Reply to FCPS plans to "reform" TJ?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Let TJ be TJ! Just because your kid didn’t get in or didn’t like it, or you heard some rumors or lies, doesn’t mean it has to be tailored to everyone’s needs and wants. We should support those self motivated, independent and highly intelligent kids as well as those who have learning difficulties. Please don’t turn it into a mediocre school like those watered down AAP! My kid and a bunch of kids I know were bored to death at AAP and now they are thriving at TJ! [/quote]

I would if I thought that TJ was serving self motivated kids. I think there are a good number of self motivated kids and I think that a large number of the kids are there because that is what Mom and Dad want for them. They have been attending math tutoring/enrichment programs since pre-K and I don’t buy for a second tht a 4 or 5 year old really wants to go to math class twice a week and do a worksheet or some type of home work 7 days a week.

There are going to be kids who decide that they are interested in STEM late in elementary school or in middle school and they have no way of getting the necessary classes or grades to be considered for TJ. They are smart and developing their interest on their own. Their parents have not forced them to do hours of extra math prep and STEM classes. In the end, that is the main difference.

TJ then is more about parents who plot out their kids course at the age of 4 and not a large number of self motivated, intelligent, STEM loving kids. Is that a good thing? I don’t know if it is a bad thing but I do know that TJ is no longer for the bright kid who figures out at 10 or 11 that they would like to complete a STEM education and I am not certain that is a god thing.

The good news is that plenty of kids get a great education through AP and IB classes. Those kids are just as likely to go on and do some cool things in STEM as a TJ Grad. [/quote]

You have an exaggerated view of the situation.  Not all kids prep as much as you describe and not all prepped kids get in.  Far from it.  Apart from the main feeder schools, prep is minimal in other places.  A lot of kids from these schools get in because their teacher thought they'd be a good fit and wrote letters to that effect and of course the kid did well in the entrance tests.  Pretty much all the White kids who get in are like that. My DC is one such (we are Indian) not really interested in weekend classes, robotics, stem coding, etc.  Took the TJ test because his friends did and got in.

We know several extreme preppers that did not get in.  We also know several kids that almost made it but are thriving at the base High school -  taking courses at GMU because base school offerings are limited, doing some cool extra curricular activities because they get home at 3 vs 5:30, etc.

Reality is some level of prep helps everyone, even the best of the best.  Think SAT prep.

Also, as many posters pointed out, TJ is a family commitment.  Whoever wants to go there should be prepared for that.  Otherwise, I think it's a great idea to open up the school to the top 5% from each HS (or a certain number of seats).  The rest should be competed out as happens now.  Someone also needs to sit with the teacher crowd at TJ and bring them down a notch so the kids have time to go on a date once in a while..
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