How bad is it to not take an accelerated or honors course?

[Anonymous]

Not naming the school because I don't want to get into a school war (and I hope none of you do either) but do any of you just want to say no to the accelerated, honors and AP classes?

My child is in 9th grade and is taking Algebra 2/Trig (honors/accelerated) and is also in a science honors. She plays sports 2 seasons as well a music 1/2 credit that meets twice a week. None of which she wants to give up. She also plays a sport about 7 months out of the year that requires about 1/3 of her weekends year round. Again, not something she wants to give up. She is struggling with some academics. Not really bad grades but mainly B's (and some low ones) with an A in there here and there. She had her first C too. It is a little different than the mostly A's and some high B's from middle school. It stresses her although her Dad and I think she is fine and I am not looking for perfect grades if there is no happiness or sleep. We are not gunning for Ivy league. I want her to find a healthier balance and I asked her is she wanted to do regular Pre-Calc next year and she thinks that is a death wish. Her counselor and math teacher said she can do either and to do what makes her happy. So it isn't like the school is pushing it. I have a feeling it is a friend-based issue that makes her feel like she shouldn't.

Am I the only mom in private who isn't gunning for the hardest classes every year? Kids do go on and graduate in non accelerated, non honors courses, correct? How many AP's are normal in junior and senior year? I feel overwhelmed just looking at the next 3 years and what she wants to do.

Also, do any private kids drop language their junior year to take on more specialized classes like social and physical sciences? There are so many electives she wants to take but 6-7 majors seems excessive.

Thanks in advance

[Anonymous]

You aren't. I'm looking at my DD's schedule for next year (and she sounds similar to yours in terms of sports, etc.) and I think we are only aiming for 1-2 Honors courses, max.

[Anonymous]

It should be child driven. DS graduated with only 1 honors class from 10th grade. He is happy and got into 6 colleges. DD loves to study and will graduate with many honors and AP - still waiting on college acceptances.

[Anonymous]

I agree that balance and happiness are important. Talk to the school and if they think it's fine, there is no issue. Just remember to keep academics as a priority along with sports and music.

[Anonymous]

She is very advanced in math doing Algebra II/Trig as a freshman. Not sure how colleges look at advanced classes for the age/grade but with a non-honors format.

[Anonymous]

Does she know at all what she wants to do in college and career wise? Some things you need to start earlier to make it easier later. Certainly no need to take every ap class but taking some harder classes is a good way to prepare for the college workload especially in a stem field but also the amount of reading and writing for lib art fields.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the course and the kid. I remember taking AP English and AP French in HS and then I took on AP ancient Chinese history (this was the 1980s, East coast). It practically killed me, I only made it half way through the year because it added at least 2 hours to my nightly homework in terms of reading and essays. I also had music practice on top.

So it will depend on how heavy it is. Is it worse to start one and switch out / down, or not try it at all? I think that depends on how you feel about it.

[Anonymous]

You asked if students go on to graduate if they don't take honors/advanced classes? Uh yes, they do.

[Anonymous]

If your DD is getting Bs and Cs you might want to look in a bit more detail as to why beyond just honors/regular classes. Maybe all it is is level, but maybe there's other stuff going on (too much sports/music) or something else.

Not that everyone can get As, but I'd be looking for more consistent performance before spreading her even thinner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your DD is getting Bs and Cs you might want to look in a bit more detail as to why beyond just honors/regular classes. Maybe all it is is level, but maybe there's other stuff going on (too much sports/music) or something else.

Not that everyone can get As, but I'd be looking for more consistent performance before spreading her even thinner.

Do you think every private school kid gets all A's? You have got to be kidding. Getting a B as a freshman in Trig honors is very good. Shame on you to make the OP think there is something wrong with her child.

[Anonymous]

There has to be a balance. DS was approved for all honors and one AP class for next year (10th grade). We are only doing two honors and one AP class....the rest will be regular. It really depends on the kid. DS is not the best at time management and organization, so a full load of honors classes will just create more stress. I know a kid who does the full load of honors classes, but he is gunning for merit scholarships (can't afford college without them). Affording college is not an issue for our family so if there are no scholarships, we will be just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your DD is getting Bs and Cs you might want to look in a bit more detail as to why beyond just honors/regular classes. Maybe all it is is level, but maybe there's other stuff going on (too much sports/music) or something else.

Not that everyone can get As, but I'd be looking for more consistent performance before spreading her even thinner.

Do you think every private school kid gets all A's? You have got to be kidding. Getting a B as a freshman in Trig honors is very good. Shame on you to make the OP think there is something wrong with her child.

New PP here. I don't think for a second the poster was trying to say there was something wrong with the kid. I think they were saying that maybe sports were taking up too much time - and that by adding to the workload, is that going to make all her classes suffer.

I understood this quite easily. Maybe you're having a PMS day or you're hungover or something and completely over-reacting.

[Anonymous]

Assuming your DD will take 4 years of math, she'll take a post-calculus math senior year. That would count as a rigorous math course load, regardless of whether she took the honors or accelerated track. If she's taking linear algebra in high school, kudos to her. Depending on the school, though, there may be differences in the amount of theory that honors or accelerated may cover that would make it easier to keep up in the next year.

There is no real answer across schools about how many AP classes to take junior and senior year. For example, some schools don't offer AP English because they feel they can offer a better English program while pretty much every public school does offer it. Most public start AP classes in 10th grade, and sometimes 9th. The elite privates are very reluctant to do that. There are exceptionally few students at the Big 3 that get straight As and the schools are quite direct in explaining how hard the courses are and how A-s and B+s are good grades. But, most colleges (and high schools) would view As in regular courses as better than Bs or Cs in honors because there are still plenty of A students in the honors track classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on the course and the kid. I remember taking AP English and AP French in HS and then I took on AP ancient Chinese history (this was the 1980s, East coast). It practically killed me, I only made it half way through the year because it added at least 2 hours to my nightly homework in terms of reading and essays. I also had music practice on top.

So it will depend on how heavy it is. Is it worse to start one and switch out / down, or not try it at all? I think that depends on how you feel about it.

There is not AP test in ancient Chinese history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your DD is getting Bs and Cs you might want to look in a bit more detail as to why beyond just honors/regular classes. Maybe all it is is level, but maybe there's other stuff going on (too much sports/music) or something else.

Not that everyone can get As, but I'd be looking for more consistent performance before spreading her even thinner.

Do you think every private school kid gets all A's? You have got to be kidding. Getting a B as a freshman in Trig honors is very good. Shame on you to make the OP think there is something wrong with her child.

New PP here. I don't think for a second the poster was trying to say there was something wrong with the kid. I think they were saying that maybe sports were taking up too much time - and that by adding to the workload, is that going to make all her classes suffer.

I understood this quite easily. Maybe you're having a PMS day or you're hungover or something and completely over-reacting.

Correct - as that poster, that was not my intention. No, not all kids get As, except in Lake Wobegon. But the OP seemed to worry about DD's ability to do the work in honors classes, and I observed that the issue may go beyond honors classes to be one of ability to keep up sufficiently because of other commitments. Of course, OP may be happy to have DD do lots of extracurriculars and have grades suffer.