Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The home school classes are not magnet math and magnet global studies, and MCPS doesn't claim they are. They are "enriched," whatever that means. I'm happy that you and your dc are having a good experience with them, but again, they are not magnet classes or programs.

I have a friend whose kid is at TPMS and we compared the math class syllabus and materials to date with the enriched class at my kids MS. They are the same.

The magnet teacher has had years teaching this. Your DC's teacher got at most, a few weeks of training.

You know that the magnet teacher could leave, retire and then someone else would have to start over. But you win, okay??!! BTW, insulting teachers' capacity to learn and teach new materials isn't the most effective way to make your point.

Sure, but they are not going to pick just a random teacher. They will pick one with *some* level of training and/or experience. I don't insult teacher's capacity to learn, but you insult your own intelligence if you think a couple of weeks of training to teach a magnet level program is all it takes. And you negate how hard teaching is if you think all it takes is a few weeks of training.

My DC was in HGC, and every single one of those teachers have had years of training/experience.

I'm a college professor, so I know something about teaching. I agree that a few weeks of training are not equivalent to years of teaching a curriculum. But you make assumptions that the principal picked some random teacher and that person doesn't have the capacity to meet the challenge. I know the credentials of the teacher that they picked and she is not a random teacher with little experience in teaching math.

I'm done arguing with you. I added my child's experience to the conversation, but to you, that doesn't count.

Good luck to you and your DC!

Thank you poster, I am not an college prof or educator of any kind, but this matches our experiences this year. Teachers very well qualified and pleased to have the new courses. Happy kids in cohort magnet class curriculum but at home MS. This is what many have advocated for - it is here, now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped caring when I got to the statistic that the middle school magnets used to be 45% Asian and have now dropped 8%. This, in a county that is 15% Asian. First world problems.

I care. Mainly because the number of Asian kids who could benefit from magnet education and have all the academic record to prove this are not being given the chance.

Yes, it is great that the few AA and HI kids who have academic credentials are picked up for the program - as they should. But there are hundreds of Asian kids with the exact same credentials that are not being picked.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste - regardless of race.

For every Asian magnet student who is selected for the program there are many more who are not. Just because they are Asians.

My only hope is that these Asian students will remember this injustice when they graduate from their academic career and move on to their professional lives. They will all be in a position to influence lives, careers and employment. Remember what it feels like when merit is disregarded for race. Remember and use your position and influence.

I cannot agree with you more. I am all for universal testing. I am all for picking the best and brightest, but that cannot happen when we cherry pick base on location. It is interesting but my DS came to me the other day asking about the spelling bee. He said that each class were allowed to pick 2 representatives to go to the finals of the Spelling Bee at his school. He said that doesn't seem fair as there could be strong spellers in one class but not the other, and simply picking two out of each class does not yield the best spellers on stage for the school. To me, this is what MCPS is doing at the county level for the magnets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The home school classes are not magnet math and magnet global studies, and MCPS doesn't claim they are. They are "enriched," whatever that means. I'm happy that you and your dc are having a good experience with them, but again, they are not magnet classes or programs.

I have a friend whose kid is at TPMS and we compared the math class syllabus and materials to date with the enriched class at my kids MS. They are the same.

The magnet teacher has had years teaching this. Your DC's teacher got at most, a few weeks of training.

You know that the magnet teacher could leave, retire and then someone else would have to start over. But you win, okay??!! BTW, insulting teachers' capacity to learn and teach new materials isn't the most effective way to make your point.

Sure, but they are not going to pick just a random teacher. They will pick one with *some* level of training and/or experience. I don't insult teacher's capacity to learn, but you insult your own intelligence if you think a couple of weeks of training to teach a magnet level program is all it takes. And you negate how hard teaching is if you think all it takes is a few weeks of training.

My DC was in HGC, and every single one of those teachers have had years of training/experience.

