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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]TJ outreach people that came to our school told us nothing about needing to take Math beyond algebra. Now we are hearing calculus is required at TJ.  Not sure why they didnt mention this requirment?[/quote]

Probably because they expect people who are applying to a magnate school to do some research and know what the requirements are. Applying to a school without research is foolish. A quick look at the TJ Course catalog for math shows that a student starting with Math 1 leads to Calculus. All roads lead to calculus. If you applied and you did not look at the math and science requirements, that is on you.

This is a STEM school. It for kids who are advanced/interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. There are very few science, technology, engineering paths that do not require math beyond calculus so it makes sense that a STEM school would require kids take calculus.

Applying students should have talked with Counselors and asked questions about TJ. They could have asked at the meeting about graduation requirements at TJ. It is on them if they are not asking questions or doing their own research. You allowed your child to apply, do the research required. If you have this attitude for applying for a very selective magnate HS, you are screwed when it comes to applying for college.
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Blaming students for not asking about the details of TJ isn't fair. The outreach efforts at underrepresented schools are influenced by equity politics, first by pressuring students to apply and using application numbers to claim STEM interest in schools where passing basic math and science SOL tests is challenging.  If three fourth of school fails in 8th grade algebra 1, how can it generate an organic pool of applicants prepared to handle TJ rigor if not for the artificial outreach effort?[/quote]

I blame the parents for not talking to their kids and workign through what TJ is, what the course look like, and what they should expect if they attend there. There is no good reason why students who are attending a meeting about applying to TJ or accepting an offer to attend are not asking questions about the course work. None. I don't care what their background is. These are kids with good grades who have completed honors or AAP classes, to include Algebra 1. They are not stupid kids, they are, in fact, intelligent kids. If they cannot think to ask "What math classes are we taking at T?" then they don't belong at TJ.

If their parents are not helping them with the research, then that is on the parents.

The Counselors at the school should be helping them with this as well. They need to be choosing classes and should be able to ask "Wait, what is math 1? Where is Geometry?" and realize that the math classes are a semester long so they are expected to grasp material more quickly.

You cannot have your cake and eat it to. You don't get to complain that not enough kids from under represented schools are accepted and then complain that the kids are not hand fed that TJ is hard and the math and science demands are harder then their base school. If the outreach people were to show up with slides that said "TJ Math is really hard, it moves at twice the speed as a regular math class, you have to take Calculus to receive a TJ diploma" you would be complaining that the school was actively discouraging kids from under represented schools from attending.

At some point, the students and parents have to take ownership of their choices. If you choose to apply to TJ then you need to do your research. If you are accepted to TJ then you really need to do your research and make sure it is a good fit for you. The process is set up right now to make sure that kids from every MS can attend TJ, which I like. But the students and parents need to step up and make sure it is a good fit for their kid. [/quote]

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