Should AP be Promoted So Much?

                Take AP! Take AP! Take AP!

                Sound familiar? If you are not familiar with the phrase, it comes from our principal, Dr. W. AP courses are college level classes for high school students to take. As the end of registration week nears, Dr. W is pushing AP courses even more so than usual, trying to get us to sign up for a bunch of hard ass classes we will probably either a) fail or b) drop out of.

                Why take AP? Some say that AP courses help you in college, others say they are completely useless. I think that AP courses can help you with college- but that doesn’t mean they necessarily will help you. For example: I want to become a physician’s assistant in pediatric cardiology, and taking AP Biology and AP Chemistry might actually help me; but AP Art History probably won’t help me out with where I want to go with my college experience.

                Last year I was only in one AP course, but I felt that I was challenged plenty. This year I am taking three, yet my teachers are still telling me to take even more AP courses next year as a senior. It’s as if they have been brainwashed by Dr. W and her AP proposals. I mean really though, you can’t expect us to be AP scholars, be athletes, participate in clubs, be active in the performing arts- all at the same time. As an individual, I feel completely overwhelmed by the pressure that is put on me to excel in everything I do, and to take multiple AP classes at the same time. The stress of high school alone is enough to drive any student crazy- now add three college level classes on top of the mountain of homework I already have and BAM. Instantly no time, no social life, nothing but AP.

                Is it good that Dr. W pushes AP so much? I personally think she overdoes the whole thing- hosting all school assemblies to recognize AP scholars, mentioning AP at every freaking possible moment she can. I just think that if she turned it down a notch she could still promote AP without making students feel as if they are forced into choosing an AP course over a regular curriculum course.

 

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