New Complaint Challenging TJ Admissions Policy (Arlington, Fairfax: low income, lawyer, middle school)

[farplaner]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

I don't think it's really that difficult to emphasize education as a top priority in a family, it just depends on the values of that family, regardless of racial or economic background. I mean one of the biggest reasons for a lack of emphasis of education in families is because of generational curses that repeat themselves. In other words, if parents didn't take school seriously and weren't push to do so, it is unlikely they will do the same for their children. Of course the odds are always going to be against those individuals who are poor but that doesn't mean it's impossible.

I think you nailed it on the head here.

As for myself since obviously I came from an Asian family (if you cannot tell ), that education has always been very important to me. I was taught that if I am successful in school, I will be successful in life, get a good job, etc. I intend to teach the same beliefs to my children.

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by JEB77

It takes some money to finance the types of extra-curriculars that CaliTerp07's post indicates TJ now expects to see to gain admission.

I think this is an excellent (and overlooked) point that also applies to many elite (and maybe not-so-elite) university admissions.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

This complaint is the most asinine thing I've ever heard of. "Coalition of the Silence"--if you're gonna form a coalition to complain about academic matters, at least make sure the name of the coalition is gramatically correct. But even "Coalition of the Silent" would make no sense, in that they're supposedly against some silent cabal bent on keeping blacks out of TJ.

You'd have to be steeped in FCPS history to appreciate the origins of this name. Years ago, there was an African-American member of the FCPS School Board named Bob Frye, who stated that he viewed one of his primary responsibilities as "listening to the silence." In other words, he wanted to be sensitive to the needs of those who didn't actively participate in School Board matters, as compared to, for example, representatives of the "gifted lobby" in Fairfax, such as Louise Epstein, who regularly sign up to speak at School Board meetings, or those parents who frequently lobby for additional spending on things like foreign language programs in elementary schools and artificial turfs at high school stadiums.

Future School Board members who followed Frye - particularly Stu Gibson and then Tina Hone when she was an at-large member - often claimed that they were "listening to the silence" when they proposed initiatives that many vocal parents strenuously opposed, such as Gibson's successful effort to redistrict hundreds of students to South Lakes HS in Reston beginning in 2008. Needless to say, it's a tricky proposition to claim to represent the needs of those who don't actually make their voices heard: perhaps you are representing the views of those who don't have the time or ability to participate, but then again perhaps you don't really speak for those you claim to represent, or it may be that the "silent majority" in a participatory system should learn to speak up for themselves. However, that's what the name of Tina Hone's organization is intended to reflect. I have no doubt that her grammar is impeccable and undoubtedly better than that of several current and past Board members.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by JEB77

You'd have to be steeped in FCPS history to appreciate the origins of this name. Years ago, there was an African-American member of the FCPS School Board named Bob Frye, who stated that he viewed one of his primary responsibilities as "listening to the silence." In other words, he wanted to be sensitive to the needs of those who didn't actively participate in School Board matters, as compared to, for example, representatives of the "gifted lobby" in Fairfax, such as Louise Epstein, who regularly sign up to speak at School Board meetings, or those parents who frequently request additional spending on foreign language programs in elementary schools or even artificial turfs at high school stadiums.

Future School Board members who followed Frye - particularly Stu Gibson and then Tina Hone when she was an at-large member - often claimed that they were "listening to the silence" when they proposed initiatives that many vocal parents strenuously opposed, such as Gibson's successful effort to redistrict hundreds of students to South Lakes HS in Reston beginning in 2008. Needless to say, it's a tricky proposition to claim to represent the needs of those who don't actually make their voices heard: maybe you don't really speak for those you claim to represent, or perhaps the "silent majority" in a participatory system ought to speak up themselves. But that's what the name of Tina Hone's organization is alluding to - I have no doubt that her grammar is impeccable (and undoubtedly better than that of several current and past Board members).

Well, OK then. Still, that historical context is gonna be lost on everyone who came to FFX after Frye left. And I still think "of the Silent" would've kept that allusion while sounding so much better.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Well, OK then. Still, that historical context is gonna be lost on everyone who came to FFX after Frye left. And I still think "of the Silent" would've kept that allusion while sounding so much better.