I'm a college professor, so I know something about teaching. I agree that a few weeks of training are not equivalent to years of teaching a curriculum. But you make assumptions that the principal picked some random teacher and that person doesn't have the capacity to meet the challenge. I know the credentials of the teacher that they picked and she is not a random teacher with little experience in teaching math.

I'm done arguing with you. I added my child's experience to the conversation, but to you, that doesn't count.

Good luck to you and your DC!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The home school classes are not magnet math and magnet global studies, and MCPS doesn't claim they are. They are "enriched," whatever that means. I'm happy that you and your dc are having a good experience with them, but again, they are not magnet classes or programs.

I have a friend whose kid is at TPMS and we compared the math class syllabus and materials to date with the enriched class at my kids MS. They are the same.

The magnet teacher has had years teaching this. Your DC's teacher got at most, a few weeks of training.

You know that the magnet teacher could leave, retire and then someone else would have to start over. But you win, okay??!! BTW, insulting teachers' capacity to learn and teach new materials isn't the most effective way to make your point.

Sure, but they are not going to pick just a random teacher. They will pick one with *some* level of training and/or experience. I don't insult teacher's capacity to learn, but you insult your own intelligence if you think a couple of weeks of training to teach a magnet level program is all it takes. And you negate how hard teaching is if you think all it takes is a few weeks of training.

My DC was in HGC, and every single one of those teachers have had years of training/experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped caring when I got to the statistic that the middle school magnets used to be 45% Asian and have now dropped 8%. This, in a county that is 15% Asian. First world problems.

I care. Mainly because the number of Asian kids who could benefit from magnet education and have all the academic record to prove this are not being given the chance.

Yes, it is great that the few AA and HI kids who have academic credentials are picked up for the program - as they should. But there are hundreds of Asian kids with the exact same credentials that are not being picked.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste - regardless of race.

For every Asian magnet student who is selected for the program there are many more who are not. Just because they are Asians.

My only hope is that these Asian students will remember this injustice when they graduate from their academic career and move on to their professional lives. They will all be in a position to influence lives, careers and employment. Remember what it feels like when merit is disregarded for race. Remember and use your position and influence.

I agree with your point, but what should MCPS do? What is the solution to the problem?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The home school classes are not magnet math and magnet global studies, and MCPS doesn't claim they are. They are "enriched," whatever that means. I'm happy that you and your dc are having a good experience with them, but again, they are not magnet classes or programs.

I have a friend whose kid is at TPMS and we compared the math class syllabus and materials to date with the enriched class at my kids MS. They are the same.

The magnet teacher has had years teaching this. Your DC's teacher got at most, a few weeks of training.

You know that the magnet teacher could leave, retire and then someone else would have to start over. But you win, okay??!! BTW, insulting teachers' capacity to learn and teach new materials isn't the most effective way to make your point.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The number of students in the new peer cohort classes dwarfs the number of middle school magnet slots. This is a dramatic development. We love the peers and the teachers/content. Happy we turned down the long bus rides.

I agree it's wonderful, especially the commute part, but don't kid yourself that the level is the same as in the magnet program. The two are simply not comparable.

+1 When my now 8th grader was coming back to our home MS, I was glad to hear that DC would be in "honors" classes, and even met with the Principal, the teachers and the other parents of former HGC students regarding "enriched" classes. Two years later, it is a complete joke. So pardon me for being highly skeptical. Lots of pretty words and talk; very little action. The "enrichment" is anemic.

I am sorry you had been mislead. As I indicated above we are having a much better experience with the roll out of the magnet math and magnet Global Studies to the current MS 6th grade peer cohort groups at our local MS.

I believe the new programs are referred to as "enriched" not "magnet"

Anonymous wrote:I stopped caring when I got to the statistic that the middle school magnets used to be 45% Asian and have now dropped 8%. This, in a county that is 15% Asian. First world problems.

I care. Mainly because the number of Asian kids who could benefit from magnet education and have all the academic record to prove this are not being given the chance.

