Reply to Upcounty MLK JR Humanities magnet pgm

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I generally heard that the number of boys joining is really low
Is that true [/quote]

In my kid's class (at Clemente, not MLK) there were 8 boys and 67 girls. Seems like fewer boys apply, and fewer boys who get admitted decide to go.[/quote]

Wow. That is outrageous. And a vicious cycle because the less boys who go, the less boys who will want to go. What boy wants that kind of gender balance in middle school? I have a boy in ES who is really, really strong in ELA and I have consistently felt that his education is skewed “feminine.” Meaning that the books and topics they discuss, the inferences they are expected to make, are the kinds of things that girls (in general) prefer. When he writes, he has strong action words and focuses on plot, dialogue and similes while his teachers frequently ask him to use more hidden emotions and metaphors. He always notices philosophy, scenery and plot in books more than feelings and relationships. Now, I am NOT saying that those aren’t incredibly important things to learn about and understand, but boys are constantly being taught that their perfectly valid observations are somehow “less.” Boys are disengaging from ELA in MCPS and I think it has a lot to do with this heavy emphasis on one side of the coin, so to speak.[/quote]

My advice, not that you asked for it, is to expand your thinking. Your post sounds a lot to me like an advanced version of "Girls will read books about boys, but we shouldn't expect boys to read books about girls."

Here are some assigned books in the Humanities program:

The Giver
Animal Farm (which I personally think is ridiculous to assign in middle school)
The Adventures of Odysseus and The Tales of Troy by Padraic Colum
Things Fall Apart (again, ridiculous in middle school)
Red Scarf Girl
Farewell to Manzanar
Call of the Wild

Is there a reason why this list is less appropriate for your child who is a boy than for my child who is a girl?[/quote]

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