Anonymous wrote:My younger is a 9th grader in a W high school. I am pretty sure this is the first grade for which physics is a graduation requirement.

Aren’t the “wHigh Schools” just parent of MCPS and therefore MD public schools? Why not just say MCPS or MD?

I get that TJ literally has different graduation requirements. But “W schools” don’t, do they?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the question is: should a non-science/math kid take a class in which it’s a given s/he will get a bad grade? Or should they instead substitute a different science class, one in which they will hopefully get a decent grade? I mean, why insist on taking physics if the kid is not going to do well in it? That’s just setting him up for failure.

Yes, they should. It's part of a basic education. Science kids are expected to take languages and writing and English for the same reasons

Sure, but the difference here is that there are several science classes that a kid can take and still take one each year of high school - there is no stipulation that it be physics. Unless the kid is planning on a major/career that specifically requires physics, why shouldn’t that kid take AP Bio or APES or Astronomy or Anatomy???

Honestly, without a basic understanding of physics, you can not understand Astronomy.

But, the bigger question is what is the purpose of schooling? Is it to get you ready to understand the world we live in, or is it to prepare you for a narrow focused job? In the former, you need the broad scientific basis, as well as the understanding of history, government, literature and differing cultures.

Good idea to try to navigate life whatever your career with some exposure to basic science. It is an advantage to your student to understand the world around them. That won't be helpless to figure out how to solve many problems that crop up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the question is: should a non-science/math kid take a class in which it’s a given s/he will get a bad grade? Or should they instead substitute a different science class, one in which they will hopefully get a decent grade? I mean, why insist on taking physics if the kid is not going to do well in it? That’s just setting him up for failure.

Yes, they should. It's part of a basic education. Science kids are expected to take languages and writing and English for the same reasons

Sure, but the difference here is that there are several science classes that a kid can take and still take one each year of high school - there is no stipulation that it be physics. Unless the kid is planning on a major/career that specifically requires physics, why shouldn’t that kid take AP Bio or APES or Astronomy or Anatomy???

Honestly, without a basic understanding of physics, you can not understand Astronomy.

But, the bigger question is what is the purpose of schooling? Is it to get you ready to understand the world we live in, or is it to prepare you for a narrow focused job? In the former, you need the broad scientific basis, as well as the understanding of history, government, literature and differing cultures.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread encapsulates so much of what's wrong with this forum.

OP never said that her kid was interested in a top whatever college, or even an elite one. She merely asked if it would hurt their admissions chances.

The reality is that for 99% of colleges, not taking physics in high school is not going to prevent a student from being admitted.

Maybe some people are saying that. Others, like me, are saying that you need to take high school physics to be a well educated person. And I stand by that. Doesn’t have to be an honors or ap. But I do think colleges should mark you down if you ignore science.

It's laughable that you think taking basic HS physics is a foundation for making someone a well educated person. Also, there are countless well educated people who didn't take physics. Does taking physics expose you to more science? Yes. Does not taking it make someone not "well educated"? No. OP, not taking physics might be a negative, but if your DC takes a challenging course it it's place and does well, that should mitigate the negative.

Being ignorant of the basics of forces and gravity is being uneducated.

Less than 40 percent of high school graduates take physics. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=97
Luckily for OP the goal is to decide what is the best balance for her child, not to act to her child's detriment in order to prove to you that her child isn't uneducated by your narrowly drawn standards.

What are your standards? Mine involve curiosity to learn about the world around us.

DP. And your “curiosity about the world around us” doesn’t extend to human anatomy or oceanography or the environment? I find *that* curious. Maybe broaden your horizons and your mind just a tad?

Not all science is the same. It builds on itself. The foundations are Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (in that order). Everything else builds on one, or all of those. It is not possible to understand anatomy without biology, nor is it possible to understand astronomy without physics. Every student should have the three basic courses, then add as many other courses as they have an interest in. The fact that there are many interesting types of novels doesn't mean that we would find an education to be adequate if one never read a poem. Similarly, one can take as many biology classes as they want, but will have a fundamental gap in their education if they have never taken a basic physics class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread encapsulates so much of what's wrong with this forum.

