S/O MCPS HS "Honors" English 9/10 courses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HS English teacher here. There is no difference anymore. Honors is on-level. They got rid of true honors because of “equity” and now everyone is in honors. There is no option to choose a non-honors course. As a result, all students get a weighted GPA for doing grade-level expectations. It’s ridiculous—and frankly—embarrassing for MCPS. Students are frustrated when they are bored or can’t keep up, and teachers are beyond exhausted trying to teach to everyone from language learns to gifted students.

PARENTS… please appeal to Dr. Taylor. We as teachers have tried without results.

MCPS needs to quit pretending that teachers have the time to make four different tiered lesson plans for each level of student for each day. Grouping kids by ability is not discriminatory it’s actually helpful to be able to tailor the learning to meet all students needs.

YES YES YES... these "honors classes" that are really the same as what used to be called regular are an embarrassment. They make MCPS numbers look better in terms of % of students enrolled in honors classes but the are hurting a lot of students in the process. we came from outside the MCPS and did not know this about the lack of true honors classes until scheduling my child's classes and I was quite upset. i asked about the reasoning and expressed my concern that there would be such a heterogeneous group of learners that my student would not be challenged. I was assured by an administrator that the teachers were well trained to be able to hand this heterogeneity and teach each student at an appropriate level. I actually do not doubt the teachers' abilities, but I do doubt how reasonable it is that a teacher can teach such a large group, particularly where a lot of the students really do not care, and appropriately challenge each student. Not surprising, my student is bored and increasingly demotivated since the content is so watered down (their words not mine).

Welcome to MCPS. Admin here love to lie and gaslight parents like this.

Their dirty secret is exposed. Central office scrambling to find ways to cover it up for optics.

[Anonymous]

Banner article focused on HS English in MCPS: “Books are fading from kids’ lives. Parents want schools to do more.”

https://www.thebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/montgomery-county-high-school-books-curriculum-YA6OLARKZRBJLBBU5RGZXMKHIQ/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Banner article focused on HS English in MCPS: “Books are fading from kids’ lives. Parents want schools to do more.”

https://www.thebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/montgomery-county-high-school-books-curriculum-YA6OLARKZRBJLBBU5RGZXMKHIQ/

Paywall. Can you share a gift link?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Banner article focused on HS English in MCPS: “Books are fading from kids’ lives. Parents want schools to do more.”

https://www.thebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/montgomery-county-high-school-books-curriculum-YA6OLARKZRBJLBBU5RGZXMKHIQ/

Paywall. Can you share a gift link?

I subscribe but don't see the option to give a gift link. I think it's available through Apple News if you have that, or in my view it's worth subscribing -- it's only $1 for 6 months and they have great MCPS coverage.

[Anonymous]

But what happens when we arrive back at where we started- with tracking? With being able to tell which class is honors and which is on level based on the color of the kids’ skin when you walk by the rooms? That is not okay and there ARE teachers who don’t want that either!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But what happens when we arrive back at where we started- with tracking? With being able to tell which class is honors and which is on level based on the color of the kids’ skin when you walk by the rooms? That is not okay and there ARE teachers who don’t want that either!

I don’t think teachers can properly provide differentiated instruction to classes of 30+ students. If you’re all-in for de-tracking you have to get class sizes under 20 and no way that happens in MCPS high schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But what happens when we arrive back at where we started- with tracking? With being able to tell which class is honors and which is on level based on the color of the kids’ skin when you walk by the rooms? That is not okay and there ARE teachers who don’t want that either!

There are ways to mitigate some of that, like having truly rigorous honors classes but not gatekeeping them (allowing anyone who's not genuinely below-level to enroll or even making enrollment the default unless they opt out, and providing extra outside of class supports for kids who want to take them but aren't quite prepared to succeed, to help them keep up without slowing the classes down for the others.)

But really unfortunately there's no good answer here (at least not one without investing a lot more effort and resources than MCPS is willing to invest.) Having everyone in the same below-level classes because you don't want to see any racial disparities is not a good solution either.

[Anonymous]

MCPS should be embarrassed by its curriculum and the implementation. That article starts with an MCPS parents talking about how her child watched a movie version of Romeo and Juliet, did not actually read the play, in English 9.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should be embarrassed by its curriculum and the implementation. That article starts with an MCPS parents talking about how her child watched a movie version of Romeo and Juliet, did not actually read the play, in English 9.

