Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 15:24     Subject: If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
My kid (junior) doesn’t do too much magnet HW. English and history give him more on a regular basis, actually.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 15:09     Subject: Re:If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:1-2 hours. Gets enough sleep because we drive him back and forth from school. The homework is not terrible, the commute is not terrible, it is the time the school bus gets to the busstop that is terrible.


Yes, with the 2 hour bus ride, DC is able to do about half their work during their commute. They usually fit in another 1-2 hours in the easier classes like history and English. They typically only have 2-3 hours of functions to do every night after the 2-3 hours they did during the day and their commute.


This is not all kids and definitely some kids. I have one who had to spend hours and another who breezed through SMCS life. Both did well in college and life.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 15:04     Subject: Re:If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
If Functions is the same as 3 semesters of Magnet Precalc, but compressed into 2 semester, why isn't it just 1.5 times the homework? Why is it 4 times the HW, especially given that it's presumably kids who are skilled at math so they should move through it more efficiently?

Is there additional content?
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 14:54     Subject: Re:If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
Anonymous wrote:1-2 hours. Gets enough sleep because we drive him back and forth from school. The homework is not terrible, the commute is not terrible, it is the time the school bus gets to the busstop that is terrible.


Yes, with the 2 hour bus ride, DC is able to do about half their work during their commute. They usually fit in another 1-2 hours in the easier classes like history and English. They typically only have 2-3 hours of functions to do every night after the 2-3 hours they did during the day and their commute.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 14:52     Subject: If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Nothing, but the kids in that class need the challenge. Regular magnet math is too easy for them. These are the math olympiad kids. DC really looks up to them. They are beyond normal smart kids.


not to mention they also enjoy the extra 4 hours of homework a night


No. For these kids probably it takes 0.4-1 hour to complete the function homework. Says from a parent of kid who stayed among the tops of math team. Function is nothing but a normal (still engaging) class to these kids and they have plenty of time to do EC


No it takes the same. They just work extra hard.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 14:35     Subject: If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
Not everyone finds Functions terrible. Many do, many do not. and the Functions kids DO NOT have to be on the math team or anything. Some of those function kids are still athletes, etc….
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 14:33     Subject: Re:If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
Maybe 1-2 hr? They do most of their homework at school, no?

But, uffffff, the amount of video games he plays is insane!
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 14:26     Subject: Re:If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
1-2 hours. Gets enough sleep because we drive him back and forth from school. The homework is not terrible, the commute is not terrible, it is the time the school bus gets to the busstop that is terrible.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 14:13     Subject: Re:If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
Anonymous wrote:My senior kid was is functions and he told me that the kids, a good majority of them, have been taking advance math classes/massive amount of math enrichment since early elementary school to qualify for functions. Basically they have already learned the material for functions before day 1 of class.So if your kid is “good” at math he will struggle in functions.

Not the case here but there are some kids that have done this. THESE are the Math team/olympiad kids.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 14:12     Subject: If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
I think it really depends on the kid. Mine easily handled Functions but is not a Math Olympiad kid as he hates contest math. The advantage for him was getting to take Calc BC in 10th grade and two Math classes that will give him credit at the University of Maryland.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 14:11     Subject: Re:If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
My senior kid was is functions and he told me that the kids, a good majority of them, have been taking advance math classes/massive amount of math enrichment since early elementary school to qualify for functions. Basically they have already learned the material for functions before day 1 of class.So if your kid is “good” at math he will struggle in functions.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 13:29     Subject: If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Nothing, but the kids in that class need the challenge. Regular magnet math is too easy for them. These are the math olympiad kids. DC really looks up to them. They are beyond normal smart kids.


Thank you. I suspect DC will test into that class, but DC is not a math olympiad kind of kid and I’m not sure whether or not to encourage taking Functions.


I would neither encourage nor discourage. If the teachers allow your child to take the class, let DC decide. The kids have to maintain a particular average in Functions to even be allowed to stay. (I forget the details, but maybe some of this year's 9th grade families will remember better. I think the estimate PP gave earlier of 25% dropping down might even be low.) The biggest downside for my DC, who ultimately dropped down to Magnet PreCalc, is that they spent the first couple of months of school doing nothing but math homework. I think it would have been better for them to spend that time getting involved in the school through clubs and activities. Still, if your kid wants to do Functions, and they are able, it's a good option to have.


I really appreciate you sharing this.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 13:24     Subject: If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Nothing, but the kids in that class need the challenge. Regular magnet math is too easy for them. These are the math olympiad kids. DC really looks up to them. They are beyond normal smart kids.


Thank you. I suspect DC will test into that class, but DC is not a math olympiad kind of kid and I’m not sure whether or not to encourage taking Functions.


I would neither encourage nor discourage. If the teachers allow your child to take the class, let DC decide. The kids have to maintain a particular average in Functions to even be allowed to stay. (I forget the details, but maybe some of this year's 9th grade families will remember better. I think the estimate PP gave earlier of 25% dropping down might even be low.) The biggest downside for my DC, who ultimately dropped down to Magnet PreCalc, is that they spent the first couple of months of school doing nothing but math homework. I think it would have been better for them to spend that time getting involved in the school through clubs and activities. Still, if your kid wants to do Functions, and they are able, it's a good option to have.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 13:23     Subject: If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Nothing, but the kids in that class need the challenge. Regular magnet math is too easy for them. These are the math olympiad kids. DC really looks up to them. They are beyond normal smart kids.


not to mention they also enjoy the extra 4 hours of homework a night


No. For these kids probably it takes 0.4-1 hour to complete the function homework. Says from a parent of kid who stayed among the tops of math team. Function is nothing but a normal (still engaging) class to these kids and they have plenty of time to do EC
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 13:18     Subject: If your kid is in SMACS how much HW do they get a night?
Anonymous wrote:Nothing, but the kids in that class need the challenge. Regular magnet math is too easy for them. These are the math olympiad kids. DC really looks up to them. They are beyond normal smart kids.


not to mention they also enjoy the extra 4 hours of homework a night