Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 13:43     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Thanks science freaks. The OP has already put her house on the market.

Anonymous wrote:You got wrong logic! Please let me help you,

1. Scientists predicted A based on their model/hypothesis B
2. A is not true.
3. 1+2 => B is not right.

The statement 3 should be something like that the theory/hypothesis/model behind global warming/climate change is not right. Scientists need to go back and work on their model/hypothesis more instead of jump on any of conclusions quickly.

It is too big a stretch to say that 3 is the same as "no human-caused climate change".


Anonymous wrote:If you are saying

1. Scientists predicted that human-caused climate change would cause Antarctic sea ice to shrink.
2. In the last two years, Antarctic sea ice grew.
3. Therefore, there is no human-caused climate change.

well, no.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 13:41     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
You got wrong logic! Please let me help you,

1. Scientists predicted A based on their model/hypothesis B
2. A is not true.
3. 1+2 => B is not right.

The statement 3 should be something like that the theory/hypothesis/model behind global warming/climate change is not right. Scientists need to go back and work on their model/hypothesis more instead of jump on any of conclusions quickly.

It is too big a stretch to say that 3 is the same as "no human-caused climate change".


Anonymous wrote:If you are saying

1. Scientists predicted that human-caused climate change would cause Antarctic sea ice to shrink.
2. In the last two years, Antarctic sea ice grew.
3. Therefore, there is no human-caused climate change.

well, no.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 12:40     Subject: Re:Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Me either. That is not an East Coast bias. The Texas Board of Education includes creationists, climate-change deniers, and people who don't think the Constitution requires the separation of church and state.


That is true, and I can understand not wanting to be in a school system overseen by that bullshit. However, my experience with Texas public schools is that in areas with educated people who want a great education for their kids, all that crap is disregarded. I am have been involved with some Texas magnet schools, and certainly fears about competition and too much homework for middle schoolers are present, just perhaps toned down a notch (only a notch...middle schoolers are expected to do 3 hours of homework too). So if you buy into a high performing district, you're not going to get the "easy going laid back" vibe you're looking for, even in Texas.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 12:36     Subject: Re:Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Do you have to decide now?

You really can understand your kids learning styles until they are about 3rd grade and K-3 are pretty good here. You will quickly find out if your boy is not made for the sitting all day environment. (Which is why many boys schools use to start at 3rd grade... they are now starting earlier.)

But... is it different in Texas, do they get boys. If not maybe live in a less expensive area an have the option of private.

There are lots of good things here too, not to be too down on the intense craziness.

Remember, your decisions are not set in stone. K-3, 4-8, high school are all very different stages. Some people do private then public or vis versa. You may want to see how it goes and jump ship around 3rd grade if it seems to not go so well.

Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 12:23     Subject: Re:Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Anonymous wrote:Do you have family back home/do you have family here?

What are your goals. Do you want to go Ivy, SLAC or do you expect your kids to go South for college?
Do you have boys? are they active? do you have an active girl/tomboy?
Do you suspect you will have kids with LD's like dylexia?

Nothing beats cousins/aunts/grandparents (if you like them). The greatest indicator of success is a warm loving connection to family.

For girls and not very active boys all the elementary schools in Montgomery County are excellent. For active boys/girls they are a nightmare.

All the middle schools in MoCo are lacking in one way or another. Socially it is an aweful time - not sure anywhere is much better.

If you kids are super smart they will do well, if they have significant special needs I would stay.

For the kids in the middle, it can be a disaster, depending where you go and what you expect. Parents try their hardest to get the middle kids into the honors programs for segregation from "troubled" kids and often it is bad fit.

Kids with mild LD's are not handled well in MoCo unless they are gifted also. (2E or LDGT)

Many schools in Bethesda will be super over the top and out of control competitive and your 2.3 student will be made to feel like a failure. If your child is self confident it will not be an issue but if there are tiny cracks in his/her self esteem it could become an issue.

Drugs are a problem everywhere but in Bethesda parent can afford the $5000 fine for furnishing alcohol to a minor. More expensive drugs are easier to obtain.

You will have to work very hard on making sure your kids do not grow up entitled in this area. My son recently put a car on his birthday list. I will keep it to show his kids after I stopped laughing I told him I would get him a metro card. This from a child who did not get a phone until he was 15 and has a job in the summer. I know a JOB in MoCo it's rare. Oh, did I mention, teens in this area don't have jobs.


Our relatives are in the midwest (not Texas) and when they visit or we visit them, my kids can't believe how fun and laid back it is. My son will say,"Wow everybody is so calm." Want to go fishing or hiking okay let's go. Here it's like at 4pm we are all gathering in location X and we will assign everybody something to bring, we will hike exactly from 4-7pm at which time we will fish, fishing will happen from 7pm-9pm and everybody needs to be back at the lodge at 9:30. Anybody is late shit will hit the fan. If this does not bother you great, but if this bothers you, wait until you meet your room parent.

