Reply to Is Blair SMAC ok for non-stem kid?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Blair mom of artsy kid here. Don't listen to the knee jerk "No" people. They are likely fishing for your spot! This really depends on your kid.

My kid was more of an RM kid. She did go to TPMS magnet over Eastern because it was closer and she wanted to give STEM a go. She came out loving math, not super keen on science and so-so on CS. Also, still loving literature, theatre, history, film and music.  In the end w/ HS, she decided that the RM commute would be too much and chose Blair. At Blair, there are a certain number of STEM classes needed for the magnet in addition to what a kid would normally take. 2 years of CS, which can open the door for interesting classes design based elective classes, R&E which is like physics meets shop, a few extra science classes, and the same amount of math as normal (because everyone takes 4 years anyway) unless you want extra, and a research class or two, depending on if your kid does the sr. project. There are some interesting electives -- marine biology, optics, race/gender in STEM, etc. My kid was meh about science and got really turned off on CS by a student teacher (who is now at PHS I think, hope he mellowed a bit!) but loved math. She did mostly math electives to finish out her magnet requirements and did not do the project. She is at an Ivy doing a blend of math, arts and music.

The Blair magnet day has an extra period, so kids can take electives. Mine was able to take music and arts most years. Also AP history electives. Almost all the AP teachers my kid had were good. I would say half the day is STEM, but 1/4 of that would have been required/recommended classes anyway.

So, if you think your kid might blossom in that kind of setting, give it a go! I suggest going to the open house and asking LOTS of questions before deciding either way. Congrats on the admit, and good luck![/quote]

Totally agree. The newspaper is run mostly by CAP and Stem kids. Same with Debate. You can join ANY club you want. Lots of stem kids play a sport or do music. There is room for everyone. I agree NOT to listen to the distractors that want yours kids spot. We thought mine would choose RMIB, but they liked Blair better overall. It’s a great school. The program wants diversity NOT just the top Math kids. Many top math kids got rejected. You should give it a go. [/quote]

Excuse me, for your last sentence, that's not the case at least for this year's selection. My kid was in math competition in early elementary, does it very well, attending various levels of math contest (AMC series, AIME, mathcounts, math league, arml, UMD math contest, etc.), and got to know math-strong kids over the county. So far we haven't heard any rejection from Blair SMACS to these kids. They are all in. As a matter of fact, nearly all TPMS math varsity team kids are in. Totaling the numbers up, it's 40+ strongly math/STEM oriented kids already that are very likely accepting Blair's offer. I'm not saying that Blair SMACS are not for math/STEM kids, but considering you have at least 40 kids ahead of your kid (assuming OP's kid was not exposed to math competitions previously), it's brutal from the very beginning. Be prepared.

Chances are OP's kid could open a new door and find himself/herself is actually interested or talented or both in STEM field after joining the program. However, if that's not the case, it's cruel to the kid. It's a gamble at this point and I'd say listen to the kid's own opinion.[/quote]

Ive had 2 go through Blair’s Stem magnet, and I think the person should let their kid go to. It’s a great program. You do not have to take all the high high math come 11/12, they could concentrate on science for example. They are qualified enough to get in, so they should try. We were very happy with the English and Social studies there too. And there is a reason Blair always blows away the other schools in NMSF, even though English is more important in that test, because the  people going are in fact, very well rounded. [/quote]

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