Anonymous wrote:Is this a fucking joke?

You are all ridiculous.

Your poor kids! You know there was another suicide attempt at Wootton.

You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

Let your kids be kids.

Calm down and take your Xanax.

Is this a fucking joke?

You are all ridiculous.

Your poor kids! You know there was another suicide attempt at Wootton.

You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

Let your kids be kids.

Anonymous wrote:In my circle with lots of HGC and magnet older kids..no one preps..tutors..does workbooks..outside classes..summer school..aren't you worried that your kids will get in but have to continue to prep to keep up with the ones who didn't?

Good for you and your friends's kids.

My kids are in magnet programs. I have sent them to these prep classes. It is not the magic bullet but I feel that there is some value and edge they provide to my kids.

My nieces and nephews have gone to prestigious colleges and have advanced academic degrees and hold high paying jobs. They have gone the same route of prep work through school. Maybe they are not as bright as your kids and your friends kids - but they seem to be doing very well in life with the help they got.

Anonymous wrote:So these prep programs just teach standard test taking not actual math skills?

I know I will be flamed for this. No - the so called Math skills are more like "refresher".

Math skills of speed and accuracy is built upon content knowledge through practice. In other words - you need to know the content, how to solve various kinds of problems, how to understand what the problems are asking for , and then practise it enough, consistently and regularly that you remember how to do these problems, even if they are presented in a different format. Your prep classes will not teach your kids that. Still there are many benefits to the classes. You will have to work with your kid when they do their packets, so that you can reinforce the concepts as well as make sure that if there is any gaps in knowledge - you are helping them to fill it.

Of course, when they are teaching the Math sections they are teaching them Math. But not like it is being taught in school or at home. More from the view to familiarize kids about how it will be presented on the tests. The speed, accuracy, shortcuts - that will come from teaching at home and being good in content knowledge.

We approached it as a way to help our kid recognize she has choices when it comes to her education.

My kid attends a magnet, but zoned school would have been fine. We learned that other students were doing test prep a month or so before the test, which we thought would be too much stress (caveat is the kid takes tests well enough). Kid did the MCPS practice test once before the test date.

And, I think it is important to say that our kid prepared the essays - we spent a bit of time talking about the topics and I did type it (because he did it so late). But it is your child's job, not yours. I would approach it the same way if kid applies to HS magnets next year.

Please do not put too much pressure on your kid as it is stressful and discouraging. Try to set them up for reality and success whether the get into a magnet or not. The Magnet overviews are good in that they emphasize that most kids don't get accepted. Good luck.

They teach how to take the test. This includes math skills.

So these prep programs just teach standard test taking not actaul math skills?

If they can't keep up (by doing the homework) then obviously they are in the wrong class and don't belong there. All my kids friends who went (all at Blair now) did nothing to prep. You either have the ability or don't. And it's not just ability. It's the work ethic involved and the commute effort.

Anonymous wrote:In my circle with lots of HGC and magnet older kids..no one preps..tutors..does workbooks..outside classes..summer school..aren't you worried that your kids will get in but have to continue to prep to keep up with the ones who didn't?

No. Standardized-test-taking is its own skill. I don't think it has much relevance to class work.

In my circle with lots of HGC and magnet older kids..no one preps..tutors..does workbooks..outside classes..summer school..aren't you worried that your kids will get in but have to continue to prep to keep up with the ones who didn't?