Middle school digital literacy

[Anonymous]

I heard that digital literacy is optional. DC could take a foreign language instead. I’m not sure which is the best choice. He is currently in CES and has done a lot of researching and writing but on the other hand extra practice wouldn’t hurt. I also love the idea of starting a foreign language but he’s not very language inclined. Will his grade show up on his high school transcript? He will be in AIM and global humanities so I don’t want to overload him. He said he’s rather take a foreign language but that’s because I know he hates writing research papers. Any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

AIm is super easy basically prealgebra and repetition of math 5/6, Global humanities or some schools have HIGH is also super easy, there are some quizzes but nothing extreme, Its all about ancient cultures government structures etc. It’s a fun course. Dig Literacy is about internet searches citations fake websites vs real websites. If you are taking a course that carries HS credit like language you can elect to show the credit but no the grade on the transcript.

[Anonymous]

So not sure about a regular year but this year Dig Literacy at Frost was all about copying and pasting from websites. The projects were very easy.

[Anonymous]

My DC’s friends who took digital literacy all hated it. It was boring and with lots of busywork (not difficult at all, but time-consuming). I would definitely encourage a language over digital literacy. I think language is now only 1A, so half a year of language spread over a year, so it should not be too much, even with the other classes your child is taking.

[Anonymous]

It is really known as the soft option for kids who cannot hack the language study.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is really known as the soft option for kids who cannot hack the language study.

Agreed. I wish I saw this comment 3 years ago....before my kid wasted his time on this class.

[Anonymous]

I seem to recall it replaced reading which was mostly remedial by 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

Does he have to do digital literacy or language? In our MS you can just take another elective.

Coming from CES I would suggest the foreign language, not digital literacy. But if there’s a choice to have other options, have him look at other electives he’s interested in! Middle school is the time to try things out

[Anonymous]

If there’s any chance he might want to do an International Baccalaureate program in high school, he’ll need 2 years of a language to apply.

And even if it turns out he’s not interested in IB, he’ll have those credits out of the way, leaving room in his HS schedule for other things he’s interested in, or to take something easy in a year where he’s overloaded with AP or magnet courses.

In short, if he’s an advanced student, he should probably be taking a language in MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there’s any chance he might want to do an International Baccalaureate program in high school, he’ll need 2 years of a language to apply.

And even if it turns out he’s not interested in IB, he’ll have those credits out of the way, leaving room in his HS schedule for other things he’s interested in, or to take something easy in a year where he’s overloaded with AP or magnet courses.

In short, if he’s an advanced student, he should probably be taking a language in MS.

Very helpful responses, thanks! As for other electives, DC is not into robotics, coding or art. he’s not athletically inclined either. He will be continuing band though. I like the idea of an IB program, it’s just that DC is super lazy and I don’t want to overwhelm him with middle school work in 6th grade. But it sounds like a language may be the way to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there’s any chance he might want to do an International Baccalaureate program in high school, he’ll need 2 years of a language to apply.

And even if it turns out he’s not interested in IB, he’ll have those credits out of the way, leaving room in his HS schedule for other things he’s interested in, or to take something easy in a year where he’s overloaded with AP or magnet courses.

In short, if he’s an advanced student, he should probably be taking a language in MS.

Very helpful responses, thanks! As for other electives, DC is not into robotics, coding or art. he’s not athletically inclined either. He will be continuing band though. I like the idea of an IB program, it’s just that DC is super lazy and I don’t want to overwhelm him with middle school work in 6th grade. But it sounds like a language may be the way to go.

My DD didn't find language classes all that time-consuming, even with a full magnet-program load. It was mostly just occasional light homework and a bit of studying before quizzes, especially if she remembered to occasionally review the vocabulary lists in between.

If he was in a CES program, he'll have the skills to organize the material and learn it pretty quickly. As long as he pays attention in class, he'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So not sure about a regular year but this year Dig Literacy at Frost was all about copying and pasting from websites. The projects were very easy.

+1 DL is for kids who struggle with language arts so taking a foreign language class would be difficult.

Make your kid take FL especially coming from CES.

-parent of former HGC student

[Anonymous]

MCPS non magnet MS is easy if the kid is coming from CES, even taking foreign language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS non magnet MS is easy if the kid is coming from CES, even taking foreign language.

The strengths and weaknesses of the particular student dictate what is hard and what is easy. Generalizing isn’t helpful. There’s a big structural change in MS balancing demands of 7 different teachers, keeping track of assignments, etc. You can get 2 years of language in if you start in 7th, but if your child is not interested in art or tech, language may be the way to go in 6th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS non magnet MS is easy if the kid is coming from CES, even taking foreign language.

The strengths and weaknesses of the particular student dictate what is hard and what is easy. Generalizing isn’t helpful. There’s a big structural change in MS balancing demands of 7 different teachers, keeping track of assignments, etc. You can get 2 years of language in if you start in 7th, but if your child is not interested in art or tech, language may be the way to go in 6th.

For the most part, what I stated ^ is true. My kid went to HGC. The only kids I know who took DL instead of a foreign language were kids not from HGC and who had learning issues.