Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

MCPS Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10 are not just for magnet students, but are only offered at schools with IB programs: B-CC, Einstein, Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill.

This is not the case at B-CC. All 9th and 10th graders are in the IB MYP. So, it's just regular old Honors English in 9th and 10th grades.

I was soooooooo disappointed when I discovered (as a PP mentioned) that in MCPS, "Honors" just means non-remedial. There's challenge in Math (accelerated) and in Social Studies (AP NSL in 9th grade). But as far as I've seen, not in the other subjects at least in 9th grade and sounds like not in 10th grade either.

Just want to challenge the above, specifically for BCC and thus, also for MCPS as a whole. Although BCC is an IB school and all BCC 9 and 10 English classes are MYP compliant, 10th graders can take AP Lang instead. At least half a dozen kids did so my DC's sophomore year (very recently). Some of them came from Westland, some from Eastern MS Magnet. All did quite well.

A few were denied access to AP Lang in 10th grade because their 9th grade teacher refused to recommend them. I knew those kids personally, and I can tell you they all would have done well in AP Lang (2 of them came from Eastern magnet, where they basically had already done some aspects of AP Lang). Later we found out that some teachers refuse to recommend students unless they are sure they will get an "A". Since many bright kids are bored as crap in 9th grade English, they can be getting Bs due to boredom, and the teacher writes that off as stupid or unmotivated. My DC got a B one or two quarters due to extreme boredom; however, her teacher recommended her anyway even though other teachers had a different practice.

AP Lang in 10th is not a well-advertised option at BCC. Ask or insist on it; get the counselor to schedule it.

FWIW, AP Lang, according to College Board, has NO prerequisites and any student should be able to take it. At BCC, there is an "application" process, which is bogus IMO, as AP doesn't have any prereq's. It involves getting a "recommendation" from an English teacher and completing a timed, supervised essay. But, even though I think the application process is lame, I would advise following the application process, seeing what the feedback on the application essay is and proceeding/contesting from there. For example, some kids were turned away because they "didn't respond to the prompt". I see this all the time -- it's not bad writing, but the kid takes off in their own direction. Bright kids usually only need to have it explained once that application essays aren't free essays. Once they know, they don't make that mistake again. It's not a reason to keep them out of AP if they essay is otherwise well-argued and written.

If you are not at BCC, use the above as leverage at your own school. There is no reason to tolerate disparities in opportunity between MCPS schools. If BCC kids can handle it, so can plenty of other kids at other schools.

My DC was very glad she could take the AP class, did not find it hard and got As.

I'm just curious - what is the path for a student who completes AP Eng Lang in 10th Grade? Do they generally take IB English in grades 11 and 12? Or do they take AP Eng Lit in 11th grade and then English electives in grade 12?

They can do either, but they have to take 4 years of “english” credits. So, electives would be something like Journalism.

But, does Journalism count towards the English graduation requirement? A student can't take Journalism instead of English 12 (or an AP/IB substitute).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

MCPS Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10 are not just for magnet students, but are only offered at schools with IB programs: B-CC, Einstein, Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill.

This is not the case at B-CC. All 9th and 10th graders are in the IB MYP. So, it's just regular old Honors English in 9th and 10th grades.

I was soooooooo disappointed when I discovered (as a PP mentioned) that in MCPS, "Honors" just means non-remedial. There's challenge in Math (accelerated) and in Social Studies (AP NSL in 9th grade). But as far as I've seen, not in the other subjects at least in 9th grade and sounds like not in 10th grade either.

Just want to challenge the above, specifically for BCC and thus, also for MCPS as a whole. Although BCC is an IB school and all BCC 9 and 10 English classes are MYP compliant, 10th graders can take AP Lang instead. At least half a dozen kids did so my DC's sophomore year (very recently). Some of them came from Westland, some from Eastern MS Magnet. All did quite well.

