Reply to ISO Intellectually Rigorous Upper School without the pressure cooker atmosphere & WHICH TO AVOID?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP again - here's another example. Over on the MD school forum, there's a question about homework in high school:  http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/412045.page

On this thread, someone posted about a HS student having 5 tests in one day. This is EXACTLY what we hated about MCPS. The independent middle schools seem good about limiting the number of tests in one day (ours does not allow more than 2 per day). Are there similar limits/guidelines on number of tests per day even at the "pressure cooker" schools like Sidwell, GDS, etc?

Also, do the upper schools allow the kids to have PE every day, outdoor time, some breaks so that they are not eating lunch at 10:30 a.m. and then starving until 2:30 with only 5 minute breaks in between classes?

I think the factors below are what contribute to a high stress environment. This is really what we're trying to avoid. Is this something we have to be careful of even with independents, or are these problems unique to the local public schools? 
 
- high pressure/high stakes testing, multiple tests (4 or more) on one day…
 - stressed out teachers 
- few or no breaks between classes a l a Advisory period or PE…do not want kid going for seven hours with only lunch and PE and 5 minutes between classes…

Thank you all!

[/quote]

I have had one in private and one in public. we are currently in an MCPS MS. We have PE every day. Lunch is at 12:30. We have never had 5 tests in one day even with finals. I don;t find the teachers stressed at all. Our teachers seem to care about the kids and preparing them for HS.

At the private, in HS, there is no way around that there is more pressure. Grades count and if you start taking AP's the pace of the class is much faster and the hw load is pretty high. Most privates have a sports commitment and an arts committment. that means you don't get home till 7 and start the 2-3 hours of HW. There is a study hall and a longer lunch but you really need to use those to do hw or study for tests or quizes otherwise you will have too much to do at home. You may not have 5 tests a day, but there will alwyas be something to do and when you add in SAT's, college apps etc, it gets to be a lot. In public, the HS kids get out at 2:15 every day. they have a lot of time to do HW and don't have the sports commitment after school except for those on teams.

The pressure is in both public and private for HS. The parents expect a lot from their kids and the kids get competitive with each other for getting grades and begin able to apply to top schools.

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