Course selection feedback
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Anonymous
Got it! Thanks for pointing it out! Like I said I am new to it, will ask him to add. It's only a semester and Eco is also a semester, so should be a easy fit |
Anonymous
| Why not take Multivariable after BC? DS’s track: BC 9th, MV 10th, Linear Algebra & Differential Equations 11th, Number Theory 12th. He’ll take Stats as an extra elective in 12th, but it’s not “in line” with the other math classes at his school. |
Anonymous
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Some class choices will be affected by the teacher. Why take a course with a bad teacher ? Why miss a course with an exceptional teacher ?
Some class choices will be affected by a student's changing interests. |
Anonymous
Highly recommend taking AP Physics C junior year after taking Calc BC. Do AP Bio Sophmore year if that's an option. |
Anonymous
| No PE or arts required? |
Anonymous
When I discussed with him, Stats is easier so would give him more time in Junior year to focus on College apps, and give a boost to GPA. School does not offer Linear Algebra & Differential Equations, Number Theory. But you got me thinking that if he does MVC in Junior, then he could do a dual enrollment for Linear Algebra & DE in 12th and Stats as an elective. Plus taking a break from calc be more difficult as he may forget some content. Did your DS have to repeat any of his Math classes in college? That is a pretty impressive Math track! |
Anonymous
My bad, I see your DS is still in HS |
Anonymous
Swimming or Tennis and arts/theater. I didn't post it, as they are pretty straightforward. Not sure if he would do it all 4 years or drop it in junior/senior year to make room for additional classes or passion project |
Anonymous
AP Physics C pre-req ""Successful completion of AP Physics I; Concurrent enrollment in Calculus (AP Calculus strongly recommended)" AP Bio is offered only in Junior/Senior, but certainly can check with the school if they can make an exception My thought was that he would take AP Physics 1 in freshman year, AP Physics C would be good continuation for Sophomore, given his concurrent enrollment in Calc BC in Sophomore year. He would already have some exposure to Calc via enrichment class in 9th grade, so he wouldn't be totally unfamiliar with Calc in 10th |
Anonymous
Correct, DS is a high school junior. Why would your son be focusing on college apps that year? DS is just researching schools at this point, and will wait until summer to start writing essays and such. |
Anonymous
Absolutely! Like I mentioned in one of the posts, it's likely a tentative plan that the school asks the students to think through in order to make sure they are not missing out on any pre-req. Nothing is set in stone. My kiddo has been pretty consistent in his career of choice since elementary (CS is his chosen path). He has taken a number of CS/Math classes outside of school as an enrichment (not for credit) to understand his interests and capabilities better. As far as classes with exceptional teachers, there has been so much turnover in the teachers due to pandemic, even in middle school, the kids didn't know till a week before school started which teacher they would be assigned to. I don't think in this tight labor market, public school salaries are much of an incentive for the teachers to continue in their profession. In fact some teachers resigned 2-3 weeks before school started, so kids were without a teacher for first couple of weeks, till the district found a suitable replacement and got them onboarded Plus this is a large public school so some popular subjects are taught by more than one teacher no reliable way to predict which teacher the student will get |
Anonymous
Ah, I got my timelines mixed up, thanks for the suggestions, that makes sense. Yes, taking MVC in junior makes sense and stats in senior + explore Linear Algebra & DE as dual enrollment in senior |
Anonymous
I seriously doubt that your kid will have issues going from pre-calc to BC based on what you've posted so far. Lots of kids do it in our school system, and most are probably not as good at math as your child. |
Anonymous
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One thing to keep in mind is that the tentative course plan is one thing, but the actual schedule is another. It’s rare that a student taking one or more classes that aren’t standard for their grade won’t end up with a scheduling conflict along the way. Mine had to reverse the order of their school’s standard science progression to accommodate state-required courses and eventually miss an AP science course they were hoping to take because multiple classes were only offered 1x/day at the same time. This was at a 2000+ student public HS.
So your plan is fine, but be open to the fact that the schedule might not make it possible. If you can’t even make year 1 work according to his plan, you’ll need to have a realistic talk with guidance counselors about sophomore year and beyond. Some kids do dual enrollment once they hit conflicts junior/senior year, but that can eat up an entire afternoon and take extracurriculars off the table as well as affect weighted GPA. |
Anonymous
Thanks for the perspective. Yes, he does well in Math, his Alg 2 grade average fluctuates between 98-100 so far this school year |