A few were denied access to AP Lang in 10th grade because their 9th grade teacher refused to recommend them. I knew those kids personally, and I can tell you they all would have done well in AP Lang (2 of them came from Eastern magnet, where they basically had already done some aspects of AP Lang). Later we found out that some teachers refuse to recommend students unless they are sure they will get an "A". Since many bright kids are bored as crap in 9th grade English, they can be getting Bs due to boredom, and the teacher writes that off as stupid or unmotivated. My DC got a B one or two quarters due to extreme boredom; however, her teacher recommended her anyway even though other teachers had a different practice.

AP Lang in 10th is not a well-advertised option at BCC. Ask or insist on it; get the counselor to schedule it.

FWIW, AP Lang, according to College Board, has NO prerequisites and any student should be able to take it. At BCC, there is an "application" process, which is bogus IMO, as AP doesn't have any prereq's. It involves getting a "recommendation" from an English teacher and completing a timed, supervised essay. But, even though I think the application process is lame, I would advise following the application process, seeing what the feedback on the application essay is and proceeding/contesting from there. For example, some kids were turned away because they "didn't respond to the prompt". I see this all the time -- it's not bad writing, but the kid takes off in their own direction. Bright kids usually only need to have it explained once that application essays aren't free essays. Once they know, they don't make that mistake again. It's not a reason to keep them out of AP if they essay is otherwise well-argued and written.

If you are not at BCC, use the above as leverage at your own school. There is no reason to tolerate disparities in opportunity between MCPS schools. If BCC kids can handle it, so can plenty of other kids at other schools.

My DC was very glad she could take the AP class, did not find it hard and got As.

I'm just curious - what is the path for a student who completes AP Eng Lang in 10th Grade? Do they generally take IB English in grades 11 and 12? Or do they take AP Eng Lit in 11th grade and then English electives in grade 12?

They can do either, but they have to take 4 years of “english” credits. So, electives would be something like Journalism.

Just want to challenge the above, specifically for BCC and thus, also for MCPS as a whole. Although BCC is an IB school and all BCC 9 and 10 English classes are MYP compliant, 10th graders can take AP Lang instead. At least half a dozen kids did so my DC's sophomore year (very recently). Some of them came from Westland, some from Eastern MS Magnet. All did quite well.

A few were denied access to AP Lang in 10th grade because their 9th grade teacher refused to recommend them. I knew those kids personally, and I can tell you they all would have done well in AP Lang (2 of them came from Eastern magnet, where they basically had already done some aspects of AP Lang). Later we found out that some teachers refuse to recommend students unless they are sure they will get an "A". Since many bright kids are bored as crap in 9th grade English, they can be getting Bs due to boredom, and the teacher writes that off as stupid or unmotivated. My DC got a B one or two quarters due to extreme boredom; however, her teacher recommended her anyway even though other teachers had a different practice.

AP Lang in 10th is not a well-advertised option at BCC. Ask or insist on it; get the counselor to schedule it.

FWIW, AP Lang, according to College Board, has NO prerequisites and any student should be able to take it. At BCC, there is an "application" process, which is bogus IMO, as AP doesn't have any prereq's. It involves getting a "recommendation" from an English teacher and completing a timed, supervised essay. But, even though I think the application process is lame, I would advise following the application process, seeing what the feedback on the application essay is and proceeding/contesting from there. For example, some kids were turned away because they "didn't respond to the prompt". I see this all the time -- it's not bad writing, but the kid takes off in their own direction. Bright kids usually only need to have it explained once that application essays aren't free essays. Once they know, they don't make that mistake again. It's not a reason to keep them out of AP if they essay is otherwise well-argued and written.

If you are not at BCC, use the above as leverage at your own school. There is no reason to tolerate disparities in opportunity between MCPS schools. If BCC kids can handle it, so can plenty of other kids at other schools.

My DC was very glad she could take the AP class, did not find it hard and got As.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

MCPS Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10 are not just for magnet students, but are only offered at schools with IB programs: B-CC, Einstein, Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill.