Forget about football, your kids need to play lacrosse. Just kidding.

I am sure there are issues with every area, MoCo has great schools. But you need to look at your kids and ask does MoCo have great schools (and lifestyle) for us.


(OP) You hit on a bunch of the reasons why we're thinking about moving -- family and friends back there (although some family here too), fears about huge sense of entitlement here and the crazy educational/social/everything competition, lack of sufficient football culture here , more relaxed lifestyle in TX, etc. In terms of our preferred lifestyle, I think Texas wins. So we're trying to figure out which way the school comparison tips.

We have one boy and one girl. They're too young for us to evaluate intelligence, but our son is very active and spirited. I think he's fun, and his preschool teachers seem to love him, but I can already see how he might be disruptive to a classroom if he doesn't get enough exercise to get the wiggles out.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 12:20     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
If you are saying

1. Scientists predicted that human-caused climate change would cause Antarctic sea ice to shrink.
2. In the last two years, Antarctic sea ice grew.
3. Therefore, there is no human-caused climate change.

well, no.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 11:36     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Scientists have their models and hypothesis. It takes time to validate those.

A couple of years back, models linked loss of arctic ice to global warming. Now, we have this
http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/09/23/antarctic-sea-ice-hit-35-year-record-high-saturday/

Scientists changed their models and are discussing about climate changes now.

We need to respect science. However, it takes time to know the truth.


Your link says that scientists are not sure why Antarctic sea ice has increased over the last 2 years even though the ocean is warming, and proposes several possible explanations, which are all consistent with human-caused climate change. (Note also: Antarctic sea ice. Arctic sea ice continues to decrease as predicted.)

Final paragraph in your link:

"Ultimately, it’s apparent the relationship between ozone depletion, climate warming from greenhouse gases, natural variability, and how Antarctic ice responds is all very complicated. In sharp contrast, in the Arctic, there seems to be a relatively straight forward relationship between temperature and ice extent."


It is very wrong to cite newspaper for any scientific conclusion. The only thing meaningful is the fact that arctic ice is growing after shrinking for a while. This fact invalidates some earlier global warming model/hypothesis. Please not try to jump on any scientific conclusion too quickly. It is not always right.


No, arctic ice continues to shrink. Antarctic ice is growing despite the water temperature being warmer.


My apology. Typo, it should be antarctic instead of arctic.

I do not have a quick reference at hand showing the prediction of Antarctic ice shrinking and global warming. However, a quick search reveals the following link.
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/003293.html


Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 11:26     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Scientists have their models and hypothesis. It takes time to validate those.

A couple of years back, models linked loss of arctic ice to global warming. Now, we have this
http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/09/23/antarctic-sea-ice-hit-35-year-record-high-saturday/

Scientists changed their models and are discussing about climate changes now.

We need to respect science. However, it takes time to know the truth.


Your link says that scientists are not sure why Antarctic sea ice has increased over the last 2 years even though the ocean is warming, and proposes several possible explanations, which are all consistent with human-caused climate change. (Note also: Antarctic sea ice. Arctic sea ice continues to decrease as predicted.)

Final paragraph in your link:

"Ultimately, it’s apparent the relationship between ozone depletion, climate warming from greenhouse gases, natural variability, and how Antarctic ice responds is all very complicated. In sharp contrast, in the Arctic, there seems to be a relatively straight forward relationship between temperature and ice extent."


It is very wrong to cite newspaper for any scientific conclusion. The only thing meaningful is the fact that arctic ice is growing after shrinking for a while. This fact invalidates some earlier global warming model/hypothesis. Please not try to jump on any scientific conclusion too quickly. It is not always right.


No, arctic ice continues to shrink. Antarctic ice is growing despite the water temperature being warmer.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 11:05     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Scientists have their models and hypothesis. It takes time to validate those.

A couple of years back, models linked loss of arctic ice to global warming. Now, we have this
http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/09/23/antarctic-sea-ice-hit-35-year-record-high-saturday/

Scientists changed their models and are discussing about climate changes now.

We need to respect science. However, it takes time to know the truth.


Your link says that scientists are not sure why Antarctic sea ice has increased over the last 2 years even though the ocean is warming, and proposes several possible explanations, which are all consistent with human-caused climate change. (Note also: Antarctic sea ice. Arctic sea ice continues to decrease as predicted.)

Final paragraph in your link:

"Ultimately, it’s apparent the relationship between ozone depletion, climate warming from greenhouse gases, natural variability, and how Antarctic ice responds is all very complicated. In sharp contrast, in the Arctic, there seems to be a relatively straight forward relationship between temperature and ice extent."


