Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The activities the poster listed above are not all going on at the same time. Some are only seasonal, some only meet once per month. On any particular day or week, he would only be doing one or some of those activities.
My own child did one extremely time-consuming sport in middle school, not a laundry list of once-a-week or once-a-month activities. Just the one sport, for two hours or so every day, more on the weekends. His teachers hadn't even realized how much time he spent doing his sport until he asked them for recs, and then they were surprised at the high levels of achievement he managed both in and out of school. They knew that a kid who could maintain that schedule would be able to handle the schedule at TJ without much trouble.

Kids should do what they really like and enjoy and then write about that. Admissions just wants to know a little of what the child is like and that he can string a sentence together.

Isn't sport a seasonal activity as well?

My child's sport was year-round, including summers. Many high level athletes train year-round.

Each child is different in what activities he/she pursues or how intensely they are pursued. A sport activity can be very intense and so can activities like spelling bee, math count etc. I know some students who spend hours each day just on spelling bee preparation for example. It all depends on how committed the child is for a particular activity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The activities the poster listed above are not all going on at the same time. Some are only seasonal, some only meet once per month. On any particular day or week, he would only be doing one or some of those activities.
My own child did one extremely time-consuming sport in middle school, not a laundry list of once-a-week or once-a-month activities. Just the one sport, for two hours or so every day, more on the weekends. His teachers hadn't even realized how much time he spent doing his sport until he asked them for recs, and then they were surprised at the high levels of achievement he managed both in and out of school. They knew that a kid who could maintain that schedule would be able to handle the schedule at TJ without much trouble.

Kids should do what they really like and enjoy and then write about that. Admissions just wants to know a little of what the child is like and that he can string a sentence together.

Isn't sport a seasonal activity as well?

My child's sport was year-round, including summers. Many high level athletes train year-round.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The activities the poster listed above are not all going on at the same time. Some are only seasonal, some only meet once per month. On any particular day or week, he would only be doing one or some of those activities.
My own child did one extremely time-consuming sport in middle school, not a laundry list of once-a-week or once-a-month activities. Just the one sport, for two hours or so every day, more on the weekends. His teachers hadn't even realized how much time he spent doing his sport until he asked them for recs, and then they were surprised at the high levels of achievement he managed both in and out of school. They knew that a kid who could maintain that schedule would be able to handle the schedule at TJ without much trouble.

Kids should do what they really like and enjoy and then write about that. Admissions just wants to know a little of what the child is like and that he can string a sentence together.

Isn't sport a seasonal activity as well?

Anonymous wrote:The activities the poster listed above are not all going on at the same time. Some are only seasonal, some only meet once per month. On any particular day or week, he would only be doing one or some of those activities.
My own child did one extremely time-consuming sport in middle school, not a laundry list of once-a-week or once-a-month activities. Just the one sport, for two hours or so every day, more on the weekends. His teachers hadn't even realized how much time he spent doing his sport until he asked them for recs, and then they were surprised at the high levels of achievement he managed both in and out of school. They knew that a kid who could maintain that schedule would be able to handle the schedule at TJ without much trouble.

Kids should do what they really like and enjoy and then write about that. Admissions just wants to know a little of what the child is like and that he can string a sentence together.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You misunderstood, the middle school was not time consuming meaning no need to study for the classes at home, HW not taking up much time if at all etc. That's what made participation in activities and clubs possible. High school would be a different story.

OK, wow. I thought you were joking at that list of activities, but you were serious?

And I don't know your MS, but while my kid does not find the MS work "hard" or really need to study that much, there is still nightly homework that needs to get done. Almost every night she had.....

- a page of algebra problems (not tons, but took her approximately 15-30 minutes)
- readings and/or questions to answer for US History (another 15-30 minutes, sometimes more closer to a test)
- reading for English, and studying for weekly vocabulary quiz (15-30 minutes)
- readings and/or questions to answer for science (another 15-30 minutes, usually closer to 30 than 15)

But there were also projects due almost every 3-4 weeks in all these classes. Plus the occasional homework for her electives.

Even if your kid is smart, they still need to actually read the material and write or type stuff. I would say she had 30 - 90 minutes of homework a night, with 60 minutes being average, but 90 was not uncommon. And frankly, I thought she should have spent longer on things, but she got all As and a B, so I guess it was sufficient and I was trying to be hands off!

