Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I

hey Jesus freak, No one cares but you.



found this interesting

Is our neighborhood school really bad?
By Jay Mathews

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/is-our-neighborhood-school-really-bad/2012/07/05/gJQAhidlOW_blog.html

I'm a City resident, and I've heard all the horror stories about TC -- "Yale or jail," a morning-after pill clinic in the school lobby, the crushing abusive ACPS administration, etc. Then I thought about two neighbors' kids who had gone there very recently; they're both very heads-up kids and both have done well, one extremely well (including a name college).

I was just too overwhelmed by curiosity (and panic -- is it as bad as they say? would I put my DC in such a place?) and I made an appointment and went for a visit. I was astounded. First, the facility is simply gorgeous. It's a really attractive building. Second, absolutely no general atmosphere of disorder. Third, a palpable and visible focus. There's a lot going on at TC, and I didn't see a bit of it as negative. I think the panic needs to be dialed back.

so did you check out the morning-after pill clinic in the lobby?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm a City resident, and I've heard all the horror stories about TC -- "Yale or jail," a morning-after pill clinic in the school lobby, the crushing abusive ACPS administration, etc. Then I thought about two neighbors' kids who had gone there very recently; they're both very heads-up kids and both have done well, one extremely well (including a name college).

I was just too overwhelmed by curiosity (and panic -- is it as bad as they say? would I put my DC in such a place?) and I made an appointment and went for a visit. I was astounded. First, the facility is simply gorgeous. It's a really attractive building. Second, absolutely no general atmosphere of disorder. Third, a palpable and visible focus. There's a lot going on at TC, and I didn't see a bit of it as negative. I think the panic needs to be dialed back.

Glad you had a nice visit, although this does sound a bit canned to me. But that may be because this excerpt from Sherman's letter suggests that APCS is monitoring internet forums like DCUM and working on a charm offensive in response:

"The T.C. they know and love is not the T.C. portrayed in agenda-laden rhetoric and certainly not the rhetoric of the rumor mill churning about on Internet bulletin boards."

Anonymous wrote:
I'm a City resident, and I've heard all the horror stories about TC -- "Yale or jail," a morning-after pill clinic in the school lobby, the crushing abusive ACPS administration, etc. Then I thought about two neighbors' kids who had gone there very recently; they're both very heads-up kids and both have done well, one extremely well (including a name college).

I was just too overwhelmed by curiosity (and panic -- is it as bad as they say? would I put my DC in such a place?) and I made an appointment and went for a visit. I was astounded. First, the facility is simply gorgeous. It's a really attractive building. Second, absolutely no general atmosphere of disorder. Third, a palpable and visible focus. There's a lot going on at TC, and I didn't see a bit of it as negative. I think the panic needs to be dialed back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found this interesting

Is our neighborhood school really bad?
By Jay Mathews

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/is-our-neighborhood-school-really-bad/2012/07/05/gJQAhidlOW_blog.html

I'm a City resident, and I've heard all the horror stories about TC -- "Yale or jail," a morning-after pill clinic in the school lobby, the crushing abusive ACPS administration, etc. Then I thought about two neighbors' kids who had gone there very recently; they're both very heads-up kids and both have done well, one extremely well (including a name college).

I was just too overwhelmed by curiosity (and panic -- is it as bad as they say? would I put my DC in such a place?) and I made an appointment and went for a visit. I was astounded. First, the facility is simply gorgeous. It's a really attractive building. Second, absolutely no general atmosphere of disorder. Third, a palpable and visible focus. There's a lot going on at TC, and I didn't see a bit of it as negative. I think the panic needs to be dialed back.

Anonymous wrote:I found this interesting

Is our neighborhood school really bad?
By Jay Mathews

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/is-our-neighborhood-school-really-bad/2012/07/05/gJQAhidlOW_blog.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TC's size actually makes it an excellent environment for kids academically in the middle; there's always another group of kids who are neither off in the academic clouds nor at the bottom rung.

Anonymous wrote:


Not sure I find that compelling. All it tells me is that there may be a large group of kids who are taken largely for granted while the focus is directed elsewhere.

I don't think they are "taking for granted". I think the systems in place are working for them, so there doesn't need to be a lot of work devoted to revamping into new systems. To pile on the cliches, it ain't broke, so no need to fix it.
Here's another advantage I see for students attending a larger, more diverse school. (Not just TC, but similar schools.) I think it's a better reflection of the adult world the kids are moving into. I think kids going on to the workplace or planning to attend a university, which will have thousands more students, will not get nearly the culture shock that someone at a smaller, less diverse high school campus might experience. This is NOT meant to imply that I hate or look down upon smaller high schools. They can offer a different, positive experience. It's just that the large size of TC, which I think many folks see as a negative, doesn't feel like a negative to me.