Let's Talk About Calgary High Schools

[pepper24]

Originally Posted by troutman

Choices? We never had any choices.

I really enjoyed that type of childhood. All the kids on my street went to the same schools and played on the same sports teams growing up together. Great friendships. We had no choices and that was the right way.

Now with my kids we have kids going to different schools as parents pursue this unrealistic childhood for their kids. Kids on our street are strangers when the school down the street is just as good. A lot of friendships and fun times being missed out. Let kids be kids.

[Nancy]

Originally Posted by pepper24

I really enjoyed that type of childhood. All the kids on my street went to the same schools and played on the same sports teams growing up together. Great friendships. We had no choices and that was the right way.

Now with my kids we have kids going to different schools as parents pursue this unrealistic childhood for their kids. Kids on our street are strangers when the school down the street is just as good. A lot of friendships and fun times being missed out. Let kids be kids.

Ernest Manning has 1800 students, that's 600 per grade, 20 homerooms of grade 10 alone. It wouldn't matter if all the kids from the street went to the same school, they would be in different classes. I really don't understand the need for mega schools, I think smaller neighborhood high schools would serve most kids needs better.

Same with minor hockey for that matter. They keep amalgamating areas so that they can produce stronger tier 1 teams. Our club has 15 Peewee teams. As a result, kids who play on lower tiers never get to play with friends. They should switch to a quadrant system for Atom and Peewee AA and then break the remaining community associations down to a size where they field 3 teams in community.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Nancy

Ernest Manning has 1800 students, that's 600 per grade, 20 homerooms of grade 10 alone. It wouldn't matter if all the kids from the street went to the same school, they would be in different classes. I really don't understand the need for mega schools, I think smaller neighborhood high schools would serve most kids needs better.

Same with minor hockey for that matter. They keep amalgamating areas so that they can produce stronger tier 1 teams. Our club has 15 Peewee teams. As a result, kids who play on lower tiers never get to play with friends. They should switch to a quadrant system for Atom and Peewee AA and then break the remaining community associations down to a size where they field 3 teams in community.

Well, it depends on your point of view.

I think I understand what you're saying, but really bigger Schools like that are largely more efficient from a logistics standpoint. But less personal.

It becomes an issue of 'Throughput' rather than education. Its an assembly line. But its efficient and it works.

[snootchiebootchies]

Originally Posted by pepper24

I really enjoyed that type of childhood. All the kids on my street went to the same schools and played on the same sports teams growing up together. Great friendships. We had no choices and that was the right way.

Now with my kids we have kids going to different schools as parents pursue this unrealistic childhood for their kids. Kids on our street are strangers when the school down the street is just as good. A lot of friendships and fun times being missed out. Let kids be kids.

I have the opposite view. From Grade 5 to 9, I attended a school on the opposite quadrant from where I lived, requiring a 90 minute commute by school bus everyday. In high school, I attended a school which required a one-hour commute on Calgary Transit. But I still I had a great childhood -- I had friends from my neighbourhood (typically immigrants or first-generational migrants) as well as friends from my school (who were mostly part of the white majority). If I wasn't playing sports in front of my house with my neighbourhood friends, I was playing sports with my school friends at some conveniently located central location. Looking back, I was glad I had such a wide diversity of friendships. I don't think I missed out at all. Granted, it was a different time. Even in Grade 5, my parents would let me travel across the city or to downtown on Calgary Transit all by myself to meet up with one of my school friends. Today, I rarely see kids that young travelling by themselves on city transit. It would be alot of work for parents to chauffeur their kids just to see their friends if they happen to go to a school far away.

[kevman]

Originally Posted by snootchiebootchies

I don't think I missed out at all.

Well except for missing out on all that time you spent sitting on the bus.

[snootchiebootchies]

Originally Posted by kevman

Well except for missing out on all that time you spent sitting on the bus.

It's funny you should say that. My oldest starts kindergarten in the fall and she will have to take a 40 minute school bus ride each way. My wife is also concerned she is "missing out". I told her I enjoyed riding the bus -- you got to hang out with your friends, joke around, show your friends your latest toy or comic book or hand-held video game or sony walkman, etc. I remember in grade 7, a bunch of us started a hockey pool. It was everybody's first hockey pool experience and one kid would always bring the sports section on the bus each morning and we would all pore over the box scores from the night before, and count up our respective points. I have a bunch of memories like that one. I told my wife I looked forward to the bus ride every morning and that it was fun. I can't imagine I was the only one who felt that way.

