Who here thinks that TAMS kids should be allowed to compete in UIL? They arnt private, and they would be restricted by the 4 man team rule. I really dont think that they would make too much of a difference in the state standings. I would just feel sorry for their district companions. Then again, it would be just like the A&M UIL team. Since A&M can do it, I think TAMS should be allowed to do it as well.
Let's start a collection of reasons why we think TAMS should be able to participate in UIL.
1) The argument that the BEST 400 kids in mathematics and science go to TAMS every year isn't exactly true. Many of my friends in Paschal and Dunbar, and Azle, do not want to go to tams because of the two-year transfer thing. They think it'll hurt their chances to get into a good college.
2) There are many UIL teams out there that are powerhouses and have great, almost impossible to beat math and science teams. Look at Azle, PSJA, A&M Consolidated, Klein, and all the others. Apparently some math geniuses like Aaron Goldsmith (and yes, he is a math genius) don 't see the need to go to TAMS.
3) In the TAMS basic curriculum, pre-cal is taken as a junior and calculus is taken as a senior. Many other schools have calculus as a sophomore or junior. My friend Ravi, from Paschal, is taking BC Cal next year as a sophomore, and so am I.
4) I don't think many TAMS kids would be that enthusiastic about UIL. Most of them would probably have other things to do; TAMS work sounds very difficult.
5) TAMS isn't a private school; there's no legal reason why TAMS shouldn't be allowed to do it. Mr. White, when I talked to him, said that as long as TAMS wasn't private, then it could do UIL. He didn't really seem sure why they didn't participate.
If TAMS were to have a UIL academic team, what division would it be in? A population of ~400 would put it in 1A or 2A, but college funds would put it in 5A.
It's true that a lot (although I don't know if it's a majority) of the talented math people don't go to TAMS for one reason or another. I believe that all the math courses are taken at a college level, so calculus 1 would be in the spring semester of junior year for anybody who couldn't test past precal.
I agree that interest would be low, especially when there are national or international competitions in just about every UIL event but headline writing. I don't think work would be the problem, though. From what I saw when I was there, the schedule actually makes for less time spent in class and doing homework than in high school.
Given everything you said, TAMS should be able to compete. At this point, I'm beginning to wonder if it's just UNT policy that keeps TAMS students from doing UIL.
i totally agree w/you, sharpobject. it is a difficult task to decide which division TAMS should be in...i think it should be 5A, since ppl over there specialize in math. i think they should be allowed to compete in UIL, i really don't believe TAMS has a disadvantage over anyone. they don't get to see the test b4 anybody, they just have a school full of people who are interested in math. if these people specialize in math, why forbid them from competing? you can't restrict someone who is better than you from competing.
as long as they have no extra advantage over the public school competitors (ie seeing the test beforehand) they ought to be allowed to compete. some public schools may focus on math/sci related subjects, yet we wouldn't exclude them from competing. the only question would be whether or not TAMS is considered private, as it is quite exclusive....
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i was going to conquer the world... but i got distracted by something sparkly!
i really don't have any problem competing with any high school students, either private or public school students, we're all humans with 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 nose, 1 mouth, and 1 brain dedicated to math...the only way to win is not to exclude others, but to improve yourself, why should you be afraid to compete against others if you get a perfect score everytime? instead of spending time trying to rule out others, i think it is wiser to use this time on practicing.
mtrmth88- are you megan? hm...i am in class right now, were you in class too when you posted this?
Wow, I haven't looked at this forum for over a year.
I would have liked to go to TAMS, but my parents weren't ready to let go of me. And, Jeff took my remaining at Azle for granted. Couldn't just leave him right after we get back together from junior high.
Secondly, I see no foundation for my genius status. I need to take an IQ test. I sincerely believe it has dropped because of Azle's domineering prohibition of learning/mental advancement. Hahahaha. My vocabulary has dropped severely in just the past year with my pitiful Engish teacher. Coincidence? No, I think I'm just blaming everything on her. It feels good to be perfect in one's own mind. Not that I ever did. Actually, I quit reading as much and started doing a lot of independent math.
Yeah, I felt like TAMS was just what I needed. Just didn't work out.