This is not the case at B-CC. All 9th and 10th graders are in the IB MYP. So, it's just regular old Honors English in 9th and 10th grades.

I was soooooooo disappointed when I discovered (as a PP mentioned) that in MCPS, "Honors" just means non-remedial. There's challenge in Math (accelerated) and in Social Studies (AP NSL in 9th grade). But as far as I've seen, not in the other subjects at least in 9th grade and sounds like not in 10th grade either.

Just want to challenge the above, specifically for BCC and thus, also for MCPS as a whole. Although BCC is an IB school and all BCC 9 and 10 English classes are MYP compliant, 10th graders can take AP Lang instead. At least half a dozen kids did so my DC's sophomore year (very recently). Some of them came from Westland, some from Eastern MS Magnet. All did quite well.

A few were denied access to AP Lang in 10th grade because their 9th grade teacher refused to recommend them. I knew those kids personally, and I can tell you they all would have done well in AP Lang (2 of them came from Eastern magnet, where they basically had already done some aspects of AP Lang). Later we found out that some teachers refuse to recommend students unless they are sure they will get an "A". Since many bright kids are bored as crap in 9th grade English, they can be getting Bs due to boredom, and the teacher writes that off as stupid or unmotivated. My DC got a B one or two quarters due to extreme boredom; however, her teacher recommended her anyway even though other teachers had a different practice.

AP Lang in 10th is not a well-advertised option at BCC. Ask or insist on it; get the counselor to schedule it.

FWIW, AP Lang, according to College Board, has NO prerequisites and any student should be able to take it. At BCC, there is an "application" process, which is bogus IMO, as AP doesn't have any prereq's. It involves getting a "recommendation" from an English teacher and completing a timed, supervised essay. But, even though I think the application process is lame, I would advise following the application process, seeing what the feedback on the application essay is and proceeding/contesting from there. For example, some kids were turned away because they "didn't respond to the prompt". I see this all the time -- it's not bad writing, but the kid takes off in their own direction. Bright kids usually only need to have it explained once that application essays aren't free essays. Once they know, they don't make that mistake again. It's not a reason to keep them out of AP if they essay is otherwise well-argued and written.

If you are not at BCC, use the above as leverage at your own school. There is no reason to tolerate disparities in opportunity between MCPS schools. If BCC kids can handle it, so can plenty of other kids at other schools.

My DC was very glad she could take the AP class, did not find it hard and got As.

I'm just curious - what is the path for a student who completes AP Eng Lang in 10th Grade? Do they generally take IB English in grades 11 and 12? Or do they take AP Eng Lit in 11th grade and then English electives in grade 12?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

MCPS Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10 are not just for magnet students, but are only offered at schools with IB programs: B-CC, Einstein, Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill.

This is not the case at B-CC. All 9th and 10th graders are in the IB MYP. So, it's just regular old Honors English in 9th and 10th grades.

I was soooooooo disappointed when I discovered (as a PP mentioned) that in MCPS, "Honors" just means non-remedial. There's challenge in Math (accelerated) and in Social Studies (AP NSL in 9th grade). But as far as I've seen, not in the other subjects at least in 9th grade and sounds like not in 10th grade either.

Just want to challenge the above, specifically for BCC and thus, also for MCPS as a whole. Although BCC is an IB school and all BCC 9 and 10 English classes are MYP compliant, 10th graders can take AP Lang instead. At least half a dozen kids did so my DC's sophomore year (very recently). Some of them came from Westland, some from Eastern MS Magnet. All did quite well.

A few were denied access to AP Lang in 10th grade because their 9th grade teacher refused to recommend them. I knew those kids personally, and I can tell you they all would have done well in AP Lang (2 of them came from Eastern magnet, where they basically had already done some aspects of AP Lang). Later we found out that some teachers refuse to recommend students unless they are sure they will get an "A". Since many bright kids are bored as crap in 9th grade English, they can be getting Bs due to boredom, and the teacher writes that off as stupid or unmotivated. My DC got a B one or two quarters due to extreme boredom; however, her teacher recommended her anyway even though other teachers had a different practice.