[theg69]

Originally Posted by Nancy

I have heard a couple of second-hand stories like this, but when I check the stats for Bishop Carroll on provincial exam scores, graduation rates, time to complete diploma, etc., Bishop Carroll does quite well. (Excellent, in fact.) St. Mary's is one of our other options, I don't know what it was like when you went there, but these days it does not look so good. So, it's either Ernest or Carroll for our son.

Unfortunately, St Mary's took a nosedive when it became more of a district school. It used to be a specialty school in that it only took mostly kids who did full IB (like I did). It was the third best academic school in Calgary in 1998 when I graduated behind Western and Churchill. By the time my sister got to High school in 2003, she switched to the Public School system because in terms of pure academics, they were much better.

Only you know your son best, I know in hindsight I would've probably had problems in Carroll based on my group of close friends, but thats because I have always needed a teacher to kick me in the butt when I was behind as a teenager lol

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by pepper24

Now with my kids we have kids going to different schools as parents pursue this unrealistic childhood for their kids. Kids on our street are strangers when the school down the street is just as good. A lot of friendships and fun times being missed out. Let kids be kids.

In my case my son made the decision to go to bishop Carroll on his own. We live in new Brighton, so when he goes, he will have a 40 minute bus ride.

I should also note that my son is one of four or so kids from his school who opted for bishop Carroll, so he made the choice to go there knowing full well a lot of his friends will be going to bishop grand in or o'byrne.

At his age I doubt I would have made that choice as I would have followed my friends

[kevman]

Originally Posted by snootchiebootchies

I told her I enjoyed riding the bus -- you got to hang out with your friends, joke around, show your friends your latest toy or comic book or hand-held video game or sony walkman, etc.

You could have done that anyway - without the bus.

I grew up in an old community where all of my friends lived near the school. After school we'd simply do all the same things but at the playground or someones house a 5 minute walk from school.

The bus might have been "OK" but you can't honestly believe that sitting on a bus for an hour each way is better than not. It's just like the commuter mentality for living in the burbs. People try to convince themselves it's OK to spend all that time in the car that could have been spent doing anything else.

Outside of Carroll for their unique learning situation I can't see a reason why anyone would bus their kids to a school when there is a closer option. It's High School. It doesn't matter.

[jeffporfirio]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

In my case my son made the decision to go to bishop Carroll on his own. We live in new Brighton, so when he goes, he will have a 40 minute bus ride.

I should also note that my son is one of four or so kids from his school who opted for bishop Carroll, so he made the choice to go there knowing full well a lot of his friends will be going to bishop grand in or o'byrne.

At his age I doubt I would have made that choice as I would have followed my friends

Our son also decided on Bishop Carroll for next year, on his own. Only six kids from his jr high class (of over 200) are going there. Most are opting for St Francis, and Notre Dame as a distant second.

Knowing him and his study/work habits, I know its good decision. The only downside, like your son is a 40-50 min train/bus ride (St Francis would have been 20 min bus ride).

We met his TA last week and we were impressed with the organization that is already taking place.

[snootchiebootchies]

Originally Posted by kevman

You could have done that anyway - without the bus.

I grew up in an old community where all of my friends lived near the school. After school we'd simply do all the same things but at the playground or someones house a 5 minute walk from school.

The bus might have been "OK" but you can't honestly believe that sitting on a bus for an hour each way is better than not. It's just like the commuter mentality for living in the burbs. People try to convince themselves it's OK to spend all that time in the car that could have been spent doing anything else.

Outside of Carroll for their unique learning situation I can't see a reason why anyone would bus their kids to a school when there is a closer option. It's High School. It doesn't matter.

Um, it's not the same, unless you happen to walk to school together with 25 of your schoolmates. I used to walk to school in Grade 4. I would start out with my sister and you would encounter one or two schoolmates but only as you got closer to the school. And how does the choice of high school not matter? It has a rather large influence on what you want to pursue in university. Not sure if you are just taking the piss here.

[CliffFletcher]

It isn't just a high school thing. Lots of elementary students take buses or are driven to schools outside their neighbourhood. The problem is that if classmates want to play together away from school, they need parents to drive them, rather than just walk down the street.

