What's wrong with this picture?

[pineda]

story in the Houston Chronicle today

Do middle-school kids "know" already what specialized school of instruction they want, or are parents making those decisions for them?

How do these kids get to these schools? Do parents drive them? Does HISD provide the transportation?

What does this say about the "regular" schools that kids must attend if they don't make it into these special "magnet" schools?

Does the district pour money into the magnet programs at the expense of these regular schools?

[GhostDog]

ok- i grew up in pasadena school district.

i went to pasadena high school for 3 years.

i had considered transferring to HSPVA the performing arts high school after junior high but did not.

i decided to transfer to HSPVA for my final year in HS.

i applied.

i auditioned.

i was accepted.

while i lived in Pasadena, i was able to catch an HISD school bus at an elementary school right near the border of pasadena and houston (paterson elem in meadowbrook).

i made my own decision to start my music in 6th grade and despite my folks carting me to take music lessons everything i did was on my own via my own motivation.

i was not afforded the best instruction nor had the best equipment to work with.

also when I auditioned, it was late in the year and i was told at the time that there was only 1 spot left in the school between all the competiting disciplines and there were several hundred other qualified candidates on the waiting list to get in.

but i got in.

so essentially i experienced both regular school education and magnet school education...

fire away if you have any further questions.