Give me constructive advice on how to help my middle schooler in English

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried CTY? They would be in class with other high performing peers which could get them out of the rut. My poor kid was in the dumbed down curriculum and became catatonic by the end of the school year, producing mediocre work. Being around kids who are at their same level might snap them out of that.

CTY is overpriced. If you're willing to go online and have gifted kids, there are better options like AoPS, NUMATS, Davidson, Athena's Academy, Astra Nova, Cresco Nova, Synthesis, Northwestern GLL, Eclipse Academy, Online G3, Stanford OHS, Lukeion, and CLRC. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/online-gifted-learning-options/

Pp, can you expand on this? Which are really strong here? My kids are actually total rule followers and very respectful of their teachers - if their teachers ask them to do something, they will absolutely follow it to a T and not shirk at all. Virtual school was completely fine for them except the missed social aspect. I'd need something with a live teacher on zoom who somehow enforces accountability.

Which subject(s) do you want? Are they gifted, or advanced in one or more subject(s)? Do you want something supplemental/enrichment or a full course on a school subject complete with all the work and time commitments of a full course or a full course on a topic unlikely to be covered in school? What's your budget? What ages/grades are your children?

Op here.. kids going into 6th and 8th. They are both gifted. We opted out of both math/Humanities magnets (which they were both offered seats at) because we didn't want the commute and also they had good friends. Second guessing ourselves on the Humanities front now I guess. We want English and supplemental. Something like a book club with some rigor/analysis on text analysis and writing about the books. Ideally a class once a week (2 hrs) and reading/hw on the side. Fwiw Ms English is so dumb that my older kid routinely knocks out the required assignment in class and then uses the extra time to start her math hw.

I see this so much. People stick with mediocre public school because they want convenience and like the social aspect.

Well, your kids have friends and you have a short commute, but they can’t write.

I feel sorry for your kids but not you.

Op here. Well, that is kind of mean. And also my kids are definitely farther along in Math/Humanities/foreign language than most of my friends who do send their kids to privates. Also - we aren't white. This may not be relevant to some but we really value diversity. So - nothing is perfect.
It's helpful when people don't engage in black and white thinking. I am a parent who is just trying to make things a bit better in this one arena.

Also - I never said they could not write. They write just fine. They write a ton in global Humanities which is the class that's basically forcing them to really write these days, but those texts are non fiction that they analyze.

Your statement about your kids being farther along than private school kids is so insanely false.

We’ve had a long debate on here about math in MCPS vs private and have shown that private schools are better than non-magnet MCPS.

But to say your kids are farther ahead in humanities is delusional. I’m sorry, it’s the truth.

Lastly, many private schools around here are plenty diverse from a racial standpoint. My daughter has friends at her private school who are Iranian, Hispanic, Black, Indian, Spanish, French, etc etc etc.

You sound massively ignorant about private schools and really have no basis for making the statements you do.

So this is OP. Actually my kids attended private and international schools most of their lives. The past 2 years is their first time in public. I can say confidently that they are able to cover more material in math/science/humanities than at their private/international schools (I am not going to say where because I could out myself at this point). My spouse and I have an MD and PHD between us and we are quite fine with science and math here. Meanwhile, I have literally looked at the material that friends' middle schoolers are learning in math and humanities at various private schools and it's of a lower standard in math for sure and equal in humanities.

Also, I can already tell you don't actually understand the diversity issue. We go to a majority - minority school and I appreciate that as a brown person. I could care less if your child has friends from all over - that's basically what every white person in the DMV says. And I will tell you that there's a huge difference between having 2 Muslim friends and having a special prayer room set aside for prayers that people actually use everyday. Every brown/black person knows what it's like to be a token versus having a real voice and a real home.

Anyway, that's not what this thread is about. It's about how the English in mcps middle school is total crap. This isn't a thread for people to bash the public schools and pat yourselves on the back for sending them to private. It's for people who want to stay in public schools and are looking at reasonable, cost effective ways to improve their kids' education. Also, i'd like to know if anyone has done anything at their school level to improve the situation (advocating with the administration for example).

