Reply to Workload at Richard Montgomery IB magnet program

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think that the rigor in pre-IB (9th and 10th) was necessary for these kids to be able to actually do the IB curriculum in 11th and 12th, to a world-class level.  There is rigor in all magnet programs. Except, the RMIB is being graded by people in foreign countries. They do not care if someone was victim of curriculum 2.0, they will grade on the student's grasp, understanding and command of the  subject.

RMIB is not for all students. They have to be very bright, but also have excellent organization and time management skills. [b]If you are in the habit of procrastinating and not really working on short, medium and long term goals - you will find it tough. [/b]

For the person who commented on students getting C's and Ds in RMIB. Yes, that happens a lot. But these people do not graduate with low GPAs. They will work to bring their grades up. I like the fact that there is no grade inflation in RMIB. An essay that gets graded A is usually a work of art. The standards of grading is very tough, but surprisingly, these children actually end up rising to the expectation.

Yes, sleep deprivation is a big deal. Mostly for those kids who were really laid back in HGC and MS Magnet. This program is great for a child who is very bright, and very strategic in managing time.  I cannot emphasize it enough.

It is doable. Everyone graduated with flying colors, with great opportunities in front of them in college, with skills that is useful in life. It has the highest retention rate, and highest rate of IB Diploma awarded in the WORLD.

Interestingly, my RMIB graduate thinks that it was the best experience in her life, and is loving college now because  she is head and shoulders above others.

The child when she went into the program was very bright, very well read but a real procrastinator. It resulted in some major adjustments for her in the very first quarter. You have to really hit the ground running.  At the end of this whole experience - she can write and churn out essays in her sleep, she knows how to study effectively, she can maximize her time by seeking out new opportunities.

So, check out the program. Trust the wisdom of the selection committee. If they think your kid will be a great RMIB candidate, then he/she will be.  Know your child and lastly let this be their choice.

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If sleep deprivation is a big deal, why is the school not dealing with it?  Do the teachers just give out hours of homework and enjoy watching the kids come in like zombies in the AM?  It is completely unhealthy.  No 14yr old should be sleeping 4-5hrs a night just to handle the school workload.  Do they do a block schedule in IB or do the kids go to every class with assignments due every day?[/quote]

9;44 again--I won't pretend to speak for everybody in that situation but when I was in IB, my friends that complained about keeping hours like this were usually inefficient in some way that they didn't notice or didn't acknowledge. This was in the days before the prevalence of social media but they'd do homework with the AIM window open and split their time between working and bitching on AIM about how much they were working, comparing every answer, etc. making it take twice as long. Or they "had" to do this thing or "had" to do that thing before they actually sat at their desk and buckled down, or everything had to be 100% perfect in both substance and appearance when "very good" would have been plenty sufficient (not that proper effort isn't called for, but you have to think about priorities and diminishing marginal returns at some point before midnight). Or they had procrastinated and were then in the soup. Some people were just more efficient at prioritizing and powering through work without a lot of distractions. But it was like a badge to kvetch and moan about how much work you had.[/quote]

I agree. There are lots of kids who are not good at managing time and it is a hard program for them. My DC actually became quite efficient in 10th grade. But prior to that he had a tendency to while away time.  So, 9th grade was actually toughest for him because he had to change his study habits radically. 11th was in many ways easier even with a boatload of IB/AP courses and SAT.

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