Anonymous wrote:This comment is akin to "America: Love it or Leave it" and is inconsistent with the nature of our PUBLIC, publicly-funded school system. I am a taxpayer and the school board is accountable to ME. I don't have to shut up or put up. This is a democracy. In theory at least, if I don't like the way things are going in MY school system, I have the RIGHT and the OBLIGATION to speak up and request change.

Don't tell me to leave the system that I pay for. I am entitled to demand change if I think my kids and their classmates are being shafted (and I do).

Anonymous wrote:OP, my DC (who consistently tests 3-4 grade levels ahead in reading and math--which I state only b/c you imply such kids don't exist) isn't learning anything new because she is being taught recycled material she could have easily completed 2-3 years ago. This absolutely the function of the new curriculum because its intention is to squelch acceleration. At least last year she was in a math class geared more to her academic level, even if it wasn't perfect. But this year they aren't allowed to be grouped by ability and the kids all have to be given the same lesson even if it's something they were previously taught. The 2.0 rhetoric about going "deeper into the material" to challenge advanced learners is pure bunk as far as I can tell from what she is bringing home. She used to love math and now dismisses it as boring. I've heard the same from many other parents about their kids. How's that for improvement?

I'm sorry that yoga pants bother you so much. It's obvious from your complaints about these other mommies that you live in one of the upscale school districts -- why don't you move downcounty where I am, so you won't be afflicted by them so much? Unfortunately you'll still find parents who aren't impressed by the new curriculum, but at least you won't see so many yoga outfits.

We can't go elsewhere for academic enrichment as you so blithely suggest, because it's not in our budget -- and it's the same story with other parents at our school I know who also dislike the new curriculum. (FWIW, parents who care deeply about their kids, who are reasonably intelligent, and have many advanced degrees.)

So for those of us without the financial resources to put our advanced learners in a better academic situation, there's nothing left for us to do but complain and make as much noise as we can until our children are given material commensurate with their abilities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. First, 1739 I'm not condemning anyone to anything we haven't already experienced; my kid is in third grade and as such has been part of the rollout of 2.0 since the beginning, I believe. So I'm not praising a system that is different than what my child has experienced. 1219 PP, I don't know why your child isn't learning anything but have you ever considered that is not a function of the curriculum? Unless you're suggesting that your child already knows All That There Is To Know, in which case, congratulations on birthing the Second Coming. Can't wait to meet him/her.

Second, 1741PP (same person at 1739, perhaps??) I am profoundly skeptical that MCPS/MoCo will experience an outmigration of educated parents of means who value education. I am willing to bet you that there are more advanced degrees in my household than in yours, and we're not going anywhere. Neither are any of our neighbors, or the parents of our child's classmates, most of whom seem to be reasonably intelligent and care deeply about their kids. And as I said in my original post, I'll help any of the whining mommies at our school's meetings pack if they choose to go... I'll believe it when I see it, but I'd be happy if I do.

And shapes and colors PP, your patronizing words suggest a small mind. And they do nothing for your cause.

Finally, if any of the complainers had any serious expertise, I might be inclined to listen. If you are a teacher with 20 years experience and a Harvard Ed degree, feel free to opine on the merits of 2.0 versus other curricula till the cows come home. But otherwise, all you can do is speak for your child. Which you have every right and obligation to do in speaking with your child's teachers. However, you don't have the right to tell the entire school system how to educate. You're a parent, you know your child, you don't (and this means you, PP with the dramatic lectures on comparative international education based on having spent a few years in Japan as a child) know the first thing about the design of a curriculum for an entire school system. Neither do I. Which is why I moved to a place that has good schools. Not perfect, I fully admit. And if I were in charge, and could construct a system that did precisely what my child needs, it would probably look very different. (Hint, a lot more science and a lot more recess.) But even if it doesn't suit my every need/desire, MCPS is still very good, and very well-regarded, and staffed mostly by professionals who care and who invest a lot of time and effort in keeping the schools high quality.

And this - I have zero attachment to curriculum 2.0 - I'm just so sick of the conversation about education in this area dominated by the armchair experts in yoga pants, whose only frame of reference is their conviction that their child is super exceptional. Here's the thing - they are all super exceptional, even if they don't do algebra in second grade. So please, go to Arlington or private school or whereever, and let the rest of us get on with supporting our kids and our schools.