AP Lang in 10th is not a well-advertised option at BCC. Ask or insist on it; get the counselor to schedule it.

FWIW, AP Lang, according to College Board, has NO prerequisites and any student should be able to take it. At BCC, there is an "application" process, which is bogus IMO, as AP doesn't have any prereq's. It involves getting a "recommendation" from an English teacher and completing a timed, supervised essay. But, even though I think the application process is lame, I would advise following the application process, seeing what the feedback on the application essay is and proceeding/contesting from there. For example, some kids were turned away because they "didn't respond to the prompt". I see this all the time -- it's not bad writing, but the kid takes off in their own direction. Bright kids usually only need to have it explained once that application essays aren't free essays. Once they know, they don't make that mistake again. It's not a reason to keep them out of AP if they essay is otherwise well-argued and written.

If you are not at BCC, use the above as leverage at your own school. There is no reason to tolerate disparities in opportunity between MCPS schools. If BCC kids can handle it, so can plenty of other kids at other schools.

My DC was very glad she could take the AP class, did not find it hard and got As.

Anonymous wrote:

MCPS Pre-IB English for grades 9 and 10 are not just for magnet students, but are only offered at schools with IB programs: B-CC, Einstein, Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Seneca Valley, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill.

This is not the case at B-CC. All 9th and 10th graders are in the IB MYP. So, it's just regular old Honors English in 9th and 10th grades.

I was soooooooo disappointed when I discovered (as a PP mentioned) that in MCPS, "Honors" just means non-remedial. There's challenge in Math (accelerated) and in Social Studies (AP NSL in 9th grade). But as far as I've seen, not in the other subjects at least in 9th grade and sounds like not in 10th grade either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no AP English options in grade 10 - that starts in grade 11.

The only other options are schools with IB magnets that have separate classes for magnet students in grades 9-10.

OP, I'm curious. What are they up to in his class, and what grades has he received so far?

OP here:

They are reading short stories and writing definitions of basic English concepts like "setting" and "plot".
His English grades are not clear - lots of ungraded assignments waiting. Honestly, he resents what he sees as busywork so much that sometimes it is hard to get him to complete assignments.
His Honors Chemistry class grade is currently a 99%.

He almost made it into the Blair Math/Science/Computer Science magnet -- was in the waiting pool but didn't get picked in the end.

That's really his issue. If he doesn't want to complete assignments because he sees them as busywork, then he doesn't complete them, and he takes the bad grades as a consequence.

OP, don't listen to the many judgers on this thread. The reality is that if your son almost made it into SMCS, he will likely be bored out of his mind in a typical sophomore English class... So why should he force himself to do boring/blah blah assignments, or worse, have to resort to BS'ing on assignments, if his English teacher encourages that kind of thing? I'm sure some teachers are great, but for the most part English class is dull and random. Dull because one often has to read mind numbing, dry stuff. Random, because often one has no idea whether they'll get a high grade or not, i.e it is not proportional to the amount of effort/thought put into the assignment. Even in college there is lots of encouragement to BS, even if the teacher doesn't explicitly say anything like that. For example, I worked hard on one essay and got an ok grade which I felt should have been better, then procrastinated on the next paper, writing it in a few hours, and it came back with an A-. How is that not random and/or BS?

To be fair, again I'm sure there are lots of great English teachers who actually ask their kids to think hard about something, but I'm 100% sure your son is not experiencing that.

Anonymous wrote:Is there anything more challenging than Honors English available to 10th-graders in MCPS high schools?

One month in and my son is so bored - but there doesn't seem to be any other option.

Same issue with Honors Chemistry. There is AP Chemistry at his school, but we were told that a year of Chemistry was required before he could take AP Chemistry.

Same kid is in AP Calc AB and loving it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no AP English options in grade 10 - that starts in grade 11.