OP never said that her kid was interested in a top whatever college, or even an elite one. She merely asked if it would hurt their admissions chances.

The reality is that for 99% of colleges, not taking physics in high school is not going to prevent a student from being admitted.

Maybe some people are saying that. Others, like me, are saying that you need to take high school physics to be a well educated person. And I stand by that. Doesn’t have to be an honors or ap. But I do think colleges should mark you down if you ignore science.

It's laughable that you think taking basic HS physics is a foundation for making someone a well educated person. Also, there are countless well educated people who didn't take physics. Does taking physics expose you to more science? Yes. Does not taking it make someone not "well educated"? No. OP, not taking physics might be a negative, but if your DC takes a challenging course it it's place and does well, that should mitigate the negative.

Being ignorant of the basics of forces and gravity is being uneducated.

Less than 40 percent of high school graduates take physics. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=97
Luckily for OP the goal is to decide what is the best balance for her child, not to act to her child's detriment in order to prove to you that her child isn't uneducated by your narrowly drawn standards.

What are your standards? Mine involve curiosity to learn about the world around us.

DP. And your “curiosity about the world around us” doesn’t extend to human anatomy or oceanography or the environment? I find *that* curious. Maybe broaden your horizons and your mind just a tad?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread encapsulates so much of what's wrong with this forum.

OP never said that her kid was interested in a top whatever college, or even an elite one. She merely asked if it would hurt their admissions chances.

The reality is that for 99% of colleges, not taking physics in high school is not going to prevent a student from being admitted.

Maybe some people are saying that. Others, like me, are saying that you need to take high school physics to be a well educated person. And I stand by that. Doesn’t have to be an honors or ap. But I do think colleges should mark you down if you ignore science.

It's laughable that you think taking basic HS physics is a foundation for making someone a well educated person. Also, there are countless well educated people who didn't take physics. Does taking physics expose you to more science? Yes. Does not taking it make someone not "well educated"? No. OP, not taking physics might be a negative, but if your DC takes a challenging course it it's place and does well, that should mitigate the negative.

Being ignorant of the basics of forces and gravity is being uneducated.

Less than 40 percent of high school graduates take physics. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=97
Luckily for OP the goal is to decide what is the best balance for her child, not to act to her child's detriment in order to prove to you that her child isn't uneducated by your narrowly drawn standards.

What are your standards? Mine involve curiosity to learn about the world around us.

My standards definitely don't involve being condescending and labeling people uneducated because they choose not to take physics so they can maintain a higher GPA to better secure their future education. Maybe you should use some of that curiosity to get to know people of varied backgrounds and see that single factor litmus tests are counterproductive. I took AP physics and my best friend didn't take any physics. She's incredibly intelligent and has a lot to offer. I try not to define people by one thing they did or didn't do.

+100
The narrow-mindedness here is unsurprising. It’s DCUM, after all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the question is: should a non-science/math kid take a class in which it’s a given s/he will get a bad grade? Or should they instead substitute a different science class, one in which they will hopefully get a decent grade? I mean, why insist on taking physics if the kid is not going to do well in it? That’s just setting him up for failure.

Yes, they should. It's part of a basic education. Science kids are expected to take languages and writing and English for the same reasons

Sure, but the difference here is that there are several science classes that a kid can take and still take one each year of high school - there is no stipulation that it be physics. Unless the kid is planning on a major/career that specifically requires physics, why shouldn’t that kid take AP Bio or APES or Astronomy or Anatomy???

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread encapsulates so much of what's wrong with this forum.

OP never said that her kid was interested in a top whatever college, or even an elite one. She merely asked if it would hurt their admissions chances.

The reality is that for 99% of colleges, not taking physics in high school is not going to prevent a student from being admitted.

Maybe some people are saying that. Others, like me, are saying that you need to take high school physics to be a well educated person. And I stand by that. Doesn’t have to be an honors or ap. But I do think colleges should mark you down if you ignore science.

It's laughable that you think taking basic HS physics is a foundation for making someone a well educated person. Also, there are countless well educated people who didn't take physics. Does taking physics expose you to more science? Yes. Does not taking it make someone not "well educated"? No. OP, not taking physics might be a negative, but if your DC takes a challenging course it it's place and does well, that should mitigate the negative.

