Anonymous wrote:
Did you know that some fcps middle schools offer algebra 2 and some don't? That's why fcps would bus to a high school for it, to prevent discrimination. Not to cater to whims. Your Chinese class analogy is not on point.


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Yes I did. But offering Algebra II in middle schools is a relatively new development and something that should never have started in the first place, imo and the opinion of many math teachers I know. The high school ridiculousness arose out of that.

And what you consider a "whim" others might consider a necessity. My kids are actually more likely to use their Chinese after school and in their eventual careers than any advanced math that they take, but I don't expect the school system to do backflips to accommodate them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mature kid would find a way to deal with the situation and not quit. if you don't like couple of kids in the club because they appear to be immature, you don't just "pick up the ball and go home". That is not showing maturity. Quitting and forming another club is not learning how to deal with a problem and it sounds like whining. I don't think this should be such a difficult concept to grasp.

Clearly you're wedded to the race to nowhere, so trying to explain common sense to you is a waste of time. But I'll try:

Mature high school kids who are into math and winning national competitions have a justifiably low tolerance for babies ( a few of whom seemed to be there because their parents thought it would look good on their TJ app.) distracting them from trying to learn. My son was not alone in quitting and in fact went with a group to the director to express their concerns. She was reluctant to confront the younger kid's parents. Fortunately, another established club, with much higher standards of admission was only to happy to recruit them.

I supported him in this situation because a) he's got a good track record of solving his own problems and running his own life, and b) I thought he and his friends done their best to endure an situation that was no longer enjoyable or productive and was not going to change because the parent managing it had no control. Immaturity would have been sitting around and complaining about it, which they did not do. They got on with their lives.

As a parent of older kids, I agree that it is not fair to ask high school kids to open their high school club to sixth graders. These age groups are at very different places in their lives. It may have been appropriate to ask the high schoolers to work with or present a program for the sixth graders. No matter how advanced in math a sixth grader may be, they are simply not at the emotional or social maturity level of a high school student. I think your son and his friends handled things well; they did not whine and complain, they took action and improved the situation for themselves without taking anything away from the younger children. Maybe the high school kids could be given some type of leadership positions in the other club which now can focus more on the needs of the younger children?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mature kid would find a way to deal with the situation and not quit. if you don't like couple of kids in the club because they appear to be immature, you don't just "pick up the ball and go home". That is not showing maturity. Quitting and forming another club is not learning how to deal with a problem and it sounds like whining. I don't think this should be such a difficult concept to grasp.

Clearly you're wedded to the race to nowhere, so trying to explain common sense to you is a waste of time. But I'll try:

Mature high school kids who are into math and winning national competitions have a justifiably low tolerance for babies ( a few of whom seemed to be there because their parents thought it would look good on their TJ app.) distracting them from trying to learn. My son was not alone in quitting and in fact went with a group to the director to express their concerns. She was reluctant to confront the younger kid's parents. Fortunately, another established club, with much higher standards of admission was only to happy to recruit them.

I supported him in this situation because a) he's got a good track record of solving his own problems and running his own life, and b) I thought he and his friends done their best to endure an situation that was no longer enjoyable or productive and was not going to change because the parent managing it had no control. Immaturity would have been sitting around and complaining about it, which they did not do. They got on with their lives.

As a parent of older kids, I agree that it is not fair to ask high school kids to open their high school club to sixth graders. These age groups are at very different places in their lives. It may have been appropriate to ask the high schoolers to work with or present a program for the sixth graders. No matter how advanced in math a sixth grader may be, they are simply not at the emotional or social maturity level of a high school student. I think your son and his friends handled things well; they did not whine and complain, they took action and improved the situation for themselves without taking anything away from the younger children. Maybe the high school kids could be given some type of leadership positions in the other club which now can focus more on the needs of the younger children?

If the above is true:
No high school students should be allowed to dual enroll at Universities.
No middle school students should be allowed to go to high school for Geometry, Algebra II etc. courses.
No 6th graders should be allowed to go to middle school to take Algebra I courses.

The Fairfax Math Circle should prohibit anyone but high school students to join the club.
TJ Varsity Math Club should not allow any middle school students to come and practice with them on and on and on. I guess you are in agreement with all of the above as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people think it's the parents that are pushing the kids to do too much too soon, which would be wrong and detrimental to the child. But what they don't realize is that there are actually kids who legitimately want and need the advanced classes, not the parents. That is not such a difficult concept to grasp.[/quote]


A lot of kids legitimately want and "need" certain things from the school system. But we can't all get what we want from a public system and still serve everyone well. When we moved back here from China my kids were speaking Chinese -- in order to keep their Chinese current they wanted and needed to continue in school. Should they have been bused to a high school that offered it since their Chinese was more advanced than most high school students? No! We had to pursue additional study on our own. Middle schools should be for middle school students, high school should be for high school students. If someone wants to advance beyond that they should do that on their own, take part in math clubs that do advanced math, take an online or outside course etc. Or, as my son did, teach themselves. There is also a maturity component that many of these advanced math students don't have. I know this because I have one. And when my son got to high school and joined a math club he really enjoyed it, until a bunch of six graders' parents decided their kids had to join. Suddenly none of the older students, like my son, who had the self-control to sit still and be quiet for a lecture, could hear what the math guest speakers were saying. He eventually quit and found another math group where the leader had the sense to limit it to students capable of handling the material and the rules.

I don't think this should be such a difficult concept to grasp. We're all "advanced" at something, but the world shouldn't be required to adjust to that.

Did you know that some fcps middle schools offer algebra 2 and some don't? That's why fcps would bus to a high school for it, to prevent discrimination. Not to cater to whims. Your Chinese class analogy is not on point.