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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Both my kids are in hgc and magnet. They are bright, respectful, focused, social, normal kids. The reason they are in these programs are because as an East Indian parent I find the curriculum in mcps severely lacking as compared to that offered in private schools in India. Hgc and magnets in mcps actually does a semi decent job in my opinion.

So if mcps decides to implement the hgc and magnet standards and curriculum to the entire student population and close hgc and magnets, I won't object.   I think that will still not be the bench mark as compared to other nations, but it will be in the respectable range.

[/quote]

I am also Indian with a kid in a hgc and a middle school magnet.  I agree with your comments about the regular MCPS curriculum (including their "advanced" MS offerings).  However, I disagree with your comments about the HGC and especially the MS magnets.  My child is reading books and doing projects that require a lot of critical thinking, in depth research and advanced writing skills.  [b]I do not recollect doing work at this level when I was in my (excellent) private school (comparing our experiences for the same grade).[/b]  
I agree with a PP who thought that if the curriculum was introduced in the regular middle schools (even for advanced learners) it would get watered down.  I also think most children (and their parents) would chafe under the work load - it is not unusual to have a research paper, a couple of presentations, a video project and a couple of tests all due in a single week and this is on top of your regular homework.  The kids at the middle and High school magnets are selected because they need the enriched curriculum and thrive under the atmosphere of high expectations.  The peer group is another reason why it is hard to reproduce the magnet experience in a regular school - the peer group just can't be reproduced.  I used to wish my children could stay in their home schools and just get the HGC/magnet curriculum but once your child attends the programs you understand why it just would not be the same.  The peer group makes a huge difference.  It allows the teachers to move quickly, to dig deeper and make connections across disciplines.  It makes it possible for a class of 25 children to spend half an hour discussing one paragraph in Fahrenheit 451 as dc's class did last year in sixth grade.  
I am very impressed by and grateful for the magnet programs MCPS offers and more than a little nervous about the impact of Common Core.  [/quote]

None of us worked as hard as the kids do today. There was less competition.  I am comparing what the kids are doing today in India vs. what my kids are doing today here. Am I happy with the peer group? Yes, absolutely - it is the best thing in the whole experience as well as the parental involvement - which is wonderful.  But the curriculum is something that I feel should be offered to all children. Yes, I find it enriched...but this enrichment should be offered to all kids. The enrichment part is what will get all kids motivated. The field trips, documentaries, discussions, projects - these parts should be made available to all kids in a perfect resource rich world - and this part is not what the kids find difficult. For most kids this is the engaging and fun part.

As for non-hgc, non-magnet kids and parents chafing under the heavy load argument - I have heard that and I do not believe that completely. When we moved to HGC from the regular school, the entire family needed to get their act together. It was a shift and the first few months were tough. Now, this is our regular way of life. We still socialize and do sports and extra-curricular activities and volunteer - it is just that we are managing our time better.[/quote]

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