I agree with this. In AAP my DC had to give up full participation in a sport weeknights due to homework. French was the worst! Every friggin' night. Hard to see how that poster could say MS was so easy her kid breezed thru with no homework. Sounds like mega BS to me.

It was not a "mega BS" and it was not intended as a brag either. I am sure there are kids that engage in more activities. I don't see any problem as long as they enjoy the activities. Someone posted that only 1 sport and 1 instrument was possible and I just posted what my kid did in MS. Some or most of the HW was done in school so there was no need to spend much time on HW at home and the occasional projects did take up time but not a lot. The activities also did take up time but the kid enjoyed them. I would not have insisted on any activities/club if the kid didn't want to participate. Like I said, HS is tougher than MS but at least according to my kid, MS was not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You misunderstood, the middle school was not time consuming meaning no need to study for the classes at home, HW not taking up much time if at all etc. That's what made participation in activities and clubs possible. High school would be a different story.

OK, wow. I thought you were joking at that list of activities, but you were serious?

And I don't know your MS, but while my kid does not find the MS work "hard" or really need to study that much, there is still nightly homework that needs to get done. Almost every night she had.....

- a page of algebra problems (not tons, but took her approximately 15-30 minutes)
- readings and/or questions to answer for US History (another 15-30 minutes, sometimes more closer to a test)
- reading for English, and studying for weekly vocabulary quiz (15-30 minutes)
- readings and/or questions to answer for science (another 15-30 minutes, usually closer to 30 than 15)

But there were also projects due almost every 3-4 weeks in all these classes. Plus the occasional homework for her electives.

Even if your kid is smart, they still need to actually read the material and write or type stuff. I would say she had 30 - 90 minutes of homework a night, with 60 minutes being average, but 90 was not uncommon. And frankly, I thought she should have spent longer on things, but she got all As and a B, so I guess it was sufficient and I was trying to be hands off!

I agree with this. In AAP my DC had to give up full participation in a sport weeknights due to homework. French was the worst! Every friggin' night. Hard to see how that poster could say MS was so easy her kid breezed thru with no homework. Sounds like mega BS to me.

Anonymous wrote:

You misunderstood, the middle school was not time consuming meaning no need to study for the classes at home, HW not taking up much time if at all etc. That's what made participation in activities and clubs possible. High school would be a different story.

OK, wow. I thought you were joking at that list of activities, but you were serious?

And I don't know your MS, but while my kid does not find the MS work "hard" or really need to study that much, there is still nightly homework that needs to get done. Almost every night she had.....

- a page of algebra problems (not tons, but took her approximately 15-30 minutes)
- readings and/or questions to answer for US History (another 15-30 minutes, sometimes more closer to a test)
- reading for English, and studying for weekly vocabulary quiz (15-30 minutes)
- readings and/or questions to answer for science (another 15-30 minutes, usually closer to 30 than 15)

But there were also projects due almost every 3-4 weeks in all these classes. Plus the occasional homework for her electives.

Even if your kid is smart, they still need to actually read the material and write or type stuff. I would say she had 30 - 90 minutes of homework a night, with 60 minutes being average, but 90 was not uncommon. And frankly, I thought she should have spent longer on things, but she got all As and a B, so I guess it was sufficient and I was trying to be hands off!

You misunderstood, the middle school was not time consuming meaning no need to study for the classes at home, HW not taking up much time if at all etc. That's what made participation in activities and clubs possible. High school would be a different story.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New poster, but the problem is not everyone has access to these activities.

Every time I see people talking about Mathcounts, Science Olympiad, etc. I wonder where people get all this free time? First, when do kids get physical activity if all their after school activities are academic? I know for my kid Mathcounts conflicted with a different long term interest of hers. Science Olympiad required a parent commitment that DH and I were not able to meet. So she gets penalized for that?

It just seems so sad to me that being excited about science and math and wanting a STEM career isn't enough.

Our family have the same issue where both parents have full time jobs and 3 kids. We essentially told them to pick 1 sport and one musical instrument...and the main focus should be on academics. Pretty sure they won't win any athletic scholarships. In this race to be well rounded, there are a lot of kids with interests that's mile wide and an inch deep...

My kid was able to do mathcount, robotics club, swimming team, golf lessons, orchestra/cello, CTY, book club, spelling bee, NHD, Spanish club etc. since middle school was relatively easy and not time consuming at all.

