One of the biggest decisions upon entrance of each grade in high school, particularly Junior year, is the choice whether or not to take AP classes. A mindset is put on us, highschoolers, that in order to get into a college of prestigious and well known rank, AP classes need to fill up our schedule. Why are AP classes so important? Is it because they create a rigorous transcript? Or, Is it because if we spend every minute of our free time studying, we might have a possibility of excelling on the test, which will give us college credits, while we are in high school. The media has focused deeply on whether AP classes truly help kids, or are just a waste of time in NPR's article "AP Classes are one of America's 'Great Frauds', and AJC's AP Classes: Making kids smarter or College Board richer?. It is undeniable that these classes destroy the social lives of those who take them, and an extreme stress creator that don't even have a benefit in the process of education.
We are in high school, why would college level classes be offered anyway? Unless we are super geniuses, it doesn't make sense to be offered college classes while in high school. The whole point of high school academics is to have a strong base of knowledge when in college. We are supposed to be getting prepared FOR college, we aren't in college. Plus, these classes aren't even beneficial. The number of times I hear my fellow students complain about the rigor of AP courses is off the chart. Sure, school is supposed to be challenging (if it wasn't, we wouldn't learn anything), but the fact that 2 SEMESTERS WORTH OF A CHALLENGING CLASS IS JUST TO PREPARE YOU FOR ONE TEST is ridiculous. Shouldn't we be spending the countless hours of preparing for ONE exam periodically building our strength in that course, instead of focusing on ONE test. Why is it that we are graded on the same material that will be on this "final test" (that barely anyone excels in anyway) at the beginning of the year? We, instead, should be periodically learning new information that will help us with our future, instead of being graded on the final exam in the first week of school.
I understand that it is not the teacher's fault, nor the school administration's fault. They need to offer AP courses to be considered "competitive". But what still really pisses me off is that we are tested and graded the same way the "prestigious AP board" will grade us in 8 months, in the first couple weeks of school. This is not an efficient way of teaching, and while few might excel in this ridiculous style of learning, the many sane ones find it difficult.
As Anne Frank said in her diary, " People can tell you to keep your mouth shut, but that doesn't stop you from having your own opinion." The only way for things to change is to share your opinions, so if you agree with me, please continue to inform.
We are in high school, why would college level classes be offered anyway? Unless we are super geniuses, it doesn't make sense to be offered college classes while in high school. The whole point of high school academics is to have a strong base of knowledge when in college. We are supposed to be getting prepared FOR college, we aren't in college. Plus, these classes aren't even beneficial. The number of times I hear my fellow students complain about the rigor of AP courses is off the chart. Sure, school is supposed to be challenging (if it wasn't, we wouldn't learn anything), but the fact that 2 SEMESTERS WORTH OF A CHALLENGING CLASS IS JUST TO PREPARE YOU FOR ONE TEST is ridiculous. Shouldn't we be spending the countless hours of preparing for ONE exam periodically building our strength in that course, instead of focusing on ONE test. Why is it that we are graded on the same material that will be on this "final test" (that barely anyone excels in anyway) at the beginning of the year? We, instead, should be periodically learning new information that will help us with our future, instead of being graded on the final exam in the first week of school.
I understand that it is not the teacher's fault, nor the school administration's fault. They need to offer AP courses to be considered "competitive". But what still really pisses me off is that we are tested and graded the same way the "prestigious AP board" will grade us in 8 months, in the first couple weeks of school. This is not an efficient way of teaching, and while few might excel in this ridiculous style of learning, the many sane ones find it difficult.
As Anne Frank said in her diary, " People can tell you to keep your mouth shut, but that doesn't stop you from having your own opinion." The only way for things to change is to share your opinions, so if you agree with me, please continue to inform.