You’ve looked at materials other people’s kids are covering? Enough to make a blanket statement?

I call such MASSIVE BS.

I looked at their school binders, notes from math and social studies. Was it a large sample size? No. Of course not. 4 kids, 3 different schools, 1 which was at a school my kids had attended before. Enough to give me comfort. Was it confirmation bias? Sure. Again, I don't know why you are arguing with me. You are clearly satisfied with your choices for your child. I am looking for solutions outside of private school. Since that's the only solution you seem to offer please leave this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried CTY? They would be in class with other high performing peers which could get them out of the rut. My poor kid was in the dumbed down curriculum and became catatonic by the end of the school year, producing mediocre work. Being around kids who are at their same level might snap them out of that.

CTY is overpriced. If you're willing to go online and have gifted kids, there are better options like AoPS, NUMATS, Davidson, Athena's Academy, Astra Nova, Cresco Nova, Synthesis, Northwestern GLL, Eclipse Academy, Online G3, Stanford OHS, Lukeion, and CLRC. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/online-gifted-learning-options/

Pp, can you expand on this? Which are really strong here? My kids are actually total rule followers and very respectful of their teachers - if their teachers ask them to do something, they will absolutely follow it to a T and not shirk at all. Virtual school was completely fine for them except the missed social aspect. I'd need something with a live teacher on zoom who somehow enforces accountability.

Which subject(s) do you want? Are they gifted, or advanced in one or more subject(s)? Do you want something supplemental/enrichment or a full course on a school subject complete with all the work and time commitments of a full course or a full course on a topic unlikely to be covered in school? What's your budget? What ages/grades are your children?

Op here.. kids going into 6th and 8th. They are both gifted. We opted out of both math/Humanities magnets (which they were both offered seats at) because we didn't want the commute and also they had good friends. Second guessing ourselves on the Humanities front now I guess. We want English and supplemental. Something like a book club with some rigor/analysis on text analysis and writing about the books. Ideally a class once a week (2 hrs) and reading/hw on the side. Fwiw Ms English is so dumb that my older kid routinely knocks out the required assignment in class and then uses the extra time to start her math hw.

I see this so much. People stick with mediocre public school because they want convenience and like the social aspect.

Well, your kids have friends and you have a short commute, but they can’t write.

I feel sorry for your kids but not you.

Op here. Well, that is kind of mean. And also my kids are definitely farther along in Math/Humanities/foreign language than most of my friends who do send their kids to privates. Also - we aren't white. This may not be relevant to some but we really value diversity. So - nothing is perfect.
It's helpful when people don't engage in black and white thinking. I am a parent who is just trying to make things a bit better in this one arena.

Also - I never said they could not write. They write just fine. They write a ton in global Humanities which is the class that's basically forcing them to really write these days, but those texts are non fiction that they analyze.

Your statement about your kids being farther along than private school kids is so insanely false.

We’ve had a long debate on here about math in MCPS vs private and have shown that private schools are better than non-magnet MCPS.

But to say your kids are farther ahead in humanities is delusional. I’m sorry, it’s the truth.

Lastly, many private schools around here are plenty diverse from a racial standpoint. My daughter has friends at her private school who are Iranian, Hispanic, Black, Indian, Spanish, French, etc etc etc.

You sound massively ignorant about private schools and really have no basis for making the statements you do.

So this is OP. Actually my kids attended private and international schools most of their lives. The past 2 years is their first time in public. I can say confidently that they are able to cover more material in math/science/humanities than at their private/international schools (I am not going to say where because I could out myself at this point). My spouse and I have an MD and PHD between us and we are quite fine with science and math here. Meanwhile, I have literally looked at the material that friends' middle schoolers are learning in math and humanities at various private schools and it's of a lower standard in math for sure and equal in humanities.