I disagree with you. As an English major who became a lawyer who took physics at a very crappy public high school 30 years ago and never wanted to see physics again. Forces, electricity, magnetism and heavier things fall faster. At least a basic understanding of physics is really helpful in solving everyday problems like every time I plug in the hairdryer the circuit breaker trips and my car won’t start or is it worth paying $1000 more for this much extra power in an appliance. On a larger scale, my STEM kid has convinced me using language I understand that you can’t understand climate change without some physics. Being an informed voter and citizen and a human being able to carry on an intelligent conversation requires some physics knowledge. Physics doesn’t sit in a box alone. It’s a part of so many things in modern life.

That said, I wish for non-STEM kids, they would teach a more practical, less you need Algebra II to pass the class based physics. You don’t need the mathematical solutions in everyday life to know after exactly how many milliseconds something will happen. But physics literacy is useful.

My younger is a 9th grader in a W high school. I am pretty sure this is the first grade for which physics is a graduation requirement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my son's private high school, physics is a requirement that must be taken either in junior or senior year. You cannot graduate without physics.

Which private? My kid is at GDS. Just checked and physics is not required. Lots of insanely advanced math and science available, but physics isn't required. And for all independents in DC, no more APs in any subject after this year.

NP: Physics is required in 10th at DS's school. Every school is different.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread encapsulates so much of what's wrong with this forum.

OP never said that her kid was interested in a top whatever college, or even an elite one. She merely asked if it would hurt their admissions chances.

The reality is that for 99% of colleges, not taking physics in high school is not going to prevent a student from being admitted.

Maybe some people are saying that. Others, like me, are saying that you need to take high school physics to be a well educated person. And I stand by that. Doesn’t have to be an honors or ap. But I do think colleges should mark you down if you ignore science.

It's laughable that you think taking basic HS physics is a foundation for making someone a well educated person. Also, there are countless well educated people who didn't take physics. Does taking physics expose you to more science? Yes. Does not taking it make someone not "well educated"? No. OP, not taking physics might be a negative, but if your DC takes a challenging course it it's place and does well, that should mitigate the negative.

Being ignorant of the basics of forces and gravity is being uneducated.

Less than 40 percent of high school graduates take physics. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=97
Luckily for OP the goal is to decide what is the best balance for her child, not to act to her child's detriment in order to prove to you that her child isn't uneducated by your narrowly drawn standards.

What are your standards? Mine involve curiosity to learn about the world around us.

My standards definitely don't involve being condescending and labeling people uneducated because they choose not to take physics so they can maintain a higher GPA to better secure their future education. Maybe you should use some of that curiosity to get to know people of varied backgrounds and see that single factor litmus tests are counterproductive. I took AP physics and my best friend didn't take any physics. She's incredibly intelligent and has a lot to offer. I try not to define people by one thing they did or didn't do.

NP here - and I certainly agree with your sentiment about politeness and condescension. 100%.

However, for those just introduced to these topics, a "high GPA" is usually less desirable than "more rigor in schedule" in college admissions.

It's a frequently debated topic and there is no one answer, and yes it depends on the target college, but please don't anyone make the mistake of putting your smart HS freshman in easy classes to keep the GPA high thinking that is the path to competitive admissions.

HS physics is difficult but not impossible. Plan ahead. Get a tutor, put in the hours, don't be easily defeated and try to get a decent grade in the class. It is useful to have some knowledge of the forces at work all around you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread encapsulates so much of what's wrong with this forum.

OP never said that her kid was interested in a top whatever college, or even an elite one. She merely asked if it would hurt their admissions chances.

The reality is that for 99% of colleges, not taking physics in high school is not going to prevent a student from being admitted.

Maybe some people are saying that. Others, like me, are saying that you need to take high school physics to be a well educated person. And I stand by that. Doesn’t have to be an honors or ap. But I do think colleges should mark you down if you ignore science.

It's laughable that you think taking basic HS physics is a foundation for making someone a well educated person. Also, there are countless well educated people who didn't take physics. Does taking physics expose you to more science? Yes. Does not taking it make someone not "well educated"? No. OP, not taking physics might be a negative, but if your DC takes a challenging course it it's place and does well, that should mitigate the negative.