Sorry, "honors" English 9

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But what happens when we arrive back at where we started- with tracking? With being able to tell which class is honors and which is on level based on the color of the kids’ skin when you walk by the rooms? That is not okay and there ARE teachers who don’t want that either!

There are ways to mitigate some of that, like having truly rigorous honors classes but not gatekeeping them (allowing anyone who's not genuinely below-level to enroll or even making enrollment the default unless they opt out, and providing extra outside of class supports for kids who want to take them but aren't quite prepared to succeed, to help them keep up without slowing the classes down for the others.)

But really unfortunately there's no good answer here (at least not one without investing a lot more effort and resources than MCPS is willing to invest.) Having everyone in the same below-level classes because you don't want to see any racial disparities is not a good solution either.

Yes to all this.

Another reason I worry about the return to on level and honors- guess who wants to teach the on level classes? No one. Guess who is vocal about it and would have terrible low expectations for the on level classes- the teachers who are racist. Who wouldn’t say anything out loud, but who secretly want to teach white children from the 1950s. And in lieu of that only want to teach AP classes now. Sigh. I am a teacher in a diverse high school and too many of my colleagues- not all or even most of them- but SOME of them are secretly bigoted. And their glee at returning to this segregation is discouraging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But what happens when we arrive back at where we started- with tracking? With being able to tell which class is honors and which is on level based on the color of the kids’ skin when you walk by the rooms? That is not okay and there ARE teachers who don’t want that either!

There are ways to mitigate some of that, like having truly rigorous honors classes but not gatekeeping them (allowing anyone who's not genuinely below-level to enroll or even making enrollment the default unless they opt out, and providing extra outside of class supports for kids who want to take them but aren't quite prepared to succeed, to help them keep up without slowing the classes down for the others.)

But really unfortunately there's no good answer here (at least not one without investing a lot more effort and resources than MCPS is willing to invest.) Having everyone in the same below-level classes because you don't want to see any racial disparities is not a good solution either.

Offering truly rigorous classes without gatekeeping is the obvious answer here. Make it more like math - there's no shame in dropping from Honors Pre-Calculus to On-Level, for example. Offer a genuinely rigorous experience, and then allow movement if it's not working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But what happens when we arrive back at where we started- with tracking? With being able to tell which class is honors and which is on level based on the color of the kids’ skin when you walk by the rooms? That is not okay and there ARE teachers who don’t want that either!

There are ways to mitigate some of that, like having truly rigorous honors classes but not gatekeeping them (allowing anyone who's not genuinely below-level to enroll or even making enrollment the default unless they opt out, and providing extra outside of class supports for kids who want to take them but aren't quite prepared to succeed, to help them keep up without slowing the classes down for the others.)

But really unfortunately there's no good answer here (at least not one without investing a lot more effort and resources than MCPS is willing to invest.) Having everyone in the same below-level classes because you don't want to see any racial disparities is not a good solution either.

Offering truly rigorous classes without gatekeeping is the obvious answer here. Make it more like math - there's no shame in dropping from Honors Pre-Calculus to On-Level, for example. Offer a genuinely rigorous experience, and then allow movement if it's not working.

The APEX curriculum at Walter Johnson HS has been pretty strong in 9th and 10th grades. In 9th grade, for example, the students read two full books per quarter, and some of them are definitely classics: To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet (the text, not the movie, with a study of sonnets included) and Night, as examples. They supplement with poetry analysis and other readings (both novels and shorter texts), many of which are more modern and highlight diverse authors, characters, and cultures. Teacher choices vary a bit, but offerings have included Persepolis (Graphic novel about Iranian Revolution), Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. My 10th grader is continuing on this trajectory in 10th grade APEX, which is also engaging and (according to my student) offers much more of a challenge than "Honors" English.

Unfortunately, WJ is ending this program and pivoting to the standard MCPS English 9 curriculum for all starting next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But what happens when we arrive back at where we started- with tracking? With being able to tell which class is honors and which is on level based on the color of the kids’ skin when you walk by the rooms? That is not okay and there ARE teachers who don’t want that either!

There are ways to mitigate some of that, like having truly rigorous honors classes but not gatekeeping them (allowing anyone who's not genuinely below-level to enroll or even making enrollment the default unless they opt out, and providing extra outside of class supports for kids who want to take them but aren't quite prepared to succeed, to help them keep up without slowing the classes down for the others.)

But really unfortunately there's no good answer here (at least not one without investing a lot more effort and resources than MCPS is willing to invest.) Having everyone in the same below-level classes because you don't want to see any racial disparities is not a good solution either.