Also, I can already tell you don't actually understand the diversity issue. We go to a majority - minority school and I appreciate that as a brown person. I could care less if your child has friends from all over - that's basically what every white person in the DMV says. And I will tell you that there's a huge difference between having 2 Muslim friends and having a special prayer room set aside for prayers that people actually use everyday. Every brown/black person knows what it's like to be a token versus having a real voice and a real home.

Anyway, that's not what this thread is about. It's about how the English in mcps middle school is total crap. This isn't a thread for people to bash the public schools and pat yourselves on the back for sending them to private. It's for people who want to stay in public schools and are looking at reasonable, cost effective ways to improve their kids' education. Also, i'd like to know if anyone has done anything at their school level to improve the situation (advocating with the administration for example).

You’ve looked at materials other people’s kids are covering? Enough to make a blanket statement?

I call such MASSIVE BS.

I looked at their school binders, notes from math and social studies. Was it a large sample size? No. Of course not. 4 kids, 3 different schools, 1 which was at a school my kids had attended before. Enough to give me comfort. Was it confirmation bias? Sure. Again, I don't know why you are arguing with me. You are clearly satisfied with your choices for your child. I am looking for solutions outside of private school. Since that's the only solution you seem to offer please leave this thread.

Why the hell are you looking at other people’s kids notes? And how is some random kid’s notes going to tell you anything?

Beyond the deep weirdness of doing that, that tells you nothing but confirms your own feelings. If that’s what you need, go for it, but don’t act like it’s anything close to representative of reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried CTY? They would be in class with other high performing peers which could get them out of the rut. My poor kid was in the dumbed down curriculum and became catatonic by the end of the school year, producing mediocre work. Being around kids who are at their same level might snap them out of that.

CTY is overpriced. If you're willing to go online and have gifted kids, there are better options like AoPS, NUMATS, Davidson, Athena's Academy, Astra Nova, Cresco Nova, Synthesis, Northwestern GLL, Eclipse Academy, Online G3, Stanford OHS, Lukeion, and CLRC. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/online-gifted-learning-options/

Pp, can you expand on this? Which are really strong here? My kids are actually total rule followers and very respectful of their teachers - if their teachers ask them to do something, they will absolutely follow it to a T and not shirk at all. Virtual school was completely fine for them except the missed social aspect. I'd need something with a live teacher on zoom who somehow enforces accountability.

Which subject(s) do you want? Are they gifted, or advanced in one or more subject(s)? Do you want something supplemental/enrichment or a full course on a school subject complete with all the work and time commitments of a full course or a full course on a topic unlikely to be covered in school? What's your budget? What ages/grades are your children?

Op here.. kids going into 6th and 8th. They are both gifted. We opted out of both math/Humanities magnets (which they were both offered seats at) because we didn't want the commute and also they had good friends. Second guessing ourselves on the Humanities front now I guess. We want English and supplemental. Something like a book club with some rigor/analysis on text analysis and writing about the books. Ideally a class once a week (2 hrs) and reading/hw on the side. Fwiw Ms English is so dumb that my older kid routinely knocks out the required assignment in class and then uses the extra time to start her math hw.

I see this so much. People stick with mediocre public school because they want convenience and like the social aspect.

Well, your kids have friends and you have a short commute, but they can’t write.

I feel sorry for your kids but not you.

Op here. Well, that is kind of mean. And also my kids are definitely farther along in Math/Humanities/foreign language than most of my friends who do send their kids to privates. Also - we aren't white. This may not be relevant to some but we really value diversity. So - nothing is perfect.
It's helpful when people don't engage in black and white thinking. I am a parent who is just trying to make things a bit better in this one arena.

Also - I never said they could not write. They write just fine. They write a ton in global Humanities which is the class that's basically forcing them to really write these days, but those texts are non fiction that they analyze.

Your statement about your kids being farther along than private school kids is so insanely false.

We’ve had a long debate on here about math in MCPS vs private and have shown that private schools are better than non-magnet MCPS.

But to say your kids are farther ahead in humanities is delusional. I’m sorry, it’s the truth.

