Comments on: A Graduate’s Case Against Specialized High Schools

By: UWS Mom

UWS Mom — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 01:33:00 +0000

Thanks for your article. As a parent of an eighth grader who will be taking the Specialized High School Test this weekend and myself a graduate of an ivy league school, you have expressed my fears. While schools and many segments of the population are more and more specialized, there will always be room for the independent thinker, an original innovator, a person motivated by passion and real interest in his/her subject….these are the people who succeed because they have listened to their own counsel and set their own course. These are the leaders of tomorrow who our schools have the privilege of educating, regardless of test scores and GPA’s….

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:32:00 +0000

Keep in mind, not everyone who gets into Stuyvesant is the smartest. Intelligence cannot be defined with a mere test score.

The only reason many kids pass the SHSAT is because they’re dedicated, and their families paid big bucks to give them a lot of test prep. Basically, all you have to do on the SHSAT is reverberate information you learned over a prolonged period of time. That’s not being smart.

Regardless, you’re right, Stuy (or specialized high schools for that matter) is not for everyone. I’m pretty sure you can be brighter than your average Stuy kid, and at the same time go to a sub-par or “bad” high school.

Without a doubt, there are smarter kids (albeit not a lot) that go to not-so-good or okay schools than some kids who go to Stuy or a specialized school. It could be because their families couldn’t afford prep, or they thought “what the heck, the NYCDOE is corrupt anyway, it’s only for four years” so they have a different trajectory.

By: Judycornwall

Judycornwall — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 15:34:00 +0000

As the parent of 3 sons who went to Stuyvesant High School I feel compelled to enter the conversation.
There were classes some of our sons hated but did. They are no worse for that.
There were teachers who weren’t so good but the majority were excellent.
The students themselves were the ones who set the standards for competition against one another not the teachers.
There were some helpful parents in the school but a lot of out of control parents.
The administration often did not support the teachers.
The admissions staff would tell students to look past the Ivy’s to other just as excellent schools but many students and parents don’t listen!
It’s the parent’s responsibility to make sure that their children are in schools that are appropriate for them.
The specialized high schools in New York City provide a range of curricula for students and it is the parents job to help their children find the school that fits.
In other words Stuyvesant High School is a specialized high school that provides a wonderful education but it is not right for everyone.

By: Elesnick

Elesnick — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:25:00 +0000

Bravo!