He or she obviously manages his/her time really well ... but don't insult us by saying all those things are not time consuming.

You misunderstood, the middle school was not time consuming meaning no need to study for the classes at home, HW not taking up much time if at all etc. That's what made participation in activities and clubs possible. High school would be a different story.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New poster, but the problem is not everyone has access to these activities.

Every time I see people talking about Mathcounts, Science Olympiad, etc. I wonder where people get all this free time? First, when do kids get physical activity if all their after school activities are academic? I know for my kid Mathcounts conflicted with a different long term interest of hers. Science Olympiad required a parent commitment that DH and I were not able to meet. So she gets penalized for that?

It just seems so sad to me that being excited about science and math and wanting a STEM career isn't enough.

Our family have the same issue where both parents have full time jobs and 3 kids. We essentially told them to pick 1 sport and one musical instrument...and the main focus should be on academics. Pretty sure they won't win any athletic scholarships. In this race to be well rounded, there are a lot of kids with interests that's mile wide and an inch deep...

My kid was able to do mathcount, robotics club, swimming team, golf lessons, orchestra/cello, CTY, book club, spelling bee, NHD, Spanish club etc. since middle school was relatively easy and not time consuming at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New poster, but the problem is not everyone has access to these activities.

Every time I see people talking about Mathcounts, Science Olympiad, etc. I wonder where people get all this free time? First, when do kids get physical activity if all their after school activities are academic? I know for my kid Mathcounts conflicted with a different long term interest of hers. Science Olympiad required a parent commitment that DH and I were not able to meet. So she gets penalized for that?

It just seems so sad to me that being excited about science and math and wanting a STEM career isn't enough.

Our family have the same issue where both parents have full time jobs and 3 kids. We essentially told them to pick 1 sport and one musical instrument...and the main focus should be on academics. Pretty sure they won't win any athletic scholarships. In this race to be well rounded, there are a lot of kids with interests that's mile wide and an inch deep...

My kid was able to do mathcount, robotics club, swimming team, golf lessons, orchestra/cello, CTY, book club, spelling bee, NHD, Spanish club etc. since middle school was relatively easy and not time consuming at all.

He or she obviously manages his/her time really well ... but don't insult us by saying all those things are not time consuming.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New poster, but the problem is not everyone has access to these activities.

Every time I see people talking about Mathcounts, Science Olympiad, etc. I wonder where people get all this free time? First, when do kids get physical activity if all their after school activities are academic? I know for my kid Mathcounts conflicted with a different long term interest of hers. Science Olympiad required a parent commitment that DH and I were not able to meet. So she gets penalized for that?

It just seems so sad to me that being excited about science and math and wanting a STEM career isn't enough.

Our family have the same issue where both parents have full time jobs and 3 kids. We essentially told them to pick 1 sport and one musical instrument...and the main focus should be on academics. Pretty sure they won't win any athletic scholarships. In this race to be well rounded, there are a lot of kids with interests that's mile wide and an inch deep...

My kid was able to do mathcount, robotics club, swimming team, golf lessons, orchestra/cello, CTY, book club, spelling bee, NHD, Spanish club etc. since middle school was relatively easy and not time consuming at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New poster, but the problem is not everyone has access to these activities.

Every time I see people talking about Mathcounts, Science Olympiad, etc. I wonder where people get all this free time? First, when do kids get physical activity if all their after school activities are academic? I know for my kid Mathcounts conflicted with a different long term interest of hers. Science Olympiad required a parent commitment that DH and I were not able to meet. So she gets penalized for that?

It just seems so sad to me that being excited about science and math and wanting a STEM career isn't enough.

Our family have the same issue where both parents have full time jobs and 3 kids. We essentially told them to pick 1 sport and one musical instrument...and the main focus should be on academics. Pretty sure they won't win any athletic scholarships. In this race to be well rounded, there are a lot of kids with interests that's mile wide and an inch deep...

Anonymous wrote:New poster, but the problem is not everyone has access to these activities.

Every time I see people talking about Mathcounts, Science Olympiad, etc. I wonder where people get all this free time? First, when do kids get physical activity if all their after school activities are academic? I know for my kid Mathcounts conflicted with a different long term interest of hers. Science Olympiad required a parent commitment that DH and I were not able to meet. So she gets penalized for that?

It just seems so sad to me that being excited about science and math and wanting a STEM career isn't enough.