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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I've been able to help my 2 magnet kids, but there are others who have been studying above grade level math privately for years. They are not more gifted than kids who don't take extra classes or have parent academic support.[/quote]

May be some of them were taking those "above grade level math" classes privately because they were geniuses who were not getting challenged by the grade level material - who knows! It is ridiculous to assert that someone is not gifted because he or she is taking private classes.

Are there kids who are above grade level in a subject but are not really what many would consider gifted (i.e.) wired differently? Yes, there are. But are there kids who study privately because they are gifted? Also YES. We know of kids in both categories, and outside enrichment was even more essential for the kids in the second category.[/quote]

hahahaha. [b]Yes of course, all the kids who study privately are geniuses whose "need" the extra work.[/b] Just like all the advanced orchestra are music "geniuses," not just working at a higher technical level because their parents made them practice hours a day in elem and MS. My kids have made all the magnets, but the more I look at it, the more I see prep as a major factor. Some of this is cultural. Are Indian kids all the best spellers, or do many of those families value spelling bee prep? Are Asians naturally better at violin, or are parents requiring more practice overall? So much of the current magnets are East Asian, South Asian and white because these groups have the cultural drive and/or resources to prepare kids to work at a high level. I am frankly frustrated with all the pressure for outside enrichment and prep. Kids should be able to work at a gifted level and still have some time to be kids.[/quote]

I am not sure where to start with this post.  
I think some people truly believe that if you are bright that is all you need to succeed in the magnet programs.  This is not the case.  Being bright is necessary but it is far from sufficient.  You also need to be hard working and in the case of some subjects (math notably) you need to have deep subject knowledge/mastery before you begin the program.  The idea that a child who over the years builds that knowledge and proficiency in core subjects is disqualified because they "prepped" is really wrong headed.  Now do they need to enroll in a cram school like Dr. Li etc.? Of course not.  I don't think these places necessarily help very much.  Many of the kids who take these classes and get in would probably have been admitted without taking these classes.  There are certainly some kids who took these classes before applying but they are far from the majority of Magnet kids.  I do think that children who are in a regular MCPS school and gifted in Math for instance are bored in the classroom and many love taking extracurricular classes through the Art of Problem Solving or through Johns Hopkins CTY.  I don't think of this as prepping although it most definitely is supplementing.  
Also even an incredibly bright/gifted student will have to work very hard in a magnet program.  Noone can bang out a ten page research paper with multiple college level reading sources in 7th grade unless they have a strong work ethic and great writing ability.  At Blair one of the toughest Math classes (Mathematical Physics) is a double period class (for a study hall) because the problems take a lot of time to solve and the students often need help.  These are some of the best Math students in the program but they have to work really hard.  Many of the classes at Blair (Math in particular) can involve 1 to 2 hours of homework every night.  The students who participate in the extracurricular Math competitions spend hours every week working on practice problems.  Again these are bright kids but the program is designed to be both interesting as well as rigorous.  You can't do interesting work unless you have mastered the content and that involves work.  The kids are expected to get through high school Physics in one semester in 9th grade, high school Chemistry in one semester in 9th grade.  The required statistics class in 11th grade uses the AP statistics book but they get through the text in one semester not two which means students are churning through three chapters a week.  You have to be highly motivated (love learning) and be hard working in order to be successful and so it is entirely appropriate for the magnet program to use test scores and grades (academic potential) and teacher recommendations (work ethic, ability to deal with challenges) and personal essays (degree of motivation/love of subject) in order to identify the most qualified candidates.  
There are programs available for students who love science or the arts but don't necessarily have the scores (Parkland, Argyle, Loiderman).  
I know that it is not always [/quote]

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