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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, what is your demographic background? I ask because the experience at TJ can differ depending on your ethnicity. This could give the people asking questions some background.[/quote]

Hi OP, ignore the toxic responses to your post (including the one straight up requesting demographic without you volunteering to do that). It's unfortunate but anonymous forums can really bring out the sh*tty side of folks.

I'd personally be curious how your math experience in 9th and 10th have been, given that you took Algebra 1 in 8th. I know most TJ kids usually take it a year earlier. Did this hamper you at all, or do you feel that taking geometry at TJ gave you an advantage in terms of giving you really solid fundamentals to build on?[/quote]

Haha, nono I totally understand people's responses and I don't think they meant to be mean. I also understand how talk about TJ on this forum could seem a little overkill at some times, but I haven't clicked around enough to really know--and I really do apologize if this is not the right medium to answer questions on or that my thread adds unnecessary filler to the forum. I will try to be concise:

I am Filipino and both of my parents immigrated here from the Philippines a little before I was born. So I am Asian--but an underrepresented Asian, not East Asian (Chinese, Korean) or Indian. There are very very few Filipinos at TJ in comparison to this area, but I am privileged in that I have not experienced any uncomfortableness in the classroom due to my race.

I am a year (or two, or three, or four) behind most of my peers in math. I went to a Catholic middle school that did not offer Geometry and I was not eligible to take it over the summer, so I took it at TJ with about 18 other kids in my class. While I do feel this disadvantaged me as I will not be able to have an AP Calc score to send to colleges, I did feel significantly more prepared for the math courses I took after. This may be because I was older than when my peers took it, but the Geometry curriculum at TJ was more intense and rigorous than that at any middle school in the area but was still less stress during my freshman year than Math 3 would have been (Alg 2). To be honest, I would have liked to be able to take Multivariate Calculus/Linear Algebra at TJ like many do their senior year, but there's nothing I can do about my situation now--and TJ has great and advanced academics all-around, not just in math, so I don't feel that I'm missing out too too much. Plus, sometimes kids that rush themselves through math classes too early don't really end up doing as well. Of course this isn't the case for everyone, but I know some of my friends that took Alg 2/Precalc in middle school struggled early on in more advanced classes, and had to retake or drop a level. This is not to discredit them of course--it's just not always easy to transition to the rigor of TJ in comparison to middle school. I believe that taking Geometry at TJ was a good way to really develop and/or introduce concepts I will use later on in TJ Math, though there are detriments in being behind. I've never been seriously judged or ostracized for being in lower math or anything and the 18 of us were very good friends. Plus, I still am able to take advantage of TJ's course offerings in other subjects :)[/quote]

Thanks for the response! I'd add that you theoretically *could* try to skip Precalc by testing out in order do Calc next year, but I recall hearing that it's very hard (i.e you'd have to study quite intensely on your own to learn the concepts well enough to get a 90%+ for passing the test; I knew one kid who did that many years back). But that may not be a worthwhile just for the acceleration...

How is the current work life balance culture at TJ? Do you feel that there are more requirements for TJ graduation than at base high schools, or pretty much in line with the others?

Do you find that most kids can cope with the amount of rigor/work in a healthy way? Do most of the kids who manage their time well end up thriving? Are the kids who are having a difficult time and overloaded mainly because of 1) procrastination, 2) because they were unprepared for the school (and perhaps shouldn't have been admitted), 3) because they took too heavy set of classes, or 4) some combination of these?[/quote]

OP here!

Yeah haha, I could try to take math skip tests--but I've never really been too interested in that.

My main EC (marching band/indoor drumline) takes up a lot of time and I sometimes end up finishing homework pretty late, but it's never felt too overwhelming (yet...we'll see about junior year :? )and if I wasn't able to finish something, I'd find some time (on the bus, JLC, lunch) to get it done before I had to hand it in. I find that most people that play a sport are also generally good students with a healthy social life, and most other kids that aren't in a super time-consuming EC find ways to fill their time with outside extracurriculars or working on personal projects.  Alternatively, they just chill at home or with friends at the nearby Plaza or Ocha Tea. TJ kids tend to work hard/smartly to achieve their goals. It's all up to the student's own time management--which is a large part of why freshman year is so difficult for people while they're still figuring out how much or how to study.

I feel that there are way more requirements for TJ graduation than at base school, but I'm not actually sure what the requirements for a normal diploma at base school would be. However, sometimes the course requirements for TJ are tricky and prohibit kids from taking more of the specialized electives than they would want to take. This would include having to take Design and Tech freshman year, Foundations CS before junior year, and a non-AP history credit at some point before graduation. Also the senior research lab. While these classes are all actually really interesting and I understand the appeal of having it as a requirement, I know that some people not have been interested in CS at all were annoyed that they would have to use up one of their elective spots/summer classes for a class for the TJ diploma. We're also required to take HUM (combined History and English) sophomore and junior year, which might be annoying for some kids in specific weird course scenarios (ie: my friend wanting to take Physics sophomore year couldn't make the schedule work).

I would agree that most of the kids who manage their time well end up thriving. While it will depend on IBET, the workload freshman year is doable without having to stay up too late--if the kid doesn't waste time procrastinating on the Internet or talking to friends while there's a big project due tomorrow or something. It can be done. There's lot of time in the day and as I've gotten older I've learned to work more efficiently and waste less time. There are a lot of procrastinators at TJ though and it's definitely not easy to stop putting off work. It's definitely a habit a lot of us share, and learn to combat.

The kids that are not doing as well or having a harder time are usually taking classes that are stereotypically already difficult (AP Chem after summer chem, Math 4 freshman year, Calc BC before junior year) and are also younger and not as used to TJ's rigor. It is likely a combination of still learning to build good study habits, while also slightly being over their heads if they're taking really advanced courses while still an underclassmen.

The kids struggling in "easier" freshman classes (still definitely a wake-up call freshman year) like Stats or Spanish 2 might just need to do practice or extra studying on their own. Still, it is doable. While it is possible that some struggling kids were simply underprepared and should not have been admitted, being underprepared in middle school doesn't necessarily mean that you can't catch up. No freshman courses at TJ (besides math and level 2/3 language) rely on previous knowledge--in Bio and Stats the material can be found in a textbook that you're given, Foundation CS you're given info found in packets, etc. I had barely any science background from my Catholic school through a series of unfortunate events (teacher passed away, no textbooks, constant subs) and still studied a lot and did well in both Biology and Chemistry alongside my peers from public school who had a more rigorous background.

Sometimes, people feel inadequate and unable to cope with the work because of parental pressure, or personal pressure on themselves to get straight As or take really hard classes to apply to college with a 4.5 GPA. Even if they don't do as well as they hoped in these classes--TJ's academics are not always easy to do well in. They are still good students, and while putting pressure can help drive you/the child to success, coming a little short does not always mean failure.

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