Offering truly rigorous classes without gatekeeping is the obvious answer here. Make it more like math - there's no shame in dropping from Honors Pre-Calculus to On-Level, for example. Offer a genuinely rigorous experience, and then allow movement if it's not working.

The APEX curriculum at Walter Johnson HS has been pretty strong in 9th and 10th grades. In 9th grade, for example, the students read two full books per quarter, and some of them are definitely classics: To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet (the text, not the movie, with a study of sonnets included) and Night, as examples. They supplement with poetry analysis and other readings (both novels and shorter texts), many of which are more modern and highlight diverse authors, characters, and cultures. Teacher choices vary a bit, but offerings have included Persepolis (Graphic novel about Iranian Revolution), Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. My 10th grader is continuing on this trajectory in 10th grade APEX, which is also engaging and (according to my student) offers much more of a challenge than "Honors" English.

Unfortunately, WJ is ending this program and pivoting to the standard MCPS English 9 curriculum for all starting next year.

That sounds like the standard high school English classes I had at my middle-of-the-road HS in the 1990's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But what happens when we arrive back at where we started- with tracking? With being able to tell which class is honors and which is on level based on the color of the kids’ skin when you walk by the rooms? That is not okay and there ARE teachers who don’t want that either!

There are ways to mitigate some of that, like having truly rigorous honors classes but not gatekeeping them (allowing anyone who's not genuinely below-level to enroll or even making enrollment the default unless they opt out, and providing extra outside of class supports for kids who want to take them but aren't quite prepared to succeed, to help them keep up without slowing the classes down for the others.)

But really unfortunately there's no good answer here (at least not one without investing a lot more effort and resources than MCPS is willing to invest.) Having everyone in the same below-level classes because you don't want to see any racial disparities is not a good solution either.

Offering truly rigorous classes without gatekeeping is the obvious answer here. Make it more like math - there's no shame in dropping from Honors Pre-Calculus to On-Level, for example. Offer a genuinely rigorous experience, and then allow movement if it's not working.

The APEX curriculum at Walter Johnson HS has been pretty strong in 9th and 10th grades. In 9th grade, for example, the students read two full books per quarter, and some of them are definitely classics: To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet (the text, not the movie, with a study of sonnets included) and Night, as examples. They supplement with poetry analysis and other readings (both novels and shorter texts), many of which are more modern and highlight diverse authors, characters, and cultures. Teacher choices vary a bit, but offerings have included Persepolis (Graphic novel about Iranian Revolution), Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. My 10th grader is continuing on this trajectory in 10th grade APEX, which is also engaging and (according to my student) offers much more of a challenge than "Honors" English.

Unfortunately, WJ is ending this program and pivoting to the standard MCPS English 9 curriculum for all starting next year.

That sounds like the standard high school English classes I had at my middle-of-the-road HS in the 1990's.

I took honors English through MCPS high school in the early 90s (AP in 12th grade) and we read so many books -- at least 8 books/plays a year.

I have a ninth grader now and they have read, to date in "honors English", one graphic novel and is halfway through a classic novel that I was assigned as an 8th grader. It is March.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But what happens when we arrive back at where we started- with tracking? With being able to tell which class is honors and which is on level based on the color of the kids’ skin when you walk by the rooms? That is not okay and there ARE teachers who don’t want that either!

There are ways to mitigate some of that, like having truly rigorous honors classes but not gatekeeping them (allowing anyone who's not genuinely below-level to enroll or even making enrollment the default unless they opt out, and providing extra outside of class supports for kids who want to take them but aren't quite prepared to succeed, to help them keep up without slowing the classes down for the others.)

But really unfortunately there's no good answer here (at least not one without investing a lot more effort and resources than MCPS is willing to invest.) Having everyone in the same below-level classes because you don't want to see any racial disparities is not a good solution either.

Yes to all this.

Another reason I worry about the return to on level and honors- guess who wants to teach the on level classes? No one. Guess who is vocal about it and would have terrible low expectations for the on level classes- the teachers who are racist. Who wouldn’t say anything out loud, but who secretly want to teach white children from the 1950s. And in lieu of that only want to teach AP classes now. Sigh. I am a teacher in a diverse high school and too many of my colleagues- not all or even most of them- but SOME of them are secretly bigoted. And their glee at returning to this segregation is discouraging.

That is a real problem that MCPS leadership needs to address. Not parents or students.

So what are principals and central office going to do about these racist white teachers who don't want to teach on-level kids and who "secretly" look down on the Black and Hispanic students they're tasked with educating?