Magnet school discussion

jbarnes112358 · Post by **jbarnes112358** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:22 pm

Is this the new Gwinnett County school in question? If so, they seem to provide many programs not found in most high schools. They do have a specialty focus on math, science and technology. But, they do seem to want to be good in many areas.

http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps-main ... Technology

quizbowllee · Post by **quizbowllee** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:37 pm

Can I come coach there?

jrbarry · Post by **jrbarry** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:06 am

hat is the school, Dr Barnes.

Their de facto principal (He is Dean of Students now but will be named principal when they move into their new building)is a close personal and professional friend of mine.

I chose NOT to go there this year or in 08-09 because I am not interested in teaching what the SS Dept will teach there for the first two years when they have only freshmen (this coming year) and freshmen and sophomores in 08-09. I'll have to decide if I want to end my career there from 09-10 til 12-13 or whether I will stay back at Brookwood for that time. My decision will be based on, in part, whether I can continue to maintain a certain level of competency on my teams sans the 25-100 kids my school will probably lose to the magnet school.

I do have a new principal who is also a close friend of mine and I have every reason to believe she will support my efforts more than the previous 3 people for whom I have worked.

jbarnes112358 · Post by **jbarnes112358** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:34 am

Well, good luck whatever you choose to do. I am sure that if you go there, this new school will become a quiz bowl power. I am also confident that if you stay where you are, Brookwood will remain one.

mhanna · Post by **mhanna** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 4:53 pm

J.R., I daresay that you have taught these kids and their coaches everything that they know, but not everything that you know. I still give the edge to Brookwood.

jrbarry · Post by **jrbarry** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:54 pm

Mac:

You overstate the "case!" Many would say there is no case. :-)

When I look at our new magnet school and think of what effect it could have on our active quiz bowl programs (like mine), I remember seeing Barry Jordan, who coached for years successfully at Tates Creek HS in Lexington. (Barry was one of the best high school coaches I have ever known.) as he ended his career back in the mid-1990s. He believed that the creation of the magnet program at Dunbar HS limited the competitive success he could have at Tates Creek as many excellent academic-oriented kids chose that magnet program over Tates Creek. He was convinced that it made a difference in his case. I hope it will not in our case.

jbarnes112358 · Post by **jbarnes112358** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:16 pm

The more I peruse the website for the new magnet school, the less I believe the threat will be to quiz bowl in the other county schools. I may be wrong about this, but, it seems that the whole curriculum is centered around math, sci, and tech. Even the humanities are focused in that direction. The school will probably be a magnet for the more teckie of students. Not that such students cannot be good at quiz bowl, just that they are more likely to be into robotics, engineering and the like.

If this school skims all the cream, I would really be surprised, especially with the apparent quality of many of the existing schools. A majority of quiz bowl players seem to be more oriented toward the humanities. As far as I can tell the only foreign languages they offer are Japanese and Chinese, probably due to their current importance in international business and technology. Now I realize that schools with a focus on Sci and Tech can get really good at quiz bowl (e.g., TJ Sci Tech), especially if the school put a priority on it. But, I'm not sure why they would want to do so. It seems more natural for them to put their energy into competitions that are more in line with their mission, of which there are many.

Since their director/principal is a friend of yours perhaps you can inform him of some of these other competitions and how they might be more in line with the school's mission. Perhaps he is so interested in quizbowl because he is more familiar with it.

Just a few thoughts.

BuzzerZen · Post by **BuzzerZen** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:27 pm

I wouldn't make that particular assertion, Dr. Barnes. In my experience at TJ (a science, math, and technology magnet school, for those who don't know), there were plenty of students there who had no particular interest in science, or had whatever interest they may have had beaten out of them. Very few 8th graders know for sure where their academic interests will lie during secondary and baccalaureate education. In TJ's case, there are people who apply because their parents want them to and there are people who apply because they're bright and TJ's full of bright people. Some people will end up taking full advantage of the math and science resources, and some will end up acting in every drama show and avoiding science AP classes.

Relevance? None, really.

jbarnes112358 · Post by **jbarnes112358** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:39 pm

I agree, Evan. They will no doubt have the type of students you describe, just as we have a number of students into science, math, robotics and so forth, in spite of our overarching mission of government and international studies. Your school and ours are strong in all the academic disciplines. My only point is that the new program is likely to leave plenty of quiz bowl talent in the existing schools. Of course, if the new school comes even close to developing as yours has, then all bets are off. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is the top public high school in the nation by many of the usual academic metrics.