Being ignorant of the basics of forces and gravity is being uneducated.

Less than 40 percent of high school graduates take physics. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=97
Luckily for OP the goal is to decide what is the best balance for her child, not to act to her child's detriment in order to prove to you that her child isn't uneducated by your narrowly drawn standards.

What are your standards? Mine involve curiosity to learn about the world around us.

My standards definitely don't involve being condescending and labeling people uneducated because they choose not to take physics so they can maintain a higher GPA to better secure their future education. Maybe you should use some of that curiosity to get to know people of varied backgrounds and see that single factor litmus tests are counterproductive. I took AP physics and my best friend didn't take any physics. She's incredibly intelligent and has a lot to offer. I try not to define people by one thing they did or didn't do.

NP here - and I certainly agree with your sentiment about politeness and condescension. 100%.

However, for those just introduced to these topics, a "high GPA" is usually less desirable than "more rigor in schedule" in college admissions.

It's a frequently debated topic and there is no one answer, and yes it depends on the target college, but please don't anyone make the mistake of putting your smart HS freshman in easy classes to keep the GPA high thinking that is the path to competitive admissions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread encapsulates so much of what's wrong with this forum.

OP never said that her kid was interested in a top whatever college, or even an elite one. She merely asked if it would hurt their admissions chances.

The reality is that for 99% of colleges, not taking physics in high school is not going to prevent a student from being admitted.

Maybe some people are saying that. Others, like me, are saying that you need to take high school physics to be a well educated person. And I stand by that. Doesn’t have to be an honors or ap. But I do think colleges should mark you down if you ignore science.

It's laughable that you think taking basic HS physics is a foundation for making someone a well educated person. Also, there are countless well educated people who didn't take physics. Does taking physics expose you to more science? Yes. Does not taking it make someone not "well educated"? No. OP, not taking physics might be a negative, but if your DC takes a challenging course it it's place and does well, that should mitigate the negative.

Being ignorant of the basics of forces and gravity is being uneducated.

Less than 40 percent of high school graduates take physics. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=97
Luckily for OP the goal is to decide what is the best balance for her child, not to act to her child's detriment in order to prove to you that her child isn't uneducated by your narrowly drawn standards.

What are your standards? Mine involve curiosity to learn about the world around us.

My standards definitely don't involve being condescending and labeling people uneducated because they choose not to take physics so they can maintain a higher GPA to better secure their future education. Maybe you should use some of that curiosity to get to know people of varied backgrounds and see that single factor litmus tests are counterproductive. I took AP physics and my best friend didn't take any physics. She's incredibly intelligent and has a lot to offer. I try not to define people by one thing they did or didn't do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not as bad as not talking Calculus but yes, looks bad to top colleges.

I think it's worse. Geosystems is "rocks for jocks." It's a much easier class than physics.

And yet TJ requires all seniors to take geosystems to graduate. And their geosystems requires an AP level understanding of Bio, Chem, and Physics (all also required) and Calculus.

Broad sweeping statements get you nowhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread encapsulates so much of what's wrong with this forum.

OP never said that her kid was interested in a top whatever college, or even an elite one. She merely asked if it would hurt their admissions chances.

The reality is that for 99% of colleges, not taking physics in high school is not going to prevent a student from being admitted.

Maybe some people are saying that. Others, like me, are saying that you need to take high school physics to be a well educated person. And I stand by that. Doesn’t have to be an honors or ap. But I do think colleges should mark you down if you ignore science.

It's laughable that you think taking basic HS physics is a foundation for making someone a well educated person. Also, there are countless well educated people who didn't take physics. Does taking physics expose you to more science? Yes. Does not taking it make someone not "well educated"? No. OP, not taking physics might be a negative, but if your DC takes a challenging course it it's place and does well, that should mitigate the negative.

Being ignorant of the basics of forces and gravity is being uneducated.

Less than 40 percent of high school graduates take physics. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=97
Luckily for OP the goal is to decide what is the best balance for her child, not to act to her child's detriment in order to prove to you that her child isn't uneducated by your narrowly drawn standards.

What are your standards? Mine involve curiosity to learn about the world around us.