Lastly, many private schools around here are plenty diverse from a racial standpoint. My daughter has friends at her private school who are Iranian, Hispanic, Black, Indian, Spanish, French, etc etc etc.

You sound massively ignorant about private schools and really have no basis for making the statements you do.

And your basis for saying that her kids are ahead of the private school kids she knows is…….a DCUM thread? What is she supposed to do, just enroll both her kid at Sidwell, one in a non entry year to boot? She would be surrounded by people like you, so I can’t advise that.

+1 I was about to write something along these lines. That private school advocate is doing a disservice to private schools. To pay for private and to have to deal with weird people like her would be tragic.

No one is advocating anything. We couldn’t care less if you keep your kids in MCPS.

Great, then stop giving your opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

You don’t have to be Catholic to go to Catholic school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried CTY? They would be in class with other high performing peers which could get them out of the rut. My poor kid was in the dumbed down curriculum and became catatonic by the end of the school year, producing mediocre work. Being around kids who are at their same level might snap them out of that.

CTY is overpriced. If you're willing to go online and have gifted kids, there are better options like AoPS, NUMATS, Davidson, Athena's Academy, Astra Nova, Cresco Nova, Synthesis, Northwestern GLL, Eclipse Academy, Online G3, Stanford OHS, Lukeion, and CLRC. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/online-gifted-learning-options/

Pp, can you expand on this? Which are really strong here? My kids are actually total rule followers and very respectful of their teachers - if their teachers ask them to do something, they will absolutely follow it to a T and not shirk at all. Virtual school was completely fine for them except the missed social aspect. I'd need something with a live teacher on zoom who somehow enforces accountability.

Which subject(s) do you want? Are they gifted, or advanced in one or more subject(s)? Do you want something supplemental/enrichment or a full course on a school subject complete with all the work and time commitments of a full course or a full course on a topic unlikely to be covered in school? What's your budget? What ages/grades are your children?

Op here.. kids going into 6th and 8th. They are both gifted. We opted out of both math/Humanities magnets (which they were both offered seats at) because we didn't want the commute and also they had good friends. Second guessing ourselves on the Humanities front now I guess. We want English and supplemental. Something like a book club with some rigor/analysis on text analysis and writing about the books. Ideally a class once a week (2 hrs) and reading/hw on the side. Fwiw Ms English is so dumb that my older kid routinely knocks out the required assignment in class and then uses the extra time to start her math hw.

I see this so much. People stick with mediocre public school because they want convenience and like the social aspect.

Well, your kids have friends and you have a short commute, but they can’t write.

I feel sorry for your kids but not you.

Op here. Well, that is kind of mean. And also my kids are definitely farther along in Math/Humanities/foreign language than most of my friends who do send their kids to privates. Also - we aren't white. This may not be relevant to some but we really value diversity. So - nothing is perfect.
It's helpful when people don't engage in black and white thinking. I am a parent who is just trying to make things a bit better in this one arena.

Also - I never said they could not write. They write just fine. They write a ton in global Humanities which is the class that's basically forcing them to really write these days, but those texts are non fiction that they analyze.

Your statement about your kids being farther along than private school kids is so insanely false.

We’ve had a long debate on here about math in MCPS vs private and have shown that private schools are better than non-magnet MCPS.

But to say your kids are farther ahead in humanities is delusional. I’m sorry, it’s the truth.

Lastly, many private schools around here are plenty diverse from a racial standpoint. My daughter has friends at her private school who are Iranian, Hispanic, Black, Indian, Spanish, French, etc etc etc.

You sound massively ignorant about private schools and really have no basis for making the statements you do.

And your basis for saying that her kids are ahead of the private school kids she knows is…….a DCUM thread? What is she supposed to do, just enroll both her kid at Sidwell, one in a non entry year to boot? She would be surrounded by people like you, so I can’t advise that.

+1 I was about to write something along these lines. That private school advocate is doing a disservice to private schools. To pay for private and to have to deal with weird people like her would be tragic.

No one is advocating anything. We couldn’t care less if you keep your kids in MCPS.

