DS (11) will be heading off to middle school in August (OT, but how is this happening? Wasn't it just the other day I was posting asking about nursing in public, cloth diapers, etc...LOL).
We just found out yesterday he qualified for a very selective advanced math program that our district offers. At the middle school level It basically involves the following courses
6th grade: take honors 7th grade math (+ some addl work)
7th grade: take honors Algebra I (+ some addl stuff)
8th grade: take honors Geometry
the point of all this is not only accelerated math, but when they get to 9th grade/high school, they can credit for algebra & Geometry and can start 9th grade with Algebra II. Then 10th-grade trig/pre-calc, and 11th grade AP Calculus, etc.
DH & I are both engineers and think this is a big deal. I went to a middle school that did not offer any advanced math whatsoever, so I started HS (9th grade) with just Algebra I. Thus I never got opportunity to take any form of calculus in high school, and was at major disadvantage once I went off to college as an engineering major, in comparison to all other engineering students who had already taken AP Calculus AB, BC, etc. I was literally the only kid I knew in engineering that had never taken any calculus before college, and this was in the mid-1990s. It made for a stressful transition my first year of college.
DH went to an very underserved middle school and high school (historically redlined, mostly minority , poor district) that had limited math classes. Despite that, DH was very into math from an early age and did math competitions etc. He had to fight his way out of crappy schools and into a magnet boarding school for last years of HS. DH commented that he would have killed to be able to have this adv math option that this very-highly rated program our district offers.
Now for the problem: DS doesn't want to do this adv math program. Not because he hates math or anything like that.. but because it would require him to go to a different middle school that what he's zoned for. He wants to go to the middle school most of his friends are going to. That's literally the only reason. He didn't even want to take the placement test for this program...then agreed to do it, pretty much only to check out which other students were also taking it (lol). Over time realized that none of his good friends are considering the program, which solidified his decision.
I am struggling with this. Half of me wants to allow him to make his own decisions; the other half is the frustrated parent seeing him turn down a very good opportunity, that I & DH would have walked over hot coals for. The other part is - I don't think my DS realizes how middle school is so different, that there are literally over 1000 students and the odds of having elem school friends in his classes even at same school is minimal. I get the impression that middle schoolers mainly hang out with the kids that are in the same extra curricular (band, sport, dance, etc). Or maybe they get time to chat at lunch? I have no idea, I didn't go to a typical middle school.
I should note that even if he turns down this program, he could still take honors math etc at the MS he is zoned for, but still wouldn't nearly be as accelerated as this math program at this other MS (No geometry offered at this middle school). He does have the option of doing a "credit by exam" to skip ahead and start with 7th grade math in 6th, but th en by 8th he would need to go off-campus before school starts to take geometry (not an issue; my kid is an early riser).
Would love to hear inputs from middle school/high school parents, especially those who have faced similar dilemmas with their kiddo. I am trying to talk to other parents in same district...though we have been virtual learning for over a year now (and no in-person extra curriculars) and while it has been going very well, very limited opportunity to talk to other parents. I do have some co-workers with slightly older kids who have their kids in this accelerated program (I work with many other engineers), and they all moved mountains to allow their kid to do this program...so it is a very well-regarded program in the district.
also, kudos to anyone who is still reading this!! Hehe.