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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'll add Asians blow this out of the water they come over here with extremely low incomes and their kids become very successful.  Too many blacks and hispanics don't value education.... that's the problem[/quote]

I am 1st generation asian immigrant and my children attend Longfellow MS and Mclean HS.  They   wanted to go to TJ but are not "ggod" enough to attend TJ.

All of my kids attend both the chinese Sunshine academy and korean Best academy but in the end, they are just not "good" enough.

If you go to Sunshine academy classes on weeknights and weekends, you will see 5th and 6th graders, mostly asians and Indians, really excel in math and science.  I've been to both places for almost 5 five years and in five years, I see exactly 1 black student (from africa) and NO hispanic students at Sunshine and Best academy.  Sunshine and Best academy are tutoring places to help kids achieve and prepare them for TJ.

Stuart takes kids that live in the Culmore and Seven corners areas, and Falls Church HS takes kids from nearby route 50 and graham intersection.  Lot of apartments in those areas.  You get the idea.[/quote]

What is your point?  Are you saying that because Blacks and Hispanics are not attending Sunshine Academy, they don't value education?  No one I know attends Sunshine Academy - filling your weekends drilling math isn't the only way to 'value education.'[/quote]

That is exactly the point.  You want to make it in TJ, you study Math and Science.  You take your kids to these places on weekends so they can continue to get math and science "practice".  It's no different from a soccer parent who sign their kids up for training sessions thru the week and weekends.  These focused parents want their kid to excel in education so they stick them in those places.  [/quote]

My kid knew lots of kids at TJ who did not do extra science and math classes on the weekends when they were in elementary and middle school. My kid was very involved in sports at TJ as were most of his friends there. Most of those kids spent their weekends in elementary and middle school doing athletic activities.

These were the kids who did well at TJ without staying up studying till all hours and did not need tutors or extra classes. They are all at Ivy and other highly ranked colleges doing quite well now. One kid like this who was very involved in sports at TJ and in college was recently named on a 30 under 30 list of highly accomplished young people.

It is entirely possible to do really well at TJ without ever taking outside weekend and after school classes and to instead be highly involved in sports. Many teachers who write recommendations can tell who the really smart kids are. 
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That's awesome but I think we all agree, if your kid is self motivated and generally very smart, they will do well in life for the most part.  Every parent wishes their kids were so smart, they could do well in school and have time to enjoy other things in life but that's just not how it is for most.

[b]It's the kids who are borderline who need the extra help[/b] or non motivated kids who are smart but generally lazy (as most kids are) that their parents pay for the services to give them these reps.  I use sports again as an example.  There are the 5 star athletes who are just so gifted at their sports that they can get away with min practice and still be better on the field then most.  There are the ones that need the extra reps and training to be able to compete at a high level.  Those kids put all their free time into that craft.

At the end of the day, as parents, you want your kids to be better or do better then what you have now.  What that entails depends on each family's values.  There's no right or wrong in this.  The choice is there for you to decide which is better than no choice for some people.[/quote]

I'm sorry, but TJ is not for kids who are borderline and need extra help. Those kids can get a great education at the regular high schools through the AP or IB program. Kids who need extra classes and tutors and need to stay up till all hours studying are not going to get the benefits of TJ and are just going to struggle and be miserable.

To continue your sports analogy: elite athletic teams are populated by kids who are extremely naturally talented and work hard, not kids of average or even above average talent who just work very hard. No matter how hard the average to above average  kid works, he/she is highly unlikely to ever be on the elite team. There are good teams out there for the kids who simply enjoy the sport and work hard, but those are not the high-level competitive teams. The average kid can have a great experience and accomplish a lot on a regular team, but s/he would be miserable on the elite team, not to mention more likely to experience injury.

TJ is like that elite athletic team. It is for the kids with lots of natural talent who enjoy what they are doing and like to work hard. The above average kid who has to put almost every extra moment into studying just to keep up is not going to benefit from the advanced classes and programs available at TJ. That young person would have a much stronger experience at the regular high school, and would probably end up better prepared for college from being in a program better suited to his/her learning style. 
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