Great, then stop giving your opinion.

Who died and made you queen of DCUM?

[Anonymous]

Let them choose what they want to read or choose series to read together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried CTY? They would be in class with other high performing peers which could get them out of the rut. My poor kid was in the dumbed down curriculum and became catatonic by the end of the school year, producing mediocre work. Being around kids who are at their same level might snap them out of that.

CTY is overpriced. If you're willing to go online and have gifted kids, there are better options like AoPS, NUMATS, Davidson, Athena's Academy, Astra Nova, Cresco Nova, Synthesis, Northwestern GLL, Eclipse Academy, Online G3, Stanford OHS, Lukeion, and CLRC. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/online-gifted-learning-options/

Pp, can you expand on this? Which are really strong here? My kids are actually total rule followers and very respectful of their teachers - if their teachers ask them to do something, they will absolutely follow it to a T and not shirk at all. Virtual school was completely fine for them except the missed social aspect. I'd need something with a live teacher on zoom who somehow enforces accountability.

Which subject(s) do you want? Are they gifted, or advanced in one or more subject(s)? Do you want something supplemental/enrichment or a full course on a school subject complete with all the work and time commitments of a full course or a full course on a topic unlikely to be covered in school? What's your budget? What ages/grades are your children?

Op here.. kids going into 6th and 8th. They are both gifted. We opted out of both math/Humanities magnets (which they were both offered seats at) because we didn't want the commute and also they had good friends. Second guessing ourselves on the Humanities front now I guess. We want English and supplemental. Something like a book club with some rigor/analysis on text analysis and writing about the books. Ideally a class once a week (2 hrs) and reading/hw on the side. Fwiw Ms English is so dumb that my older kid routinely knocks out the required assignment in class and then uses the extra time to start her math hw.

I see this so much. People stick with mediocre public school because they want convenience and like the social aspect.

Well, your kids have friends and you have a short commute, but they can’t write.

I feel sorry for your kids but not you.

Op here. Well, that is kind of mean. And also my kids are definitely farther along in Math/Humanities/foreign language than most of my friends who do send their kids to privates. Also - we aren't white. This may not be relevant to some but we really value diversity. So - nothing is perfect.
It's helpful when people don't engage in black and white thinking. I am a parent who is just trying to make things a bit better in this one arena.

Also - I never said they could not write. They write just fine. They write a ton in global Humanities which is the class that's basically forcing them to really write these days, but those texts are non fiction that they analyze.

Your statement about your kids being farther along than private school kids is so insanely false.

We’ve had a long debate on here about math in MCPS vs private and have shown that private schools are better than non-magnet MCPS.

But to say your kids are farther ahead in humanities is delusional. I’m sorry, it’s the truth.

Lastly, many private schools around here are plenty diverse from a racial standpoint. My daughter has friends at her private school who are Iranian, Hispanic, Black, Indian, Spanish, French, etc etc etc.

You sound massively ignorant about private schools and really have no basis for making the statements you do.

So this is OP. Actually my kids attended private and international schools most of their lives. The past 2 years is their first time in public. I can say confidently that they are able to cover more material in math/science/humanities than at their private/international schools (I am not going to say where because I could out myself at this point). My spouse and I have an MD and PHD between us and we are quite fine with science and math here. Meanwhile, I have literally looked at the material that friends' middle schoolers are learning in math and humanities at various private schools and it's of a lower standard in math for sure and equal in humanities.

Also, I can already tell you don't actually understand the diversity issue. We go to a majority - minority school and I appreciate that as a brown person. I could care less if your child has friends from all over - that's basically what every white person in the DMV says. And I will tell you that there's a huge difference between having 2 Muslim friends and having a special prayer room set aside for prayers that people actually use everyday. Every brown/black person knows what it's like to be a token versus having a real voice and a real home.

