Reply to Algebra 2 in 8th Grade

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Our child is advanced in math because he was ready and needed something more than was offered.  She doesn't take math class anywhere except school.  We have no interest in TJ but did want her to be learning something in class instead of just sitting there.  Why is that so hard to understand?[/quote]

I am asking this sincerely - I hope you don't take it as snark.
But a generation ago (ie, when we were in middle school), there were plenty of brilliant math people.  I went to a very small very rigorous school.  We had one student who took Algebra I in 8th grade.  She went to MIT and is truly an off-the-charts kind of person.  Another group of us took Algebra I in 8th grade.
I don't remember ever "just sitting there" in school, and I don't remember there being an epidemic of kids who were just SO advanced that they simply needed algebra in 6th grade.
So what changed?  [/quote]

The parents are more competitive. [/quote]

The realization that now our kids are competing with kids from Asia who are taking more advanced math classes earlier. [/quote]

Being white is no excuse for poor performance. Sorry.[/quote]

No.  But it may be an excuse for having a different view of what constitutes poor performance, and what makes you a successful parent, and your kids successful human beings. My bet is that in 20 years my "poor performing" straight A  8th grade geometry student is doing as well or better as his peers whose parents made them take geometry between 7th and 8th.  Because kids talk to each other when you are carpooling, and these kids did not spend 8 hours some summer days cramming geometry because they love math. They were forced too, and they hated it. And they are terrified of not getting into TJ.  They talk about what their parents will do, and what others parents have done to kids that "failed".  But not about this love of STEM and being challenged and how wonderful TJ would be to attend.  It's sad.

DC has an Asian friend who is all about science, and is so smart, kind and driven. She does Science Olympiad because that is her thing and self studied for (and passed) an AP science exam to see if she could. And her parents let her, but don't push. If she doesn't get into TJ, that's a crime.  But the rest of these kids-- they would be better off if TJ just didn't exist. What their parents are doing is awful. [/quote]

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