Reply to Why are kids dropping out of BASIS DC starting in 7/8th grade?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]+1.  I went to an Ivy on a Pell Grant after having had a great deal of fun in HS, playing sports and in a marching band, acting in plays, participating in student government, goofing around with friends.  I don't remember doing four hours of homework a night, at least not on a regular basis. [/quote]

well said.  BASIS parent here who is shocked by the amount of homework in high school at places like TJ, BASIS DC, and the top private schools in DC - but has figured out that the only way to escape may be by going to Wilson - but I think the kids there who get into Ivies from Wilson probably also have a similar amount of work as well by high school............

I went to a top DC private, had a good deal of fun in high school doing drama and other activities and also do not remember 4 hours of homework ever unless it was because I had procrastinated on a huge essay or something.  Also got into an Ivy, and had a blast there.  OTOH, husband went to top serious school in NYC and said that he was "overprepared" for our Ivy (and he did quite a lot of homework).  I definitely did not feel "overprepared" but maybe that was a confidence issue.  We were there at the same time.  So who knows.

If you were in a marching band, you probably were in the suburbs............ but maybe I am wrong.

All I am saying is that the times have changed, the workload has increased (but at least at BASIS there is no busy work) and kids at Walls constantly complain about their homework load as well.

And I was quite relieved to see that the times had also changed at my old private where they are complaining about 4 hours of homework a night by 11th grade.  And my BASIS 8th grader had nowhere near 4 hours of homework a night, but if we are competing with the private schools, and that is what they do, makes sense that BASIS does and has top nationally ranked schools..........

The only school that may have more homework is Banneker, and I think only the top kids there do as well.  But moving from BASIS to Banneker or Walls to reduce work load or get a "normal high school experience" makes no sense.  The kids at Banneker and Walls have their own culture and just as much work........ and not a "normal" experience - not to say a bad one, just different.[/quote]

My take is that if you want to give your kid a somewhat chance at an Ivy then you probably ARE condemning him/her to 4 hours homework a night in high school, anywhere you send the child.  Personally, I would gut-check the goal of an Ivy before you send them down that path.  These days, many of those Ivy-going kids are not close to being "whole person" developmentally when they get in, and then they are on the HabiTrail grind once more, when they get out.  Again, personally, not the kind of life I pray my kid experiences.  The better bet is to encourage them to develop their gifts when they are young, get them a decent post-high school education somewhere, then they do their thing in young adulthood.  They'll figure it all out eventually.  I don't have the same confidence in the maturation & development of Ivy school kids, not post-millenium, not at all.[/quote]

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