The only other options are schools with IB magnets that have separate classes for magnet students in grades 9-10.

OP, I'm curious. What are they up to in his class, and what grades has he received so far?

OP here:

They are reading short stories and writing definitions of basic English concepts like "setting" and "plot".
His English grades are not clear - lots of ungraded assignments waiting. Honestly, he resents what he sees as busywork so much that sometimes it is hard to get him to complete assignments.
His Honors Chemistry class grade is currently a 99%.

He almost made it into the Blair Math/Science/Computer Science magnet -- was in the waiting pool but didn't get picked in the end.

That's really his issue. If he doesn't want to complete assignments because he sees them as busywork, then he doesn't complete them, and he takes the bad grades as a consequence.

OP, don't listen to the many judgers on this thread. The reality is that if your son almost made it into SMCS, he will likely be bored out of his mind in a typical sophomore English class... So why should he force himself to do boring/blah blah assignments, or worse, have to resort to BS'ing on assignments, if his English teacher encourages that kind of thing? I'm sure some teachers are great, but for the most part English class is dull and random. Dull because one often has to read mind numbing, dry stuff. Random, because often one has no idea whether they'll get a high grade or not, i.e it is not proportional to the amount of effort/thought put into the assignment. Even in college there is lots of encouragement to BS, even if the teacher doesn't explicitly say anything like that. For example, I worked hard on one essay and got an ok grade which I felt should have been better, then procrastinated on the next paper, writing it in a few hours, and it came back with an A-. How is that not random and/or BS?

To be fair, again I'm sure there are lots of great English teachers who actually ask their kids to think hard about something, but I'm 100% sure your son is not experiencing that.

What BS advice based on personal experience! 100% sure? Someone somewhere banged generalizations into your head.

Sorry that you're having reading difficulties, I can see that comprehension may not be your strong point. Go back up and read OP's description of their kid, it's obvious he is doing well in other classes, and equally obvious his English class is in fact boring which means his teacher is not teaching anything interesting, Q.E.D.

". . . and equally obvious his English class is in fact boring which means his teacher is not teaching anything interesting, Q.E.D"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no AP English options in grade 10 - that starts in grade 11.

The only other options are schools with IB magnets that have separate classes for magnet students in grades 9-10.

OP, I'm curious. What are they up to in his class, and what grades has he received so far?

OP here:

They are reading short stories and writing definitions of basic English concepts like "setting" and "plot".
His English grades are not clear - lots of ungraded assignments waiting. Honestly, he resents what he sees as busywork so much that sometimes it is hard to get him to complete assignments.
His Honors Chemistry class grade is currently a 99%.

He almost made it into the Blair Math/Science/Computer Science magnet -- was in the waiting pool but didn't get picked in the end.

That's really his issue. If he doesn't want to complete assignments because he sees them as busywork, then he doesn't complete them, and he takes the bad grades as a consequence.

OP, don't listen to the many judgers on this thread. The reality is that if your son almost made it into SMCS, he will likely be bored out of his mind in a typical sophomore English class... So why should he force himself to do boring/blah blah assignments, or worse, have to resort to BS'ing on assignments, if his English teacher encourages that kind of thing? I'm sure some teachers are great, but for the most part English class is dull and random. Dull because one often has to read mind numbing, dry stuff. Random, because often one has no idea whether they'll get a high grade or not, i.e it is not proportional to the amount of effort/thought put into the assignment. Even in college there is lots of encouragement to BS, even if the teacher doesn't explicitly say anything like that. For example, I worked hard on one essay and got an ok grade which I felt should have been better, then procrastinated on the next paper, writing it in a few hours, and it came back with an A-. How is that not random and/or BS?

To be fair, again I'm sure there are lots of great English teachers who actually ask their kids to think hard about something, but I'm 100% sure your son is not experiencing that.

What BS advice based on personal experience! 100% sure? Someone somewhere banged generalizations into your head.

Anonymous wrote:OP, what Foreign Language level is you kid taking?