Anonymous
Post 05/18/2016 09:46     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My son left Basis at 9th grade for private. He really lost out -- he loved all the science, now he's bored, too easy. I wish he had stayed.


And thus starts BASIS boosterism.
BASIS science is mostly rote memorization and constant testing.
In fact there is so much testing that even teachers do not know which students are science oriented and science minded.


Just out of curiosity, which private school? I understand if you do not want to divulge the info for privacy reasons. It's just that one hears all the time about how much better and/or more rigorous private schools are compared to public schools. Well, maybe especially the elite private schools...
Anonymous
Post 05/17/2016 21:09     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My son left Basis at 9th grade for private. He really lost out -- he loved all the science, now he's bored, too easy. I wish he had stayed.


And thus starts BASIS boosterism.
BASIS science is mostly rote memorization and constant testing.
In fact there is so much testing that even teachers do not know which students are science oriented and science minded.


How do you know that? Do you have first hand experience?
Anonymous
Post 05/17/2016 11:49     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:My son left Basis at 9th grade for private. He really lost out -- he loved all the science, now he's bored, too easy. I wish he had stayed.


And thus starts BASIS boosterism.
BASIS science is mostly rote memorization and constant testing.
In fact there is so much testing that even teachers do not know which students are science oriented and science minded.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2016 21:19     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
My son left Basis at 9th grade for private. He really lost out -- he loved all the science, now he's bored, too easy. I wish he had stayed.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2016 21:15     Subject: Re:BASIS to Deal?
8th grade can be a hard year to transition into a middle school, no matter the year. Unless your kid is dealing with bullying or a poorly handled IEP, I would stay put and move onto Wilson or another for high school.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2016 11:54     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP- have you talked to Deal? I would shoot Mr. Rottman, the 8th grade assistant principal, a note and ask him questions about your specific concerns. I don't know about 8th grade but my child has friends that came from BASIS to Deal in 6th and 7th. The kids seem to be doing really well and happily adjusted. My older kid is at Wilson and knows kids from BASIS there too. Seem to be fine there also.


Thanks pp- I will definitely contact Mr. rot man-appreciate the suggestion!

I am not really worried about Wilson, because the science academies there seem to cater to every level and interest, but there are going to be limits on the extent of offerings at most middle schools no matter how fabulous it may be.


Again, I am not sure of your specific concerns. There are a lot of out of classroom enrichment clubs for science focused kids. Deal kids did extremely well at the DC STEM fair this year. While you may feel the in classroom offerings aren't advanced enough, there are a lot of free opportunities for the kids to get additional instruction and personal assistance in perusing science outside of the classroom.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2016 16:42     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:OP- have you talked to Deal? I would shoot Mr. Rottman, the 8th grade assistant principal, a note and ask him questions about your specific concerns. I don't know about 8th grade but my child has friends that came from BASIS to Deal in 6th and 7th. The kids seem to be doing really well and happily adjusted. My older kid is at Wilson and knows kids from BASIS there too. Seem to be fine there also.


Thanks pp- I will definitely contact Mr. rot man-appreciate the suggestion!

I am not really worried about Wilson, because the science academies there seem to cater to every level and interest, but there are going to be limits on the extent of offerings at most middle schools no matter how fabulous it may be.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2016 14:55     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
OP- have you talked to Deal? I would shoot Mr. Rottman, the 8th grade assistant principal, a note and ask him questions about your specific concerns. I don't know about 8th grade but my child has friends that came from BASIS to Deal in 6th and 7th. The kids seem to be doing really well and happily adjusted. My older kid is at Wilson and knows kids from BASIS there too. Seem to be fine there also.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2016 09:42     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So tired of the nonsense that BASIS is all about drills, memorization and cramming. It couldn't be further from the truth. The BASIS bashing is so misdirected given how many kids want to get in and can't get off the wait list.


Other parents have told me that it is a lot of rote teaching to the test, so I never know what to believe.

What concerns me about BASIS is that those kids don't enter the DC STEM Fair, let alone INTEL or Siemens. That's what college science programs are looking for: kids who have done hands on experiments, know how to manage a project, and take the initiative. Does BASIS foster those skills.


