I mean, look, if you’re in San Francisco and you snag a top three spot in the county competition while keeping your GPA at least a 4.5, you're looking at a scholarship. So it’s definitely not nothing... depends on who you ask, I guess. And college admissions care about those grades too—it’s not quite the same level of pressure as high school, but if you can push yourself to pull up your average, why wouldn't you?
Carl Bishop2 said:I really have to weigh in on this part. Honestly, how can you not feel a sense of shame? What kind of person does that make you? I can't help but wonder what goes through your mind when you write about sabotaging others. Aren't you afraid of judgment—from above (since you clearly believe in that) or from those around you? You're essentially trying to strip away a child's chance at getting into a good school just so your own kid can get a better grade. Why does your child always have to be the priority?
Bravo.👍 This is getting seriously messed up. Now the kid realizes he might miss out on his points. And good luck finding any other chances, since we have no idea how many he’s already burned through. If they don't bend the rules for him, he’ll probably just try to bribe some teachers. Plus, he’ll be pissed if anyone else gets a handout. Like it's somehow unfair that everyone else's grades weren't "earned" the same way. It's pathetic.
Probably everyone's got the chemistry down. My bad... my mistake. Different schedules, though. That's the whole point—more hours means more actual knowledge.
Sarah Hall53 said:I’ve seen plenty of kids from the liberal arts track at schools like Miami Beach Senior High who ended up obsessed with math, and then there are those from the STEM tracks who basically lived for foreign languages. Honestly, I know people who went through the advanced math programs and couldn't even make it past freshman year in calculus or engineering. Meanwhile, you have others from that exact same math-heavy curriculum who went off to medical school, and then a third group who are straight-up PhDs in robotics. So, if you ask me... I guess you could say it isn't just about the high school or the teachers after all... 😉
Look, it’s not all black and white. But let’s be real—back in my day, we absolutely crushed it during those first couple of years at MIT. Most people were getting absolutely wrecked by the math requirements. A lot of kids coming out of standard high schools hadn't even touched half the stuff covered in Calculus I or II; they were seeing integrals and derivatives for the first time and just straight-up dropping out. That freshman year is everything. It’s a total meat grinder designed to weed you out, and if you don't hit the ground running, it'll kill your momentum before you even realize what happened. Exactly the same goes for construction and those STEM majors. It’s the same deal for anyone who spends four years grinding through chemistry in high school versus some kid at a prep school who only gets two years of it—the kid with the four-year track is obviously going to have a better handle on the subject. Obviously, that's assuming they actually give a damn and keep pursuing it.
Just because a kid loves coding and is good at it doesn't mean they’re going to survive at MIT. Getting in isn't even the hard part—they take in tons of students, but the weed-out rate during the degree, especially freshman year, is brutal. That's why some kids should just go for a technical associate degree or a vocational track; the curriculum is more manageable. You see so many people trying to transfer from the university track over to the technical one.
I was lucky enough that my kids figured out what they wanted to do early on, so they picked high schools accordingly. I know plenty of kids who came from liberal arts high schools, top-tier students, who tried to major in CS, and it just didn't work. At least not during that first year. They eventually catch up, but those initial elimination rounds are everything. As a parent, I talked to them a lot and gave advice on what would be best for their education. I honestly think that's a parent's job—to make sure things stay secure. I don't believe there are many parents who actually give a damn about their kids' education. If you feel your kid has that drive, you support them and handle all the logistics needed to make it happen. If school isn't working for some kids, thank God we aren't just leaving them to fend for themselves. You look at where their skills and interests lie, find where they can actually swim, and you push them in that direction. I couldn't let my kid pick a school just because their friend from class was going there. Whether I was being too positive or if there was some pressure I didn't notice... I don't know. I just did the best I knew how. The kids never complained, so I guess they were fine with me.
Miley Cyrus says: wanderingbadger77: sorry, I'm not even sure I follow some of what you're saying. I've been explaining for two pages now that I've spotted major gaps in my school's curriculum and I'm systematically making up for them at home. And yet, you're out here acting like "you can't teach an old dog new tricks."🤦 Plus, we're talking about criteria that actually matter when judging how high-quality or successful a school is, specifically regarding high school admissions and eventually getting into college.
F
You have no idea what you're talking about because my post had nothing to do with your enrollment status.😉
urbantinker8 said:Miley Cyrus, I think my philosophy on parenting and education is fundamentally different from most people's, and I suppose that includes yours. I didn't spend a single second agonizing over which elementary school to enroll the kids in because there really wasn't much of a dilemma—the closest one just happened to be "terrible." There are plenty of reasons for that, and I don't think I really need to list them all out here. I feel pretty firm on this, mostly because experience has taught me that even in the "best" private academies, you'll find your share of mediocre teachers, just as you'll find brilliant educators in schools that everyone else labels as "awful." As for why a teacher's reputation or standardized test scores aren't my priority when picking a school? Well, I guess it's because I know my own children better than anyone, and I truly believe that everything instilled at home from such a young age is what ultimately matters most during their schooling. Aside from certain innate predispositions, talents, or abilities—which I respect, support, and try to nurture in every way possible—things like home upbringing, a sense of responsibility, and solid work habits are absolutely crucial. It’s not about whether some teacher lectures from an ivory tower or shows up late to class. To me, those things are secondary, and honestly, they often just serve as convenient excuses for someone who doesn't like a subject, struggles with it, or is just naturally lazy. I mean, you could have the most perfect math teacher in the country, but if you're just hopeless at math, you're still going to need a tutor if you want to pass an AP exam and get decent grades. Similarly, you could end up with a catastrophic history teacher, but if you've been fascinated by history since you were little—if your parents read you picture books about > when you were small, or you spend your free time watching documentaries on > and reading about Greek mythology—you're obviously going to crush any national standardized test.