It is very wrong to cite newspaper for any scientific conclusion. The only thing meaningful is the fact that arctic ice is growing after shrinking for a while. This fact invalidates some earlier global warming model/hypothesis. Please not try to jump on any scientific conclusion too quickly. It is not always right.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 10:57     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In Dallas/Houston, you can find school districts that students are allowed to go to a grade fit him/her. One example, a friend of my wife has a 3rd grader learning 5th grade math.


Sorry to disrupt your narrative, but you can find the same in MCPS.


Would love to know how. Please help. Thanks.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 10:28     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Anonymous wrote:Scientists have their models and hypothesis. It takes time to validate those.

A couple of years back, models linked loss of arctic ice to global warming. Now, we have this
http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/09/23/antarctic-sea-ice-hit-35-year-record-high-saturday/

Scientists changed their models and are discussing about climate changes now.

We need to respect science. However, it takes time to know the truth.


Your link says that scientists are not sure why Antarctic sea ice has increased over the last 2 years even though the ocean is warming, and proposes several possible explanations, which are all consistent with human-caused climate change. (Note also: Antarctic sea ice. Arctic sea ice continues to decrease as predicted.)

Final paragraph in your link:

"Ultimately, it’s apparent the relationship between ozone depletion, climate warming from greenhouse gases, natural variability, and how Antarctic ice responds is all very complicated. In sharp contrast, in the Arctic, there seems to be a relatively straight forward relationship between temperature and ice extent."
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 10:22     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Anonymous wrote:In Dallas/Houston, you can find school districts that students are allowed to go to a grade fit him/her. One example, a friend of my wife has a 3rd grader learning 5th grade math.


Sorry to disrupt your narrative, but you can find the same in MCPS.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 10:18     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Personally I would not want to send my kids to schools run by the Texas board of education.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20130917-evolution-proponents-critics-clash-at-texas-school-boards-textbook-hearing.ece


Me either. That is not an East Coast bias. The Texas Board of Education includes creationists, climate-change deniers, and people who don't think the Constitution requires the separation of church and state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/education/creationists-on-texas-panel-for-biology-textbooks.html?_r=0
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/jun/21/how-texas-inflicts-bad-textbooks-on-us/


Our founding fathers did not get their education under separation of church and states. Let me be straight.
Climate change is still a scientific hypothesis instead of a fact.

IMHO, using political talk points to make any judgement on education is simply a crime. I hope MCPS can be less political and more technical.


Could you cite your source for this assertion please?

Every reputable source I have read says that climate change is a fact. No reputable study contradicts this.

When did it become acceptable to question science because its conclusions are inconvenient or somehow distasteful to us?

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/01/28/0812721106.full.pdf+html

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090126_climate.html


Scientists have their models and hypothesis. It takes time to validate those.

A couple of years back, models linked loss of arctic ice to global warming. Now, we have this
http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/09/23/antarctic-sea-ice-hit-35-year-record-high-saturday/

Scientists changed their models and are discussing about climate changes now.

We need to respect science. However, it takes time to know the truth.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 10:12     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Personally I would not want to send my kids to schools run by the Texas board of education.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20130917-evolution-proponents-critics-clash-at-texas-school-boards-textbook-hearing.ece


Me either. That is not an East Coast bias. The Texas Board of Education includes creationists, climate-change deniers, and people who don't think the Constitution requires the separation of church and state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/education/creationists-on-texas-panel-for-biology-textbooks.html?_r=0
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/jun/21/how-texas-inflicts-bad-textbooks-on-us/


Our founding fathers did not get their education under separation of church and states. Let me be straight.
Climate change is still a scientific hypothesis instead of a fact.

IMHO, using political talk points to make any judgement on education is simply a crime. I hope MCPS can be less political and more technical.

Some of them also owned slaves. They didn't have telephones either. What does any of that have to do with the clear fact that the US constitution calls for a separation of church and state, including public schools? If you don't like that, send your kids to parochial school.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2013 10:10     Subject: Exactly how good are MoCo schools?
Anonymous wrote:Thank you 10/23/2013 07:34.

To OP,

A couple of facts.

In addition, MCPS is not great for kids from a good daycare in this area where many kids learn and master kills like counting, sorting, and reading picture books. Basically, these kids will repeat the same thing in Kindergarten and even in 1st grade. They can feel very boring in the class and will develop a bad habbit of not listening to teachers.

Under curriculum 2.0, your kids will be learning with other kids in lock steps at MCPS. In Dallas/Houston, you can find school districts that students are allowed to go to a grade fit him/her. One example, a friend of my wife has a 3rd grader learning 5th grade math.


Oh Goodness here we go....