You are a breath of fresh air. I am glad there's at least one other reasonable person here.

Anonymous wrote:2330PP, I never suggested that there are no advanced kids. Fwiw, my child tests several grade levels ahead in reading. This appears to be the norm in MoCo... everyone is advanced here! But I don't believe that your perception that your child "isn't learning anything new" during her school day is either accurate or an appropriate mechanism for assessing the efficacy of a curriculum intended for the entire school system.

Also, I'm not sure where I "blithely suggest" that parents "go elsewhere for academic enrichment"... mostly because I'm pretty sure I'd never use the word enrichment without gagging. But it's not a bad idea, and truly, if you have the budget for an internet connection (which your posting here would imply) you have resources to supplement your child's education. As many parents do in many school systems. Even those of us with perfectly average kids, believe it or not!

Finally, as I said, I don't have any issue with parents advocating for their children individually. Please, if you're unhappy with your child's experience in the classroom, take it up with his/her teacher, and my guess is that you'll find a solution that makes everyone happy. Maybe your school is different, but each of my child's teachers has been extremely interested in ensuring that all the kids are learning as much as possible.

Just please, spare us all the rants about curriculum design unless/until you have some particular expertise in that field. And please drop the melodrama (threatening to move! insisting that MoCo is gonig to become a wasteland of the poor and uneducated!), if only because it really undercuts whatever case it is you are trying to make.

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and one more point from the OP - please stop depicting the new MCPS curriculum as the death knell for American education at the hands of India and China and the final step that will result in our children being enslaved to "foreign born PhDs."

Because, honestly do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound?

Anonymous wrote:OP here. First, 1739 I'm not condemning anyone to anything we haven't already experienced; my kid is in third grade and as such has been part of the rollout of 2.0 since the beginning, I believe. So I'm not praising a system that is different than what my child has experienced. 1219 PP, I don't know why your child isn't learning anything but have you ever considered that is not a function of the curriculum? Unless you're suggesting that your child already knows All That There Is To Know, in which case, congratulations on birthing the Second Coming. Can't wait to meet him/her.

Second, 1741PP (same person at 1739, perhaps??) I am profoundly skeptical that MCPS/MoCo will experience an outmigration of educated parents of means who value education. I am willing to bet you that there are more advanced degrees in my household than in yours, and we're not going anywhere. Neither are any of our neighbors, or the parents of our child's classmates, most of whom seem to be reasonably intelligent and care deeply about their kids. And as I said in my original post, I'll help any of the whining mommies at our school's meetings pack if they choose to go... I'll believe it when I see it, but I'd be happy if I do.

And shapes and colors PP, your patronizing words suggest a small mind. And they do nothing for your cause.

Finally, if any of the complainers had any serious expertise, I might be inclined to listen. If you are a teacher with 20 years experience and a Harvard Ed degree, feel free to opine on the merits of 2.0 versus other curricula till the cows come home. But otherwise, all you can do is speak for your child. Which you have every right and obligation to do in speaking with your child's teachers. However, you don't have the right to tell the entire school system how to educate. You're a parent, you know your child, you don't (and this means you, PP with the dramatic lectures on comparative international education based on having spent a few years in Japan as a child) know the first thing about the design of a curriculum for an entire school system. Neither do I. Which is why I moved to a place that has good schools. Not perfect, I fully admit. And if I were in charge, and could construct a system that did precisely what my child needs, it would probably look very different. (Hint, a lot more science and a lot more recess.) But even if it doesn't suit my every need/desire, MCPS is still very good, and very well-regarded, and staffed mostly by professionals who care and who invest a lot of time and effort in keeping the schools high quality.

And this - I have zero attachment to curriculum 2.0 - I'm just so sick of the conversation about education in this area dominated by the armchair experts in yoga pants, whose only frame of reference is their conviction that their child is super exceptional. Here's the thing - they are all super exceptional, even if they don't do algebra in second grade. So please, go to Arlington or private school or whereever, and let the rest of us get on with supporting our kids and our schools.