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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A ton of comp sci kids are introverts. They enter online competitions and hackathons on their own, not through school. So it really has nothing to do with MCPS, it’s more about kids finding their their own interests and going out and getting what they want and need. [/quote]

You’re missing the point. Some kids can be very interested and motivated in a subject and not interested or motivated by competitions!!! Some kids have no interest in competing, online or any other way. Doesn’t mean They aren’t skilled or advanced in that area.[/quote]

I don’t think competitions are as necessary to the process as you seem to think. If a kid’s favorite thing is computers, they can talk about the languages they know and the projects they’ve worked on. If they’re into science, they can talk about the studies they’ve pursued on their own that excite them. Do they like to read about a certain subject, follow astronomy stuff on the NASA website, hike through the woods studying local flora and fauna, take things apart and engineer new inventions, etc., then whatever they like to geek out over, they should write about why something excites them and what they enjoy doing about it.

I absolutely think MCPS should have more magnet slots. I think if a child wants to learn something, we owe it not only to the child, but to the future of our society to give them that opportunity.  My impression of the magnet selection process is that it is less about benchmarks and more like a matchmaking service. They’re trying to find kids who are capable of performing at the high levels the program requires, but even more so, the kids who have the genuine love for learning that will let them enjoy learning about new things despite the often insane amount of work required and still energize each other about how cool this stuff is.  Hopefully, they get the kids who need it the most, and the kids who will get the most from the program, although those aren’t necessarily the same kids. That being said, due to the limited availability of the program, I think it’s kind of like my impression of HYSP schools — outside of a few extreme outliers, they have such a surfeit of great candidates that it basically comes down to chance which great candidate gets in and which great candidate doesn’t. [/quote]

You only have 250 words.  [/quote]

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