I can tell it's sufficiently obscure that it wasn't clear to you. But there are a lot of people in Fairfax who've heard Gibson, Hone and others claim quite recently that they were also "listening to the silence." So I don't think it's lost on everyone. Quite honestly, it's a phrase that often provokes a lot of eye-rolling because the implication is that the people who are "listening to the silence" are, uniquely, acting in the broader public interest, while others who may hold contrary views are just doing the bidding of a vocal minority. It's all part of the battle for the political high ground.

Personally, I keep waiting to see if the name "Symbionese Liberation Army" makes a comeback, but it must cost too much on E-Bay.

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by Forehead

Not a good idea, in my opinion. Being able to pass the tests to get in should be a step that is demanded, not diluted. At the very least, they shouldn't make any remedial class accomodations...either swim or go back to your regular school.

Personal anecdote, I was a fairly lazy student who always tested extremely well. When I was in middle school, anyone who wanted to take the "TJ test" was allowed out of class to give it a shot. Of course, we got the lecture about not wasting time if you didn't really want to go, but getting a bunch of 14 year olds to be logical and responsible about missing class is usually wasted.

I went, I took the test, which at the time, you had to get a perfect score on in order to move on for further consideration. I got a 98, missed one question, and that was the best thing that could have happened to me. My style of learning, which basically consisted of zoning out in class and absorbing just enough to do well on the tests, would have never worked there. I had a few friends who went to TJ, and the work they described would have made my head explode.

I'm disappointed to hear that they're watering the curriculum down or making these sorts of accomodations. The whole point of a magnet school is to attract the brightest and hardest working. Again, cut out the remedial classes, they either swim, or they go back to their neighborhood high school; that's how it should be.

There was never a time when you had to get 100% correct on the TJ test. Never. Your parents may have told you that, but it is not true. On which section of the test did you miss one question? You may have excluded because of your grades in middle school, poor teacher recommendations, or something else. Your rejection was not because you missed one question. The vast majority of the top TJ students missed one or two questions on one part of the test. That includes the 25 a year who score a perfect SAT.

I have known only ONE TJ student who didn't miss any of the questions on either part of the test. That student went on to be captain of the math team, captain of the physics team, with a perfect PSAT score, perfect SAT, and 3 perfect SAT II scores.

I agree that those who can't keep up need to return to their base schools but under the new plan of admitting 1/3 of those who score on the bottom, there are going to be a whole lot of kids who need remedial help. And it didn't even accomplish what they had hoped, to pick up more Black students who didn't do well on the admission tests.

Back when FCPS adopted their ridiculous math program, "Everyday Math", parents and mathematicians warned that students would not be prepared for higher level math. Since then kids on the socio-economic bottom, those who can't afford tutors to teach them math, and don't have parents who can teach them, are completely stuck. They have no way to learn real math because FCPS refuses to teach real math! And we wonder why more Blacks and Hispanics can't make it into TJ. Not exactly a head scratcher! They haven't been taught math! duh.

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by tongyang

I think you nailed it on the head here.

As for myself since obviously I came from an Asian family (if you cannot tell ), that education has always been very important to me. I was taught that if I am successful in school, I will be successful in life, get a good job, etc. I intend to teach the same beliefs to my children.

It's all about the culture, baby!

[kevbros]

Another dirty little secret is how few girls are at TJ. TJ's demographics shouldn't have to match the county's population exactly, but the evidence suggests it's seriously out of whack. Here are the numbers:

http://www.fcps.edu/cco/pr/tj/tjadmissions0412.pdf

[snowdenscold]

Originally Posted by kevbros

Another dirty little secret is how few girls are at TJ. TJ's demographics shouldn't have to match the county's population exactly, but the evidence suggests it's seriously out of whack. Here are the numbers:

http://www.fcps.edu/cco/pr/tj/tjadmissions0412.pdf

Yikes, I guess 80 guys every class are without Homecoming dates.

[chessmom]

I am no expert but usually these type of "scandals" get popularized to put pressure and most of the time the real intention of the argument lays deeper... In my opinion it is a waste of time to change admissions policies at TJ. What needs to be done is to fix the cause of that problem. It is obvious that minorities are neither dumber nor lazier than the majority. Knowing this it is also obvious that there is a problem, and is a big one for tax paying minorities.

How to solve it? Fix the under representation of minorities at the elementary levels. "Giftedness" does not discriminate and happens in every race or origin equally, therefore AAP IV demographics should be very similar to the demographics of the student body. You take subjectiveness out of the process of choosing kids for that program and you found the solution to TJ admission differences.

ChessMom