Anyway, that's not what this thread is about. It's about how the English in mcps middle school is total crap. This isn't a thread for people to bash the public schools and pat yourselves on the back for sending them to private. It's for people who want to stay in public schools and are looking at reasonable, cost effective ways to improve their kids' education. Also, i'd like to know if anyone has done anything at their school level to improve the situation (advocating with the administration for example).

You’ve looked at materials other people’s kids are covering? Enough to make a blanket statement?

I call such MASSIVE BS.

I looked at their school binders, notes from math and social studies. Was it a large sample size? No. Of course not. 4 kids, 3 different schools, 1 which was at a school my kids had attended before. Enough to give me comfort. Was it confirmation bias? Sure. Again, I don't know why you are arguing with me. You are clearly satisfied with your choices for your child. I am looking for solutions outside of private school. Since that's the only solution you seem to offer please leave this thread.

Why the hell are you looking at other people’s kids notes? And how is some random kid’s notes going to tell you anything?

Beyond the deep weirdness of doing that, that tells you nothing but confirms your own feelings. If that’s what you need, go for it, but don’t act like it’s anything close to representative of reality.

Good Lord, these are our friends' kids not strangers. Believe it or not, one of these people wanted to see our kids materials too because she had second thoughts about her private. We just wanted to see what 7th grade classes looked at across schools/school systems. When your kid is in the 99th percentile what is being taught and offered by the school is important to know.

Most people try to gather data. They don't just blindly follow what people say is "good".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried CTY? They would be in class with other high performing peers which could get them out of the rut. My poor kid was in the dumbed down curriculum and became catatonic by the end of the school year, producing mediocre work. Being around kids who are at their same level might snap them out of that.

CTY is overpriced. If you're willing to go online and have gifted kids, there are better options like AoPS, NUMATS, Davidson, Athena's Academy, Astra Nova, Cresco Nova, Synthesis, Northwestern GLL, Eclipse Academy, Online G3, Stanford OHS, Lukeion, and CLRC. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/online-gifted-learning-options/

Pp, can you expand on this? Which are really strong here? My kids are actually total rule followers and very respectful of their teachers - if their teachers ask them to do something, they will absolutely follow it to a T and not shirk at all. Virtual school was completely fine for them except the missed social aspect. I'd need something with a live teacher on zoom who somehow enforces accountability.

Which subject(s) do you want? Are they gifted, or advanced in one or more subject(s)? Do you want something supplemental/enrichment or a full course on a school subject complete with all the work and time commitments of a full course or a full course on a topic unlikely to be covered in school? What's your budget? What ages/grades are your children?

Op here.. kids going into 6th and 8th. They are both gifted. We opted out of both math/Humanities magnets (which they were both offered seats at) because we didn't want the commute and also they had good friends. Second guessing ourselves on the Humanities front now I guess. We want English and supplemental. Something like a book club with some rigor/analysis on text analysis and writing about the books. Ideally a class once a week (2 hrs) and reading/hw on the side. Fwiw Ms English is so dumb that my older kid routinely knocks out the required assignment in class and then uses the extra time to start her math hw.

I see this so much. People stick with mediocre public school because they want convenience and like the social aspect.

Well, your kids have friends and you have a short commute, but they can’t write.

I feel sorry for your kids but not you.

Op here. Well, that is kind of mean. And also my kids are definitely farther along in Math/Humanities/foreign language than most of my friends who do send their kids to privates. Also - we aren't white. This may not be relevant to some but we really value diversity. So - nothing is perfect.
It's helpful when people don't engage in black and white thinking. I am a parent who is just trying to make things a bit better in this one arena.

Also - I never said they could not write. They write just fine. They write a ton in global Humanities which is the class that's basically forcing them to really write these days, but those texts are non fiction that they analyze.

Your statement about your kids being farther along than private school kids is so insanely false.

We’ve had a long debate on here about math in MCPS vs private and have shown that private schools are better than non-magnet MCPS.

But to say your kids are farther ahead in humanities is delusional. I’m sorry, it’s the truth.

Lastly, many private schools around here are plenty diverse from a racial standpoint. My daughter has friends at her private school who are Iranian, Hispanic, Black, Indian, Spanish, French, etc etc etc.