Yes, it is great that the few AA and HI kids who have academic credentials are picked up for the program - as they should. But there are hundreds of Asian kids with the exact same credentials that are not being picked.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste - regardless of race.

For every Asian magnet student who is selected for the program there are many more who are not. Just because they are Asians.

My only hope is that these Asian students will remember this injustice when they graduate from their academic career and move on to their professional lives. They will all be in a position to influence lives, careers and employment. Remember what it feels like when merit is disregarded for race. Remember and use your position and influence.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The home school classes are not magnet math and magnet global studies, and MCPS doesn't claim they are. They are "enriched," whatever that means. I'm happy that you and your dc are having a good experience with them, but again, they are not magnet classes or programs.

I have a friend whose kid is at TPMS and we compared the math class syllabus and materials to date with the enriched class at my kids MS. They are the same.

I don't think the material will be the same throughout. TPMS teachers (esp 7th and 8th) have years of experience in this curriculum and a passion for it. They add so much. Don't get me wrong, it would be great to offer this to more kids. I just don't believe the kids in the new programs will get "the same" material and experience. But, it will still be richer, so win there.

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible that mcps is finally moving towards a magnet program for the best and brightest per test scores rather than skewing heavily towards privileged kids with parents equipped to advocate?

And, is there anything wrong with that?

Ugh. I wish people would not make these general statements. There were kids who were advantaged in the old system because they got parental support at home or had parents paying for test prep or add'l educational classes, but that is not the same as advocacy. I think it's great to open to all, but the new system also has problems of inequity -- peer cohort and keeping the test only. People, the TEST is the part that the report a few years ago highlighted as the part of the application that favored certain segments of kids who test prepped. Not the teacher recs or the essays. But, the system dumped teh other two and kept the test only. Not saying the test is useless. It provides useful data. But, we know some kids are preparing for this assessment, and others aren't. MCPS should have as much and varied criteria as possible. We should trust teachers to be part of this process. Kids should have to write well and express their thoughts on paper. Test only is not the answer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The home school classes are not magnet math and magnet global studies, and MCPS doesn't claim they are. They are "enriched," whatever that means. I'm happy that you and your dc are having a good experience with them, but again, they are not magnet classes or programs.

I have a friend whose kid is at TPMS and we compared the math class syllabus and materials to date with the enriched class at my kids MS. They are the same.

The magnet teacher has had years teaching this. Your DC's teacher got at most, a few weeks of training.

Anonymous wrote:The home school classes are not magnet math and magnet global studies, and MCPS doesn't claim they are. They are "enriched," whatever that means. I'm happy that you and your dc are having a good experience with them, but again, they are not magnet classes or programs.

I have a friend whose kid is at TPMS and we compared the math class syllabus and materials to date with the enriched class at my kids MS. They are the same.

Anonymous wrote:The home school classes are not magnet math and magnet global studies, and MCPS doesn't claim they are. They are "enriched," whatever that means. I'm happy that you and your dc are having a good experience with them, but again, they are not magnet classes or programs.

Nobody cares, pp.

The home school classes are not magnet math and magnet global studies, and MCPS doesn't claim they are. They are "enriched," whatever that means. I'm happy that you and your dc are having a good experience with them, but again, they are not magnet classes or programs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The number of students in the new peer cohort classes dwarfs the number of middle school magnet slots. This is a dramatic development. We love the peers and the teachers/content. Happy we turned down the long bus rides.

I agree it's wonderful, especially the commute part, but don't kid yourself that the level is the same as in the magnet program. The two are simply not comparable.

+1 When my now 8th grader was coming back to our home MS, I was glad to hear that DC would be in "honors" classes, and even met with the Principal, the teachers and the other parents of former HGC students regarding "enriched" classes. Two years later, it is a complete joke. So pardon me for being highly skeptical. Lots of pretty words and talk; very little action. The "enrichment" is anemic.

I am sorry you had been mislead. As I indicated above we are having a much better experience with the roll out of the magnet math and magnet Global Studies to the current MS 6th grade peer cohort groups at our local MS.