Troy HS in Fullerton

Troy HS is accepting out of district transfers. Students must pass exams and a strong candidate for Science Olympiad. This schools has dominated this nationwide competition in the last decade in the fields of Engineering, Anatomy, and Science such as Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science and etc.

I am a science teacher at Troy HS. It is true that students must take an exam to get into the Troy Tech program as an interdistrict transfer. I used to be one of the coaches for Science Olympiad (before I had kids, which made it harder). The competition to get onto the team is fierce! The kids that make the team are very dedicated to what they do and they work hard. I was able to go to nationals with the team a few times, once when we placed first. It was a lot of fun. It's a great school, but the stress level of the students can be quite high, especially in the honors and AP/IB classes.

[quote author="chilenita"]I am a science teacher at Troy HS. It is true that students must take an exam to get into the Troy Tech program as an interdistrict transfer. I used to be one of the coaches for Science Olympiad (before I had kids, which made it harder). The competition to get onto the team is fierce! The kids that make the team are very dedicated to what they do and they work hard. I was able to go to nationals with the team a few times, once when we placed first. It was a lot of fun. It's a great school, but the stress level of the students can be quite high, especially in the honors and AP/IB classes. [/quote]

My nephew started at Troy HS this year from out of the area. His parents are thinking of taking him out because all he does is school work and doesn't have time for anything else

[quote author="StuffIt"]
[quote author="chilenita"]I am a science teacher at Troy HS. It is true that students must take an exam to get into the Troy Tech program as an interdistrict transfer. I used to be one of the coaches for Science Olympiad (before I had kids, which made it harder). The competition to get onto the team is fierce! The kids that make the team are very dedicated to what they do and they work hard. I was able to go to nationals with the team a few times, once when we placed first. It was a lot of fun. It's a great school, but the stress level of the students can be quite high, especially in the honors and AP/IB classes. [/quote]

My nephew started at Troy HS this year from out of the area. His parents are thinking of taking him out because all he does is school work and doesn't have time for anything else[/quote]

Is your nephew complaining about the study load? Or are the parents being proactive and wanting him to have a more balanced school experience?

[quote author="jvna"]
[quote author="StuffIt"]

My nephew started at Troy HS this year from out of the area. His parents are thinking of taking him out because all he does is school work and doesn't have time for anything else[/quote]

Is your nephew complaining about the study load? Or are the parents being proactive and wanting him to have a more balanced school experience?[/quote]

It's hard finishing a grade level every week.

~ Billy Madison

I don't deny that the study load can be high, but the students also tend to take all of the hardest classes in every subject. When they have 7 AP classes, it leads to a crazy amount of work...similar to taking 7 college classes (which nobody does). It's hard to have a balanced school experience when you have a schedule like that.

[quote author="jvna"]
[quote author="StuffIt"]

My nephew started at Troy HS this year from out of the area. His parents are thinking of taking him out because all he does is school work and doesn't have time for anything else[/quote]

Is your nephew complaining about the study load? Or are the parents being proactive and wanting him to have a more balanced school experience?[/quote]

He does all the work but doesn't have enough time for other activities e.g. Chinese, tennis, music, etc. I believe his parents are going for the more balanced experience though still pushing him

[quote author="StuffIt"]
[quote author="jvna"]

Is your nephew complaining about the study load? Or are the parents being proactive and wanting him to have a more balanced school experience?[/quote]

He does all the work but doesn't have enough time for other activities e.g. Chinese, tennis, music, etc. I believe his parents are going for the more balanced experience though still pushing him[/quote]
Hope they don't push him too hard or he'll have a nervous breakdown by the time they are ready to take the SAT exam.

[quote author="StuffIt"]
[quote author="jvna"]

Is your nephew complaining about the study load? Or are the parents being proactive and wanting him to have a more balanced school experience?[/quote]

He does all the work but doesn't have enough time for other activities e.g. Chinese, tennis, music, etc. I believe his parents are going for the more balanced experience though still pushing him[/quote]

I also believe that a good balanced high school life is better than the hard core academic path. There's something to be said of social development through sports, arts and simply hanging out after school from time to time with friends.

I think a balanced life is better than all academics and pressure. I met a Chinese lady at one of the models at the 2010 collection. We were talking about schools and comparing notes, when she mentioned that too much pressure is no good. She said that one of her Chinese friends has a daughter who excelled at NHS, got into UCLA and had a nervous breakdown. She now just stays at home and doesn't want to do anything.

Also, my neighbor from across the street whose daughter is a first grade at WB elementary asked the teacher whether Kumon would be helpful for her daughter. The teacher told her that it was too much and that a little boy in her class last year peed in his pants because he was worried about the kumon homework waiting for him at home...

I know these are just couple of stories and most kids I am sure can handle the pressure, but it is interesting to find out real life stories on how pressure on kids can affect them negatively...

I agree with kayochan.

I still struggle with why there is so much academics in the primary years. I can understand reading, writing and simple math but some of the stuff my 1st grader does I didn't see until 3rd grade. Maybe the standard of education I had was poor but I also know that I rarely stressed about school or homework.

Can't kids just be kids? It's one of the things I worry about in Irvine... all this pressure to be a top school is double-edged.