Reply to How is Richard Montgomery if you're not in IB?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I went to a "W" school, and I was a standard B student, who took a few honors classes, but mostly regular.  I was pretty middle of the pack academically, or maybe a LITTLE above average.   I think I GREATLY benefited from going to my high school, because I was immersed in an environment where it was "cool" to do well in school.  It was expected that everyone went on to college.  If someone didn't go to college, they were basically seen a weird or a loser.  Seriously!  Since I was never that motivated academically on my own, having this social pressure to succeed really kept me on track.  To be fair, my parents were very involved in my life, and they pushed me to succeed as well.  If I were at a school where the vast majority of my peers were not held to high academic standards by their parents, I don't know if I would have turned out as well.

If I went to a school where it was common to not go on to college, would I have "followed the pack" and not gone myself?  I don't know, but I definitely think its possible.

This is the main reason I think its so important to send your kids to a high achieving, academically focused school, where they will be surrounded by peers who are held to high academic standards.  Let's be honest -- most kids are not superstars, they are average, and they are very influenced by what their peers are doing.

At my high school the average performing student went to college at the University of Maryland, and that is exactly what I did.  I went on to go to law school and am now a practicing attorney in DC.  If the average student didn't go to college, it is very likely that I would have done the same thing.  It's sad to say that I am that influenced by peer pressure, but it is the reality for most kids.  [/quote]

I agree with you in general, but this is about Richard Montgomery, not exactly the ghetto, and I doubt that "the pack" there is not college bound.  Maybe not Ivy league bound because that would be outside of most people's financial means, but certainly that area has plenty of advanced degree households who expect nothing less than for their kids to go to college.  Plus, the expectation of achievement is not something that starts in highschool - most kids who do well in highschool have done well in the lower grades and once they're in highschool, they take classes with similarly minded kids, who also value education.  That was my experience coming from a middle tier school (not in this area).[/quote]

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