First off, why does it concern you when your child does not go to that school?

Second, you are once again incorrect-the middle school Basis DC team won the National Science Bowl building an electric car. I think it was only at the middle school level, but considering they haven't even had a senior class yet, I think that's impressive. They also won certamqn (Latin competition) and something in debate as well.

But this is it about criticizing Basis by people who don't have kids that have ver attended-this is about a Basis kid transitioning to Deal.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2016 08:32     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So tired of the nonsense that BASIS is all about drills, memorization and cramming. It couldn't be further from the truth. The BASIS bashing is so misdirected given how many kids want to get in and can't get off the wait list.


Other parents have told me that it is a lot of rote teaching to the test, so I never know what to believe.

What concerns me about BASIS is that those kids don't enter the DC STEM Fair, let alone INTEL or Siemens. That's what college science programs are looking for: kids who have done hands on experiments, know how to manage a project, and take the initiative. Does BASIS foster those skills.


Other BASIS schools do have those students - eg an Arizona student won a top prize at the Intel fair last year. So there certainly isn't a bias against it and the teachers are capable of supporting it.

This past year teacher offered an extra curricular opportunity to mentor students in a year long science project but only a couple kids pursued it and I'm not sure if they saw it all the way through. My kid's friends prefer the academic competitions - Science Bowl, Certamen, debate team, etc - which have a social and team aspect to them. I think it will come in time.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2016 08:07     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So tired of the nonsense that BASIS is all about drills, memorization and cramming. It couldn't be further from the truth. The BASIS bashing is so misdirected given how many kids want to get in and can't get off the wait list.


Other parents have told me that it is a lot of rote teaching to the test, so I never know what to believe.

What concerns me about BASIS is that those kids don't enter the DC STEM Fair, let alone INTEL or Siemens. That's what college science programs are looking for: kids who have done hands on experiments, know how to manage a project, and take the initiative. Does BASIS foster those skills.


How does one get to enter the DC STEM Fair? Different DCPS school, but I've never hear of it.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2016 22:48     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:So tired of the nonsense that BASIS is all about drills, memorization and cramming. It couldn't be further from the truth. The BASIS bashing is so misdirected given how many kids want to get in and can't get off the wait list.


Other parents have told me that it is a lot of rote teaching to the test, so I never know what to believe.

What concerns me about BASIS is that those kids don't enter the DC STEM Fair, let alone INTEL or Siemens. That's what college science programs are looking for: kids who have done hands on experiments, know how to manage a project, and take the initiative. Does BASIS foster those skills.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2016 11:13     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:Kids at Deal can go up to Algebra II. And you can google the Middle Years Science Programme under the IB to see what that is like. It is a very different philosophy than drill, memorize, test, if in fact that is what BASIS does.


Not bashing.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2016 08:22     Subject: BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP here-Ease no trashing Basis' science program , especially when you haven't experienced it-it is honestly the best part of the school, and NOT just memorization, not by a mile. If you can't and sweet the question, go somewhere else to bash-if I wanted that, I would have asked an entirely different question.


Please read your nonsensical posts before publishing.


Forgive me, highness, it was autocorrect-dont read it if it bothers you!
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2016 08:20     Subject: Re:BASIS to Deal?
Anonymous wrote:I do not understand why you do not stay at Basis. Honestly, if s/he loves the advanced math and science, why is there a problem with homework and stress? If you are afraid Deal is not good enough, then consider staying at Basis. What reassurance can strangers possibly offer? Can we say that Deal's advanced math and science is sufficiently advanced -- for someone who loves advanced math and science, but maybe does not like a lot of homework? And finds advanced math and science stressful?

Please, you do not have to explain yourself here, OP. But please consider giving some thought to what you actually want for your DC.


There is NOT a problem with HW and stress, DC has been honor roll pretty much every term (one term in the 3 years he was just 90's club and a couple he was distinguished honors) but I do not want to talk ab0ut why we are considering leaving basis, and make the post detour into why basis is so great or terrible, I know the reasons for staying and the reasons for leaving on the basis end-what I don't know is if Deal is an option that will make DC happy math and science wise. I am sure there are people out there that have done the switch, which is why I am asking strangers.