Thank you to the folks who responded to my 11:30 post yesterday. My kid ended up saying yes for next year. She's been self-motivated and organized this year even with distance learning so I'm hopeful the program will be manageable for her and that she'll enjoy it. The point about being able to withdraw on the distant chance that she wakes up in a month saying "wait, I don't want to do this!!" helped her feel more comfortable. It's hard to feel fully oriented in "these times" so again I appreciate the replies.

Anonymous wrote:

If you don’t know who Mrs. Goldstein is, you aren’t a current parent.

Um... I'm a current parent and I guess I'll have to go to the school website or Google her. Maybe it's just me, but as a parent of a 6th grader in DL, our family doesn't feel very connected to the school. My kid has a handful of friends from elementary school there and we keep in touch, but otherwise, there hasn't been a ton of contact besides classes. That may be our fault - it's been a very busy year for parents trying to support kids in this unusual environment.

The woman literally emailed you at the start of the summer!

If you don’t know who Mrs. Goldstein is, you aren’t a current parent.

Um... I'm a current parent and I guess I'll have to go to the school website or Google her. Maybe it's just me, but as a parent of a 6th grader in DL, our family doesn't feel very connected to the school. My kid has a handful of friends from elementary school there and we keep in touch, but otherwise, there hasn't been a ton of contact besides classes. That may be our fault - it's been a very busy year for parents trying to support kids in this unusual environment.

Anonymous wrote:I remember really loving my (accelerated) English classes in middle school. The content had connections to philosophy, psychology, art, sociology, etc. I still remember those classes as a highlight of those tough adolescent years; we were really encouraged to share our own ideas, and I remember the workload being more engaging than stressful or excessive. Is that what DC would find at Eastern, compared to Advanced English 6 and HIGH which is the universal curriculum at our home middle school? Still struggling to decide by tomorrow's deadline.

I wouldn’t say that no Humanities students find the workload excessive or stressful—mine was a procrastinator to begin with, and had to learn to plan ahead to avoid overloading herself closer to the deadlines—but I think most do find a lot of the work engaging.

Mine ended up liking the history and culture portions a lot more than analyzing literature to death or interviewing people for documentaries. But I can see her finding those kinds of connections you’re talking about in all sorts of areas now, like propaganda in movies, or historical echoes in current politics.

The 6th grade Literature and Culture elective, in particular, introduces a lot of that kind of connection-building and helps them start seeing how things like history/politics, literature, and popular culture overlap and fit together.

Anonymous wrote:I remember really loving my (accelerated) English classes in middle school. The content had connections to philosophy, psychology, art, sociology, etc. I still remember those classes as a highlight of those tough adolescent years; we were really encouraged to share our own ideas, and I remember the workload being more engaging than stressful or excessive. Is that what DC would find at Eastern, compared to Advanced English 6 and HIGH which is the universal curriculum at our home middle school? Still struggling to decide by tomorrow's deadline.

Our classes at our home school are intermixed. This isn't anything radical and it really depends on the school.

If you are struggling to decide, accept the spot as you can always change your mind later and go to your home school. But, if you decline you cannot change your mind and go to Eastern. If anything it really depends on the teachers. If you choose Eastern, they do add extra classes so you lose elective choice. That was the big negative for us.

Anonymous wrote:I remember really loving my (accelerated) English classes in middle school. The content had connections to philosophy, psychology, art, sociology, etc. I still remember those classes as a highlight of those tough adolescent years; we were really encouraged to share our own ideas, and I remember the workload being more engaging than stressful or excessive. Is that what DC would find at Eastern, compared to Advanced English 6 and HIGH which is the universal curriculum at our home middle school? Still struggling to decide by tomorrow's deadline.

Yes.

I remember really loving my (accelerated) English classes in middle school. The content had connections to philosophy, psychology, art, sociology, etc. I still remember those classes as a highlight of those tough adolescent years; we were really encouraged to share our own ideas, and I remember the workload being more engaging than stressful or excessive. Is that what DC would find at Eastern, compared to Advanced English 6 and HIGH which is the universal curriculum at our home middle school? Still struggling to decide by tomorrow's deadline.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should search other threads as there has been a fair amount of information about the positive parts of Eastern and aspects of failures in DL.

As the parent of an 8th grader, there is truth in all the perspectives.

There are some condescending parents in this year's 6th class who have said negative things about other students not being as smart as their perfect child. They don't realize that this year's grading and work is more about organization than thinking skills. If you have a parent at home who has time to help you can do well. That does not mean the kids who don't are dumb.

Where are you hearing these comments? My daughter is in 6th grade and I don’t know any other parents, but I certainly hope they’re not gossiping about the kids.

Not the PP, but I actually know a ton of 6th grade Humanities parents and I've not heard a single whisper of trash talking other kids. I don't know where that PP is hearing this, but I can affirm it's not on the listserve or in any of the email exchanges I've ever seen.

