Reply to Current TJ Student answering questions

Forum Index » Advanced Academic Programs (AAP)

Reply to "Current TJ Student answering questions"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Do the kids burn out like everyone thinks?

I have two mixed Asian American sons in elementary in the Langley pyramid. Both boys are smart and in AAP. They are not the hardest working. One kid seems to want to go to TJ. I think he should be able to get in.

How is TJ’s golf, tennis and soccer teams?

We are relatively new to the area and don’t know much about TJ except for what I read online.[/quote]

OP here:

Hi, welcome to the area! Fairfax has great academics for advanced learners and Langley is a very very good high school.

Most kids at TJ were in AAP from a young age, and they're normally prepared very well for the admission test and freshman year :) But, elementary-age is really young for kids to know what they want -- if your sons end up not being interested in TJ or STEM that much as they get older, I wouldn't advise pushing them too much towards the school. A lot of the kids that burn out at TJ have been pushed very far academically by their parents for their entire lives and can't handle the pressure anymore, or never wanted to go into STEM in the first place.

At TJ there's a lot of high achievers and subsequent comparison. Burnout happens when kids extend themselves too far in taking hard classes or striving for only perfect grades, whether by their own choice or by their parent's choice, and lose their passion for learning. This is more students than one might expect -- but definitely not everyone. I haven't gone through junior year yet, but I know that after 3 years of TJ junior year is commonly where people burnout, if they do. Junior year is characterized as the hardest year in high school. But, participating in activities and extracurriculars that you genuinely love can help minimize the chance for burnout. For me, that's band--which is a good "chill" class to destress and be with friends doing something I love afterschool. For others this might be debate, or journalism, or other 8th period clubs (our club time is factored into the school day) where kids can kind of unwind if they're stressed academically. It's all about developing a personal balance concerning schoolwork, and knowing where your limits are.

TJ's golf and tennis teams are very, very good. I would put these sports teams (as well as swim and dive) as TJ's most consistently successful competitive sports. The tennis team is large and very competitive to tryout for (unlike other sports at TJ, they make cuts), but I believe that they've won regionals for multiple years now, and also did well at states? Tennis is very respected at TJ and again, the people that do it tend to be very good and place well in competition.

Golf at TJ is also very good competitively, though the tryouts are less rigorous. I think they'll teach anyone interested, and the coach is a really cool guy and they changed golf to be co-ed a couple years ago. TJ's golf team is actually pretty well known in the general area as being successful.

Soccer at TJ is also a pretty large sport. There's a JV and V team--but they encourage all skill levels to try out, even if you've never played before, and start a student-led preseason in December. The students that do soccer always end up being pretty good friends due to the collaborative nature of the sport. The people that do it usually end up really, really loving it. It's a great way to make friends and have fun.

Sports at TJ usually have daily practice for a couple hours and occasional games on the weekends. Depending on the sport, the required attendance might be different--but I'd bet it's highly encouraged to attend all the practices. Sports are a great and supportive community at TJ, and though it's a time commitment, it helps us learn to manage the time we do have efficiently.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask :)
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics