A High Bar at a High Cost?

If you are at all interested in public education, particularly magnet education, and can get your hands on a copy of the Washingtonian from September, you should absolutely check out the article entitled "Success Factory: Inside America's Best High School." It profiles Thomas Jefferson High School in rare form, showcasing the good, the bad, and the ugly-the many faces of America's best-rated public school that churns out modern day math and science whizzes by the busload. It makes some excellent points about the dangers of an over-emphasis on performance, and also provides a well-rounded review of both the good and bad of TJ High. Certain to ruffle a few feathers with its remarks on the eager-beaver mentality of TJ's students, who are often so focused on being excellent in all things related to school and extracurriculars that they forget to just "be," it is well worth the read-through. The article encouraged me to question whether "more" and "better" are really always better, and reminded me that there are some skills that can't be taught in the classroom that go far beyond the kind of things that will earn students grant money, scholarships, or the Nobel Peace Prize.

Learn more here: http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/education/13591.html