Our kids both walk to nearby schools. My daughter's schools is full of kids from the surrounding community. At my son's school, three-quarters of the students are bused or driven from other parts of the city. My son rarely plays with his classmates outside of school. My daughter is out in the neighbourhood playing with hers all the time.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by snootchiebootchies

And how does the choice of high school not matter? It has a rather large influence on what you want to pursue in university.

Is that really true? Outside of a handful of specialized programs, one Calgary high school is much like the other in terms of getting in to university.

Which is a good thing. I'd hate to see Canada become like the US and UK, where parents obsess over getting their kids into the right school.

[kootenayguy9]

I am going to throw a plug in for the high school I teach at. If you know anyone looking for a change from the regular high school experience tell them to check us out. I uploaded some testimonials from some of our current and graduating students.

https://soundcloud.com/alternative-high-school

[kevman]

Originally Posted by snootchiebootchies

Um, it's not the same, unless you happen to walk to school together with 25 of your schoolmates.

I meant instead of sitting on a bus you could simply be playing with those friends at the playground for another hour before going home. Or you could get home earlier and play video games. Or go for a bike ride. Or do your homework. Or get in extra hockey practice. Or do literally anything that isn't sitting on a bus.

And how does the choice of high school not matter? It has a rather large influence on what you want to pursue in university. Not sure if you are just taking the piss here.

Not taking the piss out of you. It's High School. By the time you go to University your High School or High School marks have no bearing. To be honest I'd argue that for most people your University or University marks don't matter much either. Cliff's right, this isn't the US. We have a totally satisfactory public system full of schools teaching the same curriculum where your kids will do just fine at any of them.

But then again I'm a guy that chose to go to Queen Elizabeth instead of Branton because of a climbing wall. Seemed like a great idea when I was 11.

[snootchiebootchies]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Is that really true? Outside of a handful of specialized programs, one Calgary high school is much like the other in terms of getting in to university.

Which is a good thing. I'd hate to see Canada become like the US and UK, where parents obsess over getting their kids into the right school.

Well, maybe things have changed. When I was in junior high school in the mid-80s, there was a common belief that if you wanted to compete in the universities out east, especially in math or engineering or computer science, enrolling in the IB program was going to be immensely helpful because students in Ontario benefited from having an extra year of school (Grade 13). And when I got to Waterloo, I definitely appreciated the fact I had taken IB calculus because the kids in Ontario were clearly more advanced in math than an average student in Alberta with Math 30. But I know Grade 13 in Ontario was eliminated in 2003 so maybe school curriculums across the country have become more uniform since then. I do not have kids anywhere near high school age so I haven't done any research but I thought high school curriculums have become more customized since the 80s and 90s, not less. For example, I know Ernest Manning High School offer specialty courses on "pre-engineering" and that the courses are tailored to kids who want to get into engineering in university. I thought there were other alternative high school programs available as well.

[FireGilbert]

Originally Posted by snootchiebootchies

Well, maybe things have changed. When I was in junior high school in the mid-80s, there was a common belief that if you wanted to compete in the universities out east, especially in math or engineering or computer science, enrolling in the IB program was going to be immensely helpful because students in Ontario benefited from having an extra year of school (Grade 13). And when I got to Waterloo, I definitely appreciated the fact I had taken IB calculus because the kids in Ontario were clearly more advanced in math than an average student in Alberta with Math 30. But I know Grade 13 in Ontario was eliminated in 2003 so maybe school curriculums across the country have become more uniform since then. I do not have kids anywhere near high school age so I haven't done any research but I thought high school curriculums have become more customized since the 80s and 90s, not less. For example, I know Ernest Manning High School offer specialty courses on "pre-engineering" and that the courses are tailored to kids who want to get into engineering in university. I thought there were other alternative high school programs available as well.

I thought the only benefit of IB was if you wanted to go to an American school because the exams were an SAT equivalent?

My experience graduating in 2001 was that for being accepted into a Canadian engineering school the high school you attended didn't matter, it was all about taking the right courses and getting good grades. I attended the closest high school (Beaverbrook), dropped out of the AP program in grade 10, and had no problem getting into U of C. I couldn't get into Waterloo or even U of A but it wasn't because of my school it was because I was a slacker and my marks weren't high enough.