Yuppie Nomad
This is a blog dismissing my magnet high school as too tough. I think that’s hardly the problem in this often mediocre world. Parents, let your kids know it’s ok to strive, not just fail. Did you not watch the Incredibles??
This is the comment I posted to the blog:
I feel like we are mixing three distinct points: Should TJ have a 3.0 cut-off policy? Should Matt Nuti be an exception? Should TJ exist?
I don’t agree with the 3.0 policy in principle. On a curve from A to F, it wouldn’t make sense. But TJ, like all schools nationwide, has grade inflation. One of the school’s main functions is as a college preparatory program. If it didn’t have grade inflation, it would fail in this regard by putting its students at a disadvantage come college admissions time.
Regarding Matt Nuti, neither author (Fisher or Matthews) has given me enough information to make a decent assessment of him as a student. As a TJ grad, I do agree that the classes Matt did well in are easy. As for the extracurriculars, to be a starting lineman on the football team, being 200lbs will do it. Maybe he is a great MUN rep. The point is though no school has grades that will reflect these things. What you are thinking of is an alternative style school, which TJ is not. Seems like it has a standard, like all schools, but higher. Which seems reasonable to me as a governor’s school. Should there be exceptions to the rule? Probably. But should Matt Nuti be one? Was he trying to do better in his classes? Was he reaching out for help? [BTW, I don’t think this is the teacher’s responsibility, though I find it hard to believe that they would not offer because this was the norm in my day.] Was he really meant to be a plus 3.0 student when he had a 2.8 GPA previously (as did his brother)?
Should TJ exist? I am one vote for yes. I went there as a geeky, head-in-books kid and came out confident and ready to take on the world. Not just among math and science geniuses, but people talented in loads of different ways, from drama to music to art. Me and most of my classmates were from very middle class backgrounds. While I probably would have ended up in a good university at my local FCPS school, I learned how wonderful it is to strive. I made friends who 10 years later, I’m still great friends with and who I see taking on great leadership roles in the world. We are not the elitists you think of, we were kids who found a home.