You sound massively ignorant about private schools and really have no basis for making the statements you do.

So this is OP. Actually my kids attended private and international schools most of their lives. The past 2 years is their first time in public. I can say confidently that they are able to cover more material in math/science/humanities than at their private/international schools (I am not going to say where because I could out myself at this point). My spouse and I have an MD and PHD between us and we are quite fine with science and math here. Meanwhile, I have literally looked at the material that friends' middle schoolers are learning in math and humanities at various private schools and it's of a lower standard in math for sure and equal in humanities.

Also, I can already tell you don't actually understand the diversity issue. We go to a majority - minority school and I appreciate that as a brown person. I could care less if your child has friends from all over - that's basically what every white person in the DMV says. And I will tell you that there's a huge difference between having 2 Muslim friends and having a special prayer room set aside for prayers that people actually use everyday. Every brown/black person knows what it's like to be a token versus having a real voice and a real home.

Anyway, that's not what this thread is about. It's about how the English in mcps middle school is total crap. This isn't a thread for people to bash the public schools and pat yourselves on the back for sending them to private. It's for people who want to stay in public schools and are looking at reasonable, cost effective ways to improve their kids' education. Also, i'd like to know if anyone has done anything at their school level to improve the situation (advocating with the administration for example).

You’ve looked at materials other people’s kids are covering? Enough to make a blanket statement?

I call such MASSIVE BS.

I looked at their school binders, notes from math and social studies. Was it a large sample size? No. Of course not. 4 kids, 3 different schools, 1 which was at a school my kids had attended before. Enough to give me comfort. Was it confirmation bias? Sure. Again, I don't know why you are arguing with me. You are clearly satisfied with your choices for your child. I am looking for solutions outside of private school. Since that's the only solution you seem to offer please leave this thread.

Why the hell are you looking at other people’s kids notes? And how is some random kid’s notes going to tell you anything?

Beyond the deep weirdness of doing that, that tells you nothing but confirms your own feelings. If that’s what you need, go for it, but don’t act like it’s anything close to representative of reality.

Good Lord, these are our friends' kids not strangers. Believe it or not, one of these people wanted to see our kids materials too because she had second thoughts about her private. We just wanted to see what 7th grade classes looked at across schools/school systems. When your kid is in the 99th percentile what is being taught and offered by the school is important to know.

Most people try to gather data. They don't just blindly follow what people say is "good".

Notes from random kids isn’t data. Actually visiting schools and reviewing curricula is data.

[Anonymous]

And my kid is also in the 99th percentile but thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

You don’t have to be Catholic to go to Catholic school.

I realize but we still cannot do this. For some of the same reasons why I prefer very diverse schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

You don’t have to be Catholic to go to Catholic school.

I realize but we still cannot do this. For some of the same reasons why I prefer very diverse schools.

People are offering you solutions. You keep rejecting them. Not our problem then, if you keep having problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

You don’t have to be Catholic to go to Catholic school.

I realize but we still cannot do this. For some of the same reasons why I prefer very diverse schools.

People are offering you solutions. You keep rejecting them. Not our problem then, if you keep having problems.

Um no. Actually I have had very good solutions (pls read upthread) including types of books and enrichment curriculum. The issue is that there a few of you pushing privates (in an mcps public school topic) as the only viable option. It's not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

You don’t have to be Catholic to go to Catholic school.

I realize but we still cannot do this. For some of the same reasons why I prefer very diverse schools.

And your children illiterate, it seems.

PS: Catholic schools are often very diverse

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just send your kid to Catholic school and they’ll teach them.

We aren't Christian so that won't work for us.

You don’t have to be Catholic to go to Catholic school.

I realize but we still cannot do this. For some of the same reasons why I prefer very diverse schools.

And your children illiterate, it seems.

PS: Catholic schools are often very diverse

Wow. I'd love to see metrics showing how their diversity stack up to public schools in Silver Spring or Germantown.