And regarding those affinities and talents you mentioned being so focused on—yes, I consider those to be the absolute most important thing, and I don't think there's any job market out there that will ever convince me otherwise. Pushing someone into a field where they have zero natural inclination or ability is basically a perfect recipe for a miserable life. Again, I'm looking at my own children and speaking exclusively about them. I know they'll find their way, even if they don't choose the most lucrative career path in the world. I didn't choose the highest-paying job myself, yet I am perfectly happy with my career and my life. If I weren't, I would have changed something a long time ago; I'm neither foolish nor lazy, nor am I lacking in initiative. I'm content, and unfortunately, I know that's a bit of a rarity these days. 🙂
Oh, right. So you'd be totally okay with the fact that your kid has a terrible English teacher who has ruined entire generations? Someone who doesn't actually teach and just hands out easy grades left and right? There's no way in hell I'd enroll my kid there. Some academic gaps are hard to fix, especially if those grades were handed out easily without actual knowledge, and then the kid moves on to a more rigorous high school. That ends up being a much bigger stress than just taking the time to research the quality of the school beforehand.
I haven't heard anything about Snoop Dogg myself, just seeing it here now. It's good to have them on hand; if someone actually cares, they'll make use of it, and if they don't, then whatever. If he's weighing his options between a few different schools, this data should definitely make the decision easier.
I don't really have the time to dive deep into this right now (not like I need to), but honestly, I find this kind of data pretty interesting. Like what wanderingbadger77 said, you can pull a ton of useful info just by looking at how schools are selected.
stormymarlin22 said:So, is that with elective math, or... ? Do they offer different programs, similar to what you'd see at UCLA?
You don't really get a choice. You just follow the set curriculum—it's the same for everyone in your grade, obviously, though the specific subjects and weekly hours shift as you move up.
I've got no clue how they do things in New York City.
hiddendriver34 said:In most high schools, freshmen and sophomores get four math periods a week. Once you hit junior and senior year, general track students drop down to three, while those on the advanced math track bump it up to five.
The computer science specialist is just looking at the schedule for the general track students.
Look, we're talking about completely different tracks here. I was specifically referring to schools where everyone is following the exact same curriculum—general track is one thing, the advanced math track is another, and the tech specialists are in their own lane entirely.😉
Over at that high school in Chicago, freshmen and sophomores get 5 hours of math. Juniors and seniors get 6.
Look, it’s not all just about keeping kids busy; the curriculum actually matters here. At a place like Scripps Institution of Oceanography, you're looking at 5 or 6 hours of math and computer science. It's a given they'll crush the SATs, even if their grades in those subjects look a bit rougher. Or take a naturalist high school—they've got heavy biology and chemistry loads. My kids picked their high schools based on what they actually liked and what they wanted to do for a career, basically which college they were aiming for. There's zero point going to a standard liberal arts high school if you're planning on an engineering degree, just like there's no point heading to Scripps if your heart is in history, art, or languages...
I’m not even saying they’re enrolling in prestigious Ivy League schools. Most of them are just some niche vocational programs that sound fancy on a resume but don't actually lead anywhere. The kid ends up studying abroad. From what I see happening around here, these tourism degrees are huge because you can basically do everything online or semi-online, where you barely show up to class and mostly just log in from home. There are no scholarships involved either—parents are just cutting massive checks.
If a kid is doing fine in school—no behavioral issues or developmental red flags—then paying for private school is just throwing money down the drain. The only time private makes sense is for vocational stuff, like training to be a dental tech or something, when you don't have the grades and your old man is willing to bankroll your laziness. But for anyone else, it’s too early to even think about private school because the public system actually provides better resources and a stronger foundation. Look at the SAT scores; they're pathetic. It’s not even a debate. If Dad pays for private high school, he’s just going to pay for a private college later, whether that’s some local state school or some random half-baked university in Denmark or the Netherlands. That’s the big trend in Miami right now. When you can't make the cut for a decent state university, you just brag about how you're "studying abroad" in the Netherlands. Nobody ever asks what the actual degree is even in. It sounds fancy, studying overseas.
There’s no way you can leave kids in these kinds of sanitary conditions all day long. The school doesn't even have soap or paper towels, and don't even get me started on the showers—they're basically non-existent. Wipes, cooks, teaching assistants... whatever else they need... who's actually going to foot the bill for all that?🍿> Who's gonna cough up the cash?
Great. So who's actually on the hook for a kid's grades here? Is it the teacher running the after-school tutoring sessions? This is going to be a total mess. They’ll probably end up having to take those massive state exams, and honestly, they're probably screwed because the teachers are absolute garbage. Luckily, my kid isn't affected by this whole shake-up. Insane.
Honestly, if you just scrape those book summaries off the internet, you aren't really solving anything. Most kids don't even bother reading them in the first place.
Isn't dentistry in Indianapolis basically just a private college? It’s mostly for kids who can't make the cut at a state school. $10k a year. That's $60k total. They aren't even local students; they're just rich kids from all over the US. I know a few from San Diego whose parents are dentists, so they just pay the tuition since they couldn't get in through the standard state admissions process. They'll just inherit their parents' practices, though I really hope the quality of their work doesn't tank. I agree—it's better to have decent school buses than a half-empty school with questionable teaching quality.
Your doctor is straight-up wrong. As long as you’re still feeling crappy, you can stay on sick leave. Once the symptoms clear up, then you've got 7 days. It’s obvious she’s just handing out medical notes to her buddies while screwing everyone else over.