Anonymous
Post 10/02/2022 14:29     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
I'd also like to hear more about students' experiences with world languages at Blair, especially those in the magnet or taking a heavy AP load.

Specifically, was the class overly demanding for a non-honors or honors class? DC wants to take a language for fun but also wants to avoid AP rigor from non-AP classes because they already have a demanding workload from the magnet.
Anonymous
Post 10/02/2022 14:24     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Anonymous wrote:Can they take both? I took 4 languages in high school; most kids do in my world, even the STEM kids.
Stick to Spanish. Japanese can be taken if they really go to live Japan and then learn the STEM words there.


It's definitely possible but it would be at the cost of neglecting another core subject if they took more than one language concurrently.

Maybe if the state quits adding all these new graduation reqs like technical electives that aren't programming or common sense health for a year things like this could happen.
Anonymous
Post 10/02/2022 10:30     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with Japanese at Blair? I was curious if there was more than one class and how many students made it to the AP class?


I've heard the teacher is really nice, but my kids didn't take Japanese. Maybe someone with first-hand experience can comment.
Anonymous
Post 10/02/2022 08:26     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
What world languages do kids enjoy taking at Blair? I'm hoping DC can find one that is a positive experience and not an honors class that makes their APs look easy.
Anonymous
Post 10/02/2022 07:28     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Anonymous wrote:The Spanish teacher (5 and AP) is kind of terrible. And has been there forever. I’m bummed bc my kid really liked Spanish to begin with, but is thinking about quitting bc it’s just this one teacher on his horizon forevermore.


My kid is also not a fan of the Spanish 5 teacher. Didn’t know she is also the AP Spanish teacher.
Anonymous
Post 10/01/2022 21:34     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Does anyone have experience with Japanese at Blair? I was curious if there was more than one class and how many students made it to the AP class?
Anonymous
Post 10/01/2022 14:21     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The Spanish teacher (5 and AP) is kind of terrible. And has been there forever. I’m bummed bc my kid really liked Spanish to begin with, but is thinking about quitting bc it’s just this one teacher on his horizon forevermore.


Another poster said a Spanish 4 teacher there gives weekly projects. This is a lot for kids who are already taking 4-6 APs.


I would hope the rigor of Spanish 4 was stardardized and more inline with other honors classes. It shouldn't be on par with APs because of some teacher's whims.
Anonymous
Post 10/01/2022 13:34     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Anonymous wrote:The Spanish teacher (5 and AP) is kind of terrible. And has been there forever. I’m bummed bc my kid really liked Spanish to begin with, but is thinking about quitting bc it’s just this one teacher on his horizon forevermore.


Another poster said a Spanish 4 teacher there gives weekly projects. This is a lot for kids who are already taking 4-6 APs.
Anonymous
Post 10/01/2022 11:46     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
The Spanish teacher (5 and AP) is kind of terrible. And has been there forever. I’m bummed bc my kid really liked Spanish to begin with, but is thinking about quitting bc it’s just this one teacher on his horizon forevermore.
Anonymous
Post 10/01/2022 10:57     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Anonymous wrote:Can they take both? I took 4 languages in high school; most kids do in my world, even the STEM kids.
Stick to Spanish. Japanese can be taken if they really go to live Japan and then learn the STEM words there.


Ideally, college admissions want to see signs of determination like taking a language to the AP level. What you do beyond that is a matter of personal interest. You could easily take two more years of another language or even double up on languages, but there are tradeoffs.
Anonymous
Post 10/01/2022 10:54     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This hits home because my 8th grader walked in the door today and said "I have good news and I have bad news: I got the highest grade at my table on the Spanish III test, but I got a 65%."

My 7th greater in Spanish too got a similar grade this week. Apparently there were an additional 70 words they were being tested on the most kids were unaware of because of confusing instructions.


That was Spanish 2- same thing happened to my 8th grader


The details were there but the teacher's instructions made it confusing so many kids made that same mistake. My takeaway for this class was they're going to have to carefully read assignments up front and ask questions beforehand to avoid confusion in the future. Anyway, there's a retake next week so hopefully just a valuable but painless life lesson...


Parent of the kid with the 65% here and we started Spanish II off similarly. They ended up getting an A (straight As, actually) so the kid is not worried.I am trying to explain that the clip drops at some point, and Spanish III may be it. We are working on study habits, enforcing planning for retakes, and are most likely not gonna include the grade on the HS transcript! Can anyone remind me how to go about doing that and when the deadline is?


Really appreciate your perspective since you've been through this.
Anonymous
Post 10/01/2022 10:01     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This hits home because my 8th grader walked in the door today and said "I have good news and I have bad news: I got the highest grade at my table on the Spanish III test, but I got a 65%."

My 7th greater in Spanish too got a similar grade this week. Apparently there were an additional 70 words they were being tested on the most kids were unaware of because of confusing instructions.


That was Spanish 2- same thing happened to my 8th grader


The details were there but the teacher's instructions made it confusing so many kids made that same mistake. My takeaway for this class was they're going to have to carefully read assignments up front and ask questions beforehand to avoid confusion in the future. Anyway, there's a retake next week so hopefully just a valuable but painless life lesson...


Parent of the kid with the 65% here and we started Spanish II off similarly. They ended up getting an A (straight As, actually) so the kid is not worried.I am trying to explain that the clip drops at some point, and Spanish III may be it. We are working on study habits, enforcing planning for retakes, and are most likely not gonna include the grade on the HS transcript! Can anyone remind me how to go about doing that and when the deadline is?
Anonymous
Post 10/01/2022 09:56     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Can they take both? I took 4 languages in high school; most kids do in my world, even the STEM kids.
Stick to Spanish. Japanese can be taken if they really go to live Japan and then learn the STEM words there.
Anonymous
Post 10/01/2022 09:43     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Anonymous wrote:DC is currently in honors Spanish 3 in 8th and so far has an A, but it’s been a struggle. This is a kid who up until now breezes every class with an A but also is willing to work. Although I think they can manage, Spanish is their most challenging class, and they’re in the magnet. My concern is whether they should continue with Spanish in HS. Our home school is Blair which offers Japanese. Japanese appeals to them; they love all things Japanese. Also, their main focus is STEM, not foreign lanauge. Does anyone have experience with Spanish and Japanese at Blair? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thx!


If they're really interested in learning Japanese, a language that wasn't available to them in MS change. That's the kind of thing that is clear from a college admissions viewpoint. However, they do like depth over breadth so you would likely need to commit to 4 years of Japanese.

Another option, might be to retake Spanish 3 in 9th to shore up their foundation even if they pull out an A in 8th. I'm not sure how the counselors feel about that but imagine it might be helpful before moving to the upper levels. In the end this isn't a race but about learning Spanish which should be fun not painful.
Anonymous
Post 10/01/2022 09:13     Subject: Spanish or Japanese @Blair HS?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This hits home because my 8th grader walked in the door today and said "I have good news and I have bad news: I got the highest grade at my table on the Spanish III test, but I got a 65%."

My 7th greater in Spanish too got a similar grade this week. Apparently there were an additional 70 words they were being tested on the most kids were unaware of because of confusing instructions.


That was Spanish 2- same thing happened to my 8th grader


The details were there but the teacher's instructions made it confusing so many kids made that same mistake. My takeaway for this class was they're going to have to carefully read assignments up front and ask questions beforehand to avoid confusion in the future. Anyway, there's a retake next week so hopefully just a valuable but painless life lesson...