The TidePod

Welcome back to the 6th episode of the Tidepods 8th season. Today, we will discuss grades vs. learning. Many students and educators feel as though the current American education system prioritizes short-term memory retention for tests and quizzes rather than long-term retention. To learn more about this debate, we spoke with teachers at RM to get their input. 

Currently at RM with the implementation of the new grading, bathroom, phone, and ID policies, many students feel as though they are not being heard by the Administration. Even though outlets such as the SGA try to bridge the gap between students and Administrators, is it enough? We decided to interview students, staff, and SGA Members to get their insight on RM’s current student representation.

With the end of the quarter gone and the start of a new one, in this episode, we sat down to discuss our reflections. From the challenges we faced to the obstacles we persevered through, we gave our recent quarter a final review.

In this episode of the TidePod, we sat down with Mr. Wong, a math teacher at Richard Montgomery, to break down his thoughts on the new grading policy following the end of quarter one.

 From making s’mores to carving pumpkins, in this episode, we’ll be going over the many ways people in our community may celebrate the season. We’ll also be interviewing students at RM about their favorite fall memories and what makes fall such a great time. 

 In this episode, we sat down with the college and career navigator, Mrs. Whitehurst, Counselor Mrs. McKelvey, and student James Luo to discuss the college and career resources that are available to students and how students use and access them.

In this episode of the TidePod, we spoke to students about their goals for the rest of the spring season. The season started in March and includes various sports such as softball, lacrosse, tennis, track, and baseball. From setting new PRs to building stronger team dynamics, students reflect on what drives them and how they’re staying motivated this season. 

In this episode of the TidePod, we spoke with Mr. Taylor and mock trial team members about their current season. The team is split into two groups, defense and prosecution. The two sides alternate competitions as they argue the two sides. The team finished their regular season and is now transitioning to the playoffs. After winning the state championship in 2023, the team looks to make a deep run in their playoff competition to return to the top of the state. 
You can listen to this episode of the TidePod here. For more episodes, check out the TidePod on Spotify and Buzzsprout. 

In this episode of the TidePod, Ria, Ari, Ella, Aditi, and Jakob discuss the current MCPS semester grade rounding system. Introduced in the 2016-2017 school year, the current system functions by students receiving two different letter grades in both quarters of a semester. MCPS will then take the higher letter grade for the overall semester grade. Listen to the group discuss this current semester's grade rounding system and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this policy. At the end of the discussion, we give our opinions on the system's future and provide some ideas for improvement.