that because marijuana is good now, or something. I’d put BCC below WJ and WC at this point.

You betray your lack of real knowledge about BCC when you say, “there’s no lunchroom” like it’s some kind of failing. Yes, there’s no lunch room but kids and parents prefer it that way. No one is eating lunch at 10:30 am as was necessary when lunch in the lunchroom was scheduled for all. BCC has one lunch period for all teachers and students. This is a good thing. You can see your friends no matter what grade. You can eat lunch off campus or anywhere in the school - even outside on nice days. You can visit teachers and get extra help. You can just eat lunch in a teacher’s room, which is actually how some students make friends. You can go to club meetings or work on class projects. “No lunch room” is actually fine - more than fine - great.

BTW, as a parent who sent a kid to Eastern Magnet and Takoma Park Magnet, I’m dying of laughter that you think “East Bethesda” parents (who aren’t even the wealthiest neighborhood at BCC) are pushing their kids with enrichment. When I sent my kids to middle school magnets, most of my Bethesda Chevy Chase parent friends said they would never consider it. Wealthy parents don’t push “enrichment” - they push social networks. It’s far more important to them that Larlo has a social circle of friends. Of course, if Larlo is failing, they will get a tutor, but wealthy parents push sports, and social life and experiences like travel because wealthy parents have a social network that ensures their kids will get good jobs. Many of those “underwhelming poor discipline kids” to which you refer are actually the wealthy kids (one of which in my DC’s year was a pot dealer)

By contrast, I’ve never seen “enrichment” like I did at Eastern and Takoma in immigrant, Asian, and first generation American populations - they all value education much more than wealthy BCC parents. And they all believe that their kids have to do all kinds of after school enrichment - Dr. Li’s, math team, music lessons, science projects, summer internships, etc. They believe that their kids have yo work much harder to get the same opportunities as wealthy white kids. And they may not be wrong about that.

+1

[Anonymous]

Drunk girls in the bathroom at 8 am. Go to bcc if you want that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Drunk girls in the bathroom at 8 am. Go to bcc if you want that.

Honestly, this is going on at every MCPS school - sometimes parents and admin find out about it, sometimes not. In the last 5-10 years, a drunk kid at Whitman died of hypothermia outside, another Whitman kid OD’d on a pill laced with fentanyl, and many, many are drinking heavily on weekends. Churchill kids have been caught vaping cannabis on campus. Underage binge drinking is such a problem that Whitman, WJ and BCC have jointly held information nights about it. If you think substance abuse is just a BCC problem, or if you think there’s a magic school you can send your kids to where they will not be exposed to this, you are a clueless, delusional, out of touch parent.

Substance abuse happens at public schools, private schools and boarding schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Drunk girls in the bathroom at 8 am. Go to bcc if you want that.

We had a couple MS kids drinking at school last spring.