Reply to No separate AAP student track in FCPS high schools, right?

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Reply to "No separate AAP student track in FCPS high schools, right?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Correct. And no, no bias or preference. Teachers help students choose the appropriate level courses for the following year based on student's performance and teacher's observations, but parents/students really have the final say.

[b]I have kids in AAP and it delights me to hear of non-AAP kids getting into schools like W&M and UVA.[/b] [/quote]

Out of curiosity why does it delight you to see "regular track" kids ultimately do just as well as the advanced academic kids?

If your kid has been taking the harder courses up until HS it would be natural to want to see that effort pay off - qualifying for/taking/doing well in the tougher classes in HS and getting into the top college as a result of that effort.
[/quote]

It delights me because I hear so many AAP parents (here and IRL) and kids talk so smugly about how advanced they are and how much smarter they are than the "regular" kids. I hear it IRL while having three kids go through AAP in a center school where the AAP kids and the gen ed kids seem to be set up in a "have and have not" system.

I have always known that there are extremely bright kids in gen ed who didn't make the cutoff when they were in second grade. They didn't pursue it in subsequent years because it wasn't important to their families and they didn't feel their child needed it in order to be successful. So it makes me happy to see it when that plays out. There are many paths to success and I've always hated how AAP parents think that being in the program is the only path and place so much importance on it and get such a sense of validation from it, as well, thereby putting that idea in their kids' heads. It's often to the detriment of others if their kid happens to be the braggy, superior type.

Of course, I want to see my own children's effort pay off in all the ways you mentioned. Like you said, it's natural. Wanting great outcomes for non-AAP kids doesn't mean I want to see AAP kids struggle or flounder. I just enjoy seeing another path to success. [/quote]

"I just enjoy seeing another path to success." Many people agree with this while also disagreeing with these statements from you. "It delights me" and "it's sweet justice". Why would there need to be justice in just seeing another path to success? And why the assumption that AAP kids don't also want other kids to be into academics? I bet in reality many AAP kids are very happy to have more kids finally find academics interesting like they have been since a younger age.[/quote]

Not the PP, but you sound completely out of touch.  You actually don't think Gen Ed kids "find academics interesting"??  My kids have been avid readers since kindergarten.  Most of what they've learned has been on their own time, from reading books of their own choosing.  I can honestly say, I've never met kids more curious about the world in my life - except, of course, for many of their good friends, none of whom were in AAP and all of whom "find academics interesting."  At this point (they're teens and in college), they know more than I do in many subjects, especially history and literature.

Because they didn't get a certain score on a certain test on a certain day, they were not in AAP.  As another poster said, we didn't find it important enough to pursue appealing and retesting, year after year - especially for a program that's *barely* more in depth than Gen Ed is.  We felt they were learning more on their own than they'd ever be taught in a classroom.  And we were right.  Not being in AAP hasn't held them back one iota; in fact, quite the opposite.  They've excelled in AP classes and our oldest is at an excellent university - one that even DCUM snobs rave about.

I hope any younger parents reading this and wringing their hands about AAP will realize it's *just not that important.*  It really isn't.  It's not some magical program that will change your child's life, especially if you also have kids who are independent, self-taught learners.  Any child like that is going to succeed, regardless of a silly label bestowed on him or her in the 3rd grade.
[/quote]

Thank you for your eloquent reply, OP.  I agree with everything you posted, and our children's experience is almost identical.

The snobbery and condescension of some PPs towatd Gen Ed students appalling.  Gen Ed kids "finally find academics interesting?"  Gen Ed kids finally wanting to work hard in school?  Finally wanting to challenge themselves academically?  I had no idea that AAP parents thought this way.

And do you really remember at graduation time and when college acceptances are out, which students were in AAP 4 YEARS AGO?????

Makes me sick.[/quote]

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