Reply to Does MCPS MS curriculum alone prepare students for the math/science magnets?

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Reply to "Does MCPS MS curriculum alone prepare students for the math/science magnets?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As my 8th grader has been working on high school applications and choices, I've been thinking about the math/science magnet programs and wondering about who exactly they serve.  I'll say up front that I don't mean this to be whining or complaining about my kid's chances; I'll be happy (and somewhat relieved and not at all surprised) if they end up at our home high school.  But I'm curious about whether the MCPS middle school curriculum, on its own and without outside enrichment/activities, are enough to prepare a "highly able learner" for admission to and success in the magnet.  If so, that's great.  If not, is this reasonable for a taxpayer-funded, public school program?

As an example, my kid goes to an MCPS middle school.  Their school has no math team, no science fair, no robotics club, no computer science classes, and no real math/science enrichment opportunities beyond the regular accelerated curriculum (getting through geometry in 8th grade). However, my kid and some of their friends are straight-A students with 99%+ test scores; they are bright, curious, "highly capable", and were in the lottery pool for the MS magnets but didn't get spots.  Do kids like this have any chance at admission without having some kind of (privately funded, parent-enabled) extracurricular math or science focused activity? And if they get in, would the standard MCPS curriculum have prepared them enough to be successful, with hard work but with access only to the school-provided resources?

I understand that there are far more qualified students than spaces in the magnet, and the argument that access should be increased.  I feel like my question is a little different, though. Are these programs only for those who have gone beyond the standard MCPS curriculum?  If so, is that appropriate and fair? I'd love to hear experiences or opinions.[/quote]

My kids were in the magnet track in MCPS. Actually, the standard non-magnet MCPS curriculum is quite extensive and impressive.  However, the schools and teachers are unable to teach the full curriculum to the students because students of all abilities are crammed into one classroom, and so the teachers teach to the lowest ability students.

In short, the problem is not the school and curriculum.  The problem is the ability of students and all kinds of social-cultural-economic issues of the families.  So, if your kids are covering the full curriculum, and you have done your footwork and have access to curricullum and have textbooks at home, it is easy breezy.  Of course, most parents do not have time/inclination/interest/bandwidth to be the driver of their kids education. They are either checked out,  ignorant or unable to navigate the confusing MCPS. Even if they want help from MCPS, they are given the runaround. And unfortunately, private schools are no better.

My role as a parent when my children were in non-magnet and magnet schools was to make sure that I helped to cover the curriculum at home and not rely on the school to cover it.  As for the Math club, Science Olympiad, Robotics, scholastic clubs - make sure that either your kids were being enriched at home , outside the home/school, and create teams/clubs with other like-minded parents in your community.

It is shameful, hard, terrible...blah, blah, blah. Yes, we know that. However, kids from other countries are not resting on their laurels and they are using the internet to get an education.  Also,   your ill-educated and under-prepared student will graduate in x number of years from MCPS anyways, so do you have the time to fight MCPS in any meaningful way that helps your kid? Sadly, no.

Further, you may collude with MCPS in the name of equity or whatever and they will gleefully shut down the magnet programs, but, the  group that you will help them to target - the high achieving Asian-Americans from MC and LMC homes - will find a way to get their education at home as they are doing now.  It will not help your kid.  It will also shut down magnet education for other mc and lmc high achievers.

In short - American education system stinks. Most high achievers that do not come from rich families are getting supplemented and are putting in the hours above and beyond school day. You may ask, why do they not home-school?  School is helpful for general guideline for education, getting standardized pathways, and socialization. [/quote]

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