Reply to Middle School Magnet Test

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I agree with this PP: 
"Looking at the faces of all these children and parents I was struck anew that if the standards of education was high for each school then I would not have had to be part of this madness. There is something so messed up in the whole system, if the curriculum and teaching does not challenge each and every kid in entire MCPS to their abilities and needs. "
This is a crazy, almost cruel process that has gotten more insane as the number of applicants increase. 
Clearly only a fraction of our kids will get into these programs, so what can we do to make the home middle schools more rigorous and attractive to families?
When I was in middle school, every public school I knew about had an intense gifted program, and this was in a state not known for its educational system. But I hear from other parents that the "honors/gifted" level classes at at least a couple of the regular middle schools are not even as challenging as the work the 5th graders at HGCs are doing. I don't understand why every school doesn't have truly rigorous and creative classes that will challenge kids, because clearly the demand is there.

The question is, what do we do about it?[/quote]

It is a crazy and cruel system.  All kids who took the exam today are interested in the rigor that this program offers.  So, why not offer it to them?  Either at the center or at their home schools.  If you have to cut costs then there are other places that the county can cut costs. To deny any of these kids the opportunity is such a waste of brain power.

[/quote]

If you let everybody in, then there is screaming about the program being dumbed down and watered down. If you don't let everybody in, then there is screaming about children being denied opportunities. Which do you prefer?

Also, I think it's unrealistic to expect that MCPS's curriculum and teaching should challenge each of the 154,000 students in the system to their abilities and needs. If you want an education that challenges your individual child to your child's individual abilities and needs, you must home school. Any school system with more than one student will have to make compromises.[/quote]

There is validity to what you are saying. However, I have not really understood why there is not one curriculum per grade here.   The world over the standard is that every child in a particular grade has the same textbooks, same curriculum, same exams and grades reported in percentages.

I also do not buy that the magnet curriculum is something extra-ordinary and can be handled only kids who are super intelligent.  I feel that the magnet curriculum (especially when not tainted by 2.0)  was the appropriate curriculum for kids of that grade. The fact that an not magnet kid may not be handle the magnet curriculum in higher grades is only because they were not given the foundational knowledge in lower grades.

The policy of not keeping kids back in the same grade if they do not meet a threshold in that grade is the reason we are actually dumbing down the curriculum for all children.  I f    MCPS wants to continue to have differentiation in curriculum then at the very least magnet curriculum should be what is taught to everyone. The variance should be given a choice of higher or lower curriculum.  BUT a choice should be available to all.  Not just a lucky few who do well on the day of the magnet exam.[/quote]

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