Reply to student admissions and TJ lawsuit

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I don't get it.  If you pay for baseball camps, golf lessons, or swim coaching to be a better athlete we celebrate your effort. [i] If you pay for tutoring to become a great at math we look down on you as wasting your life[/i].  Academic achievement takes people much farther professionally than does athletic achievement.  I think the country is better served by greatness in the classroom rather than on the athletic fields.  [/quote]

[quote=Anonymous]
This is just not an accurate assessment of what we're talking about here.

These are not kids who are paying for tutoring to become great at math. These are kids who are paying for tutoring to become good enough at math first to get into TJ, and then to survive it. This is not kids paying for a little extra help to get them over the hump in some international math competition that is going to be their ticket to greatness - I have no problem with that. [b]These are kids who are paying for the ability to take up space in an elite school where they may or may not belong.[/b]

We already have a built-in mechanism for kids to excel at academic subjects, and it's called SCHOOL. We already have a built-in mechanism for kids in Northern Virginia to get an exception STEM-focused but well-rounded education, and it's called TJ. [/quote]

Ah yes.  A good ole' fashion rationalization.  [/quote]

Or make a point[/quote]

My point is that the OP gave an accurate analogy, and a rationalization was provided as a rebuttal. [/quote]

The rebuttal explained why the analogy is both inaccurate and irrelevant. Keep trying, but harder.[/quote]

Snark is not a substitute for intelligence.  A stolen base is bolded.  As others have noted elsewhere, natural giftedness may get you into TJ, but it won't keep you there.  And despite the claims to the contrary, taking one or two prep courses will not ensure entrance into TJ.

What many folks don't understand or, more accurately, don't want to acknowledge, is that the kids that take prep courses are also the same kids that go to weekend and summer school, and have done so for years.  Their parents prioritize and foster an environment where education is important.  Their kids get straight A's not because their parents are ogres, but because the students themselves recognize the value.  And it is likely these kids that have the discipline, focus, and study habits to do well at TJ.  I would argue that it is exactly these kids (and their parents) that made TJ the No. 1 high school in the country.

Many feel that these kids with a demonstrated track record and the discipline to prepare are "buying" entrance to TJ and “may not belong”.  I disagree.  If their entrance test performance and other criteria (alas, under the old system) are at the top, I’d say they've earned entrance to TJ and very much belong there.
[/quote]

Absolutely true. Just like in any other field, for excellence, you need to prepare and work hard. As simple as that. STEM is not easy - for anyone. Parents clamoring for removing admissions test and essentially trying to put in enough subjectivity to make the outcomes unpredictable and lottery school like, you are doing no one a favor. Try to get your kids to take some discomfort and work hard. Have higher expectations! They will at least to better prepared for life. [/quote]

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