If you had gone to TJ, would you have a better job now? (Arlington: condos, credit)
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How many times has TJ been proclaimed by pop-published sources as the #1 public high school in the nation? When not, how many times has it been rated within just a few spots of #1? There is every reason for those in this area having such an inclination to believe that TJ outshines the results of attempts to create similar resources anywhere else, and some do.
Okay-if you say so. "Pop-published sources" you say? Maybe it's time to bring out a first draft of a novel about TJ/NoVA life if such topics have hit American pop culture.
Interesting when a person consistently responds in a humorless manner to sarcasm. My comment was meant to be a gentle tease due to the many times NoVA/DC has been touted as #1 in various lists.
I'm honestly curious how many people posting in this thread know much about TJ. It seems like many of the opinions in this thread were based on: 1) what parents who want their children to go to TJ are doing and how obnoxious they are being; 2) the fact that people can succeed in life without having gone to the best schools; and 3) personal issues with Northern Virginia and with other posters.
#1 doesn't reflect on what those students who do actually go to TJ end up experiencing and achieving in their lives. I think most of us can agree that pushy parents who react poorly if their children fall anything short of perfection (defined rather narrowly) often end up doing more harm than good, and are incredibly annoying to boot. So what if there are parents of an 8 year old out there whose primary goal is to get their kid into TJ. Does that invalidate the school, or just hint at bad parenting?
Everyone agrees on #2, so it's not really much of a commentary on TJ. There are incredibly successful graduates of Ballou and HD Woodson, despite those graduates having had fewer opportunities than kids at Herndon or Dominion, but I don't see many voices in the NoVA forum advocating that FCPS and LCPS schools resemble Ballou or HD Woodson.
#3, well...Tone509 already addressed that one.
How many of you are actually familiar with TJ's curriculum or have interacted with more than one or two current or former students or faculty? I get that TJ is overhyped by a lot of local parents, and that most of its graduates would have done equally well at their local high schools, but this thread has more references to philosophers and anecdotes about phantom alumni than actual commentary on the school.
I'm honestly curious how many people posting in this thread know much about TJ. It seems like many of the opinions in this thread were based on: 3) personal issues with Northern Virginia and with other posters.
Anyone can post here, and I like reading most people's remarks.... Some people seem to forget that most aspects of living are, by their very nature, personal. Persons with personalities post comments here. If this is troubling, they can stick to the threads involving commutes.
Qualification for posting in this thread: I am guilty of having my student admitted into TJ without taking any special test prep course (had one of the top 5 scores). My polite, unspoiled TJ student capably graduated without our interference or competitively contriving to pad the resume with tech projects provided by certain family connections.
Last edited by FindingZen; 09-12-2011 at 01:58 PM..
Reason: off-topic
I am hardly ever asked what college I went to, let alone what high school when interviewing for jobs. I can safely say that, other than applications where they ask for all schooling information, I've never been asked about my high school. And even in those cases, my education pales in comparison to experience.
I've been hired me on experience and personality for every job I've ever gotten. Maybe, in the short run a good school like TJ can help someone get into a better college which "might" help someone to get into their first job. But in the long run, it seems your high school is pretty far removed employment-wise.
I think a school like TJ should be considered by parents by how it will benefit their child "now." Will it help them or challenge them at this point in their lives, will they enjoy the school more than another, and maybe the immediate future (like getting into college). But it shouldn't be something to consider for your child's resume. It just doesn't matter. Besides, if your child ever moves out of the area, I bet most employers will never have even heard of TJ.
By the way, am I the only person who saw "TJ" and first thought Tijuana?
Last edited by jillabean; 09-12-2011 at 06:32 AM..
I'm honestly curious how many people posting in this thread know much about TJ. It seems like many of the opinions in this thread were based on: 1) what parents who want their children to go to TJ are doing and how obnoxious they are being; 2) the fact that people can succeed in life without having gone to the best schools; and 3) personal issues with Northern Virginia and with other posters.
Well, I for one HOPE most people are focusing on #2 above, since that was the point of the question in the original post.
I started this thread in the hopes that it would spark a discussion of how all the schools in the Nova region are good schools and that parents don't need to fret that if their child doesn't go to one specific school. I'm glad you think there is no disagreement with this, but I think there are people moving here who wonder about such things.
I never wanted this to be a bashing thread and I've stated several times that I think TJ is a good school. To repeat, my point is the neighborhood schools are also good, and your child can go on to become a top surgeon (or whatever he wants to be) whether he goes to your local school or to a magnet school.
This thread got started because someone came onto the Leesburg thread and tried to infer that people wouldn't want to live in Leesburg because it is too far of a distance from TJ. Yes, I realize that this particular comment came from a guy who lives in Phoenix who was having fun being snarky. At the same time, he made a point. I have met people moving to this area who have made similar assumptions. It's sad, but yes there are people who move here from areas where neighborhood schools aren't good, and even though their job is in the Tech Corridor they assume they'll need to make a tedious commute because they assume only 1-2 schools in the whole region will give their child a decent education. They assume they have to send their child to the school with the best known name, because they don't realize there are many other good schools here.
I think that's sad. Even though I think magent schools are great, I'm tired of seeing neighborhood schools being dissed when my children got a wonderful education at one. I think it's sad when people make long commutes just so their child can attend a certain school, because IMO a long and tedious commute to work every day can hurt your family a lot more than being near a specific school.
So, to be clear: The underlying point that I wanted to make with this thread is that most, if not all of the schools here are good. If you're moving here, ask about a local school before assuming that your child must attend a magnet school. You might be pleasantly surprised.
The thing I don't understand is why our education system doesn't match our economy. Over the past 20 years, the strength of the U.S. economy has moved to financial services. We're basically now the world's bankers and investment managers. Why don't we have magnet high schools that prepare kids for careers in those areas? Science and technology have been outsourced to a great degree and really don't offer as many prospects to kids as other fields of study. A kid is much more likely to end up as a lawyer or business manager than a scientist, engineer, or tech geek. I bet if they opened up an elite pre-law or business high school, TJ would become a ghost town, at least for the kids of non-recent immigrants.
The thing I don't understand is why our education system doesn't match our economy. Over the past 20 years, the strength of the U.S. economy has moved to financial services. We're basically now the world's bankers and investment managers. Why don't we have magnet high schools that prepare kids for careers in those areas? Science and technology have been outsourced to a great degree and really don't offer as many prospects to kids as other fields of study.
Hmmm, you may be onto something. I don't know that I agree that such a school would hurt the number of kids applying to TJ, but I do think business and finance could be a great focus for a magnet school.
Hmmm, you may be onto something. Business and finance could be a very worthwhile focus for a magnet school.
I'll bet if someone opened a private one around here they'd make a mint. Alternatively, the school district could establish a magnet program for this at one of the high schools and work out a deal with one of the state schools to let kids do their lower division business coursework in high school and go directly into an MBA program in college. Same with law. Seriously, wouldn't parents around here prefer kids get an MBA or JD over an engineering or science degree, particularly now that a college education costs so much?
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