PP again - just re-read OPs post and the kids in question are in elementary school.........

I agree there is more to life than an Ivy Education. However, your kid is not truly average student at a W school, is he?

I'm this PP who definitely isn't smart enough to cut and paste properly, but to your point, no, he's not average -- in my completely objective perspective he is not at all average - he's quite extraordinary-- my point is just that his math class and the number APs he takes (which I reported accurately) doesn't determine whether he is average or not. And I think it's fundamentally unhealthy for parents to focus only these type of criteria for determining whether their kids are worthy or not. These are not the things I value, but I know many who do.

I also read and fully understand the Tiger Mom book - and I respect the basic argument that pushing your kids to succeed will teach them how to succeed - I just don't necessarily value the same things nor do I think all kids are the same nor do I think that the "best" kids in the world are the kids in the most advanced classes. And if you are talking about a child that is not even close to high school age yet, I think perhaps you don't know what kind of kid you have and I think there is a lot of value in letting kids figure out what kind of person they are themselves.

^^^ "chocolate? It's supposed to say top tier school!! LOL!!

If your goal is a chocolate, you should move to D.C. And have your child go to Wilson High School where the competition to get into HPY won't be as tough. If your kids goes to a school like Whitman, there will be a lot more competition.

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP = honestly, good luck to you. There is more to life than an Ivy education. My kids are happy, well rounded, good students and also succeeding in many areas of life. Plus, they are working on deciding their own futures - I look forward to this discussion in the next 10 years, honestly. But go ahead and make your kids crazy.

I agree there is more to life than an Ivy Education. However, your kid is not truly average student at a W school, is he?

I'm curious why "just stay" isn't among OP's options. If she has only looked at average test scores or heard through the rumor mill from older parents, she may be discounting her local middle and high school. MCPS has one curriculum. All high schools offer AP classes and many offer IB diplomas. Smart kids from well-off families do well, period.

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP = honestly, good luck to you. There is more to life than an Ivy education. My kids are happy, well rounded, good students and also succeeding in many areas of life. Plus, they are working on deciding their own futures - I look forward to this discussion in the next 10 years, honestly. But go ahead and make your kids crazy.

Got it. See you in 10 years.

I'm the PP = honestly, good luck to you. There is more to life than an Ivy education. My kids are happy, well rounded, good students and also succeeding in many areas of life. Plus, they are working on deciding their own futures - I look forward to this discussion in the next 10 years, honestly. But go ahead and make your kids crazy.