There’s a listserve for parents? I didn’t know this. How can I get on it?

If you are a current parent, email Mrs. Goldstein. If you don’t know who Mrs. Goldstein is, you aren’t a current parent.

Thank you, I will. I’m upset I missed this somehow. I’m usually on top of things like this. It makes me wonder what else I’m clueless about regarding the program! Thanks again.

Just FYI, the listserv started up on February 6th (or at least that's when I got the invite) so I wouldn't sweat having missed out on much!

And for the record I've been really pleased at how well the Eastern Humanities program has held up this year considering all the challenges of being online. There have been bumps and getting the appropriate level of instruction has been a process but it has generally been really quite good.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should search other threads as there has been a fair amount of information about the positive parts of Eastern and aspects of failures in DL.

As the parent of an 8th grader, there is truth in all the perspectives.

There are some condescending parents in this year's 6th class who have said negative things about other students not being as smart as their perfect child. They don't realize that this year's grading and work is more about organization than thinking skills. If you have a parent at home who has time to help you can do well. That does not mean the kids who don't are dumb.

Where are you hearing these comments? My daughter is in 6th grade and I don’t know any other parents, but I certainly hope they’re not gossiping about the kids.

Not the PP, but I actually know a ton of 6th grade Humanities parents and I've not heard a single whisper of trash talking other kids. I don't know where that PP is hearing this, but I can affirm it's not on the listserve or in any of the email exchanges I've ever seen.

There’s a listserve for parents? I didn’t know this. How can I get on it?

If you are a current parent, email Mrs. Goldstein. If you don’t know who Mrs. Goldstein is, you aren’t a current parent.

Thank you, I will. I’m upset I missed this somehow. I’m usually on top of things like this. It makes me wonder what else I’m clueless about regarding the program! Thanks again.

Are incoming 6th grade parents allowed on the listserve?

Anonymous wrote:Excellent writers? Yes, there might be some. But all?

Magnet program is not a magic potion. If your child is a strong writer they will thrive no matter where.

True, but at the very least, in the magnet the weaker writers often improve immensely compared to students in other programs. As long as they try the work and accept criticism. It’s not for fragile egos or students who don’t produce anything.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should search other threads as there has been a fair amount of information about the positive parts of Eastern and aspects of failures in DL.

As the parent of an 8th grader, there is truth in all the perspectives.

There are some condescending parents in this year's 6th class who have said negative things about other students not being as smart as their perfect child. They don't realize that this year's grading and work is more about organization than thinking skills. If you have a parent at home who has time to help you can do well. That does not mean the kids who don't are dumb.

Where are you hearing these comments? My daughter is in 6th grade and I don’t know any other parents, but I certainly hope they’re not gossiping about the kids.

Not the PP, but I actually know a ton of 6th grade Humanities parents and I've not heard a single whisper of trash talking other kids. I don't know where that PP is hearing this, but I can affirm it's not on the listserve or in any of the email exchanges I've ever seen.

There’s a listserve for parents? I didn’t know this. How can I get on it?

If you are a current parent, email Mrs. Goldstein. If you don’t know who Mrs. Goldstein is, you aren’t a current parent.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should search other threads as there has been a fair amount of information about the positive parts of Eastern and aspects of failures in DL.

As the parent of an 8th grader, there is truth in all the perspectives.

There are some condescending parents in this year's 6th class who have said negative things about other students not being as smart as their perfect child. They don't realize that this year's grading and work is more about organization than thinking skills. If you have a parent at home who has time to help you can do well. That does not mean the kids who don't are dumb.

Where are you hearing these comments? My daughter is in 6th grade and I don’t know any other parents, but I certainly hope they’re not gossiping about the kids.

Not the PP, but I actually know a ton of 6th grade Humanities parents and I've not heard a single whisper of trash talking other kids. I don't know where that PP is hearing this, but I can affirm it's not on the listserve or in any of the email exchanges I've ever seen.

There’s a listserve for parents? I didn’t know this. How can I get on it?

I heard the Eastern humanities kids are close-knit and very supportive of each other, so I was surprised by the PP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should search other threads as there has been a fair amount of information about the positive parts of Eastern and aspects of failures in DL.

As the parent of an 8th grader, there is truth in all the perspectives.

There are some condescending parents in this year's 6th class who have said negative things about other students not being as smart as their perfect child. They don't realize that this year's grading and work is more about organization than thinking skills. If you have a parent at home who has time to help you can do well. That does not mean the kids who don't are dumb.

Where are you hearing these comments? My daughter is in 6th grade and I don’t know any other parents, but I certainly hope they’re not gossiping about the kids.

Not the PP, but I actually know a ton of 6th grade Humanities parents and I've not heard a single whisper of trash talking other kids. I don't know where that PP is hearing this, but I can affirm it's not on the listserve or in any of the email exchanges I've ever seen.