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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Back to say this is so infuriating and it' reminds me why I hate the HS stem magnet concept.  This guy doesn't know genius he's an efeing HS teacher. Anyway, STEM doesn't require genius, it's just hard work that any sensible person could do.   But so many people (Mostly boys) get into the math because of the outsized praise.  Universities aren't just better at teaching the material they're also more clear eyed about what math ability actually is. There are issues everywhere but things improved for me after HS. Horrifying this happened so recently.[/quote]

This is true. But somehow the young men that show up for these programs often label women as incompetent - might start with arsehole teachers in high school? Pathetic![/quote]

And the teacher was a product of the same, no doubt.  I didn't experience anything this overt although I knew about letchy teachers (talking other side of the country now).  But the attitude amongst male classmates was bad.  As with so many problems getting out of HS was the answer for me.  I'm just really horrified that this was going on in 2013, I knew it happened 30 years ago.

I'm not saying burn down the magnets. [b]I'm just seeing the hyper-specialization is rife for abuse[/b].  Perhaps five years and a retirement solved the problem. I'm also concerned that my kids' principal is mixed up in this.  I like her, I hope she did the right thing, but I'd like to know more.[/quote]

I am pro-magnets.  I've two kids in elementary and middle school magnets.  All the experiences were absolutely critical to their emotional development, and either kid would have gone in a very negative direction absent the magnet opportunity.  So, I'd be the last person to say get rid of magnets.  But, I think that what the people are saying who are criticizing the magnet aspect of this is that, when a student feels like they've been given a golden ticket, they are very reluctant to pursue reporting to the point that they may damage their own career/academic aspirations.  Blair magnet is absolutely perceived as a golden admission ticket to the top tier schools, and the WaPo article reinforces it by mentioning the many kids who go to Harvard, MIT, etc.  Kids and parents report, but when administrators don't pursue complaints, parents and students are reluctant to go outside the school to the Superintendent or the Title IX supervisor, or file a civil rights complaint or follow up with an outside organization like the National Women's Law Center. If they do so, they risk being isolated in the program and not getting the kinds of recommendations and academic opportunities and support that a place like Blair uniquely provides.  This is no joke.  When I made complaints about a program (on a different civil rights issue, not sexual harassment, at a different MCPS magnet, not Blair), I was vaguely threatened that my child didn't belong at the magnet any more and would have to return to the home school.  I am fortunate that I have a legal education and knew enough to stand my ground and how to fight the system, so I wasn't threatened by that, but it was still stressful to me and super stressful to my child.

In addition, when a program is perceived as being some kind of special golden halo on a school, administrators are very reluctant to criticize anyone teaching in such a program for fear of jeopardizing the status of the program and thus their own career success.  And, students who criticize are also afraid of jeopardizing the program and thus earning the ire of their peers.  [/quote]

Magnet ‘critical to their emotional development’. They would have gone on a negative direction without magnet...

What on Earth are you talking about??
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