NationStates Jolt Archive

When I was in 6th grade, my last year of elementary school, everyone and my teacher kept talking about how the jump to middle-school will be very high and the workload would increase.

So I went to middle-school, and I lived through it, got almost all A's in all my classes (Honors Math, Honors History, Honors Science, Honors Language Arts), passed 7th and 8th grade with High Honors.

In middle-school, they kept talking about how the jump to 9th grade would be insane and that the teachers would give us a huge extra workload.

So I went to my freshman year of high school, honors Language Arts and honors Biology (They don't offer Honors History in 9th grade) and passed with almost all A's (B in Bio first semester, B in Spanish 2nd semester).

They told us crap and a half about how 10th grade classes like Honors World History, Honors Chemistry, Honors Pre-Calculus, and Honors Language Arts would be insane, that the sophomores of that time were telling us that the research paper (An actual semi-college-level one) we had to do for Honors Chemistry would be halfway impossible to do.

So here I am in my sophomore year. I got my report card back, all A's except for a B in Language Arts. I got a 100% on my research paper, I got 116% on my Honors World History final.

And now they're telling me that taking the AP classes that I want to take (AP Calculus AB, AP Physics B, AP US History, AP Chemistry) and Honors Language Arts 3(11th grade) would be an insane course load for a junior.

Right now, the current juniors are telling me this about their AP classes:
- In AP Physics B, a 60% average gets you an A, since the grading scale is different.
- AP Chemistry is insanely hard...yadda yadda...
- AP US History is very easy...

I'm wondering, has my ego been fed too much for the past few years that I may be doomed to overwork myself or do I have a legitimate feeling that I can certainly manage getting through these AP classes?

School isn't easy comrade, but it's FAR from devastating like they say. I had the same thing, fed crap by a bunch of fear-mongers.

I've been told it's because I'm "gifted"...I just think it's because it's piss-easy, and those who fail do so because they don't give a shit.

They’re just trying to motivate you

School isn't easy comrade. I had the same thing, fed crap by a bunch of fear-mongers.

I've been told it's because I'm gifted...I just think it's because it's piss-easy, and those who fail do so because they don't give a shit.
Exactly, the people who actually don't care are the only ones I see who are actually failing. And rightfully so.

When I was in 6th grade, my last year of elementary school, everyone and my teacher kept talking about how the jump to middle-school will be very high and the workload would increase.

So I went to middle-school, and I lived through it, got almost all A's in all my classes (Honors Math, Honors History, Honors Science, Honors Language Arts), passed 7th and 8th grade with High Honors.

In middle-school, they kept talking about how the jump to 9th grade would be insane and that the teachers would give us a huge extra workload.

So I went to my freshman year of high school, honors Language Arts and honors Biology (They don't offer Honors History in 9th grade) and passed with almost all A's (B in Bio first semester, B in Spanish 2nd semester).

They told us crap and a half about how 10th grade classes like Honors World History, Honors Chemistry, Honors Pre-Calculus, and Honors Language Arts would be insane, that the sophomores of that time were telling us that the research paper (An actual semi-college-level one) we had to do for Honors Chemistry would be halfway impossible to do.

So here I am in my sophomore year. I got my report card back, all A's except for a B in Language Arts. I got a 100% on my research paper, I got 116% on my Honors World History final.

And now they're telling me that taking the AP classes that I want to take (AP Calculus AB, AP Physics B, AP US History, AP Chemistry) and Honors Language Arts 3(11th grade) would be an insane course load for a junior.

Right now, the current juniors are telling me this about their AP classes:
- In AP Physics B, a 60% average gets you an A, since the grading scale is different.
- AP Chemistry is insanely hard...yadda yadda...
- AP US History is very easy...

I'm wondering, has my ego been fed too much for the past few years that I may be doomed to overwork myself or do I have a legitimate feeling that I can certainly manage getting through these AP classes?
I personally found AP History to be really hard, particularly combined with AP Bio, Honors English, and Honors Pre Calc (known as the suicide schedule), but it was because the teachers that we had were the most challenging (also the best) teachers in the school. It is alot of work, but hell, I lived. And I was a slacker.

if you overwork yourself, drop a class. But it seems like you do well with work loads. Junior year is typically the hardest.

The only time taking a whole ton of AP classes becomes hard is if you work on the side too.

I took 5 APs my senior year and still got the same good grades, but it was "insanely hard." Working some 25 hours a week and totally slacking didnt help, but to each his own.

Easy and hard are completely objective. Iam sure it will be easy for you, because quite frankly that whole "extra work load" is a crock of shit. In an AP class, which Iam in several right now(AP Physics, AP Comp Sci, AP Us Hist, AP Us Govt And Pol ect), its not about having more work,infact Ive found that there is actually LESS work, its just that there is more expected of you from the work you do get. So if your able to write well then youll be fine. Iam a Junior and Iam in 5 AP classes and its very easy to manage.

I'm guessing it's just that you're smarter than they are, and/or they like to whine. Always realise that you're not necessarily competing against an ideal of knowledge, but against your peers. If your peers find their current classes hard, then next year, they'll find the new ones even harder. If you find your classes easy, sure, they may be harder next year, but maybe it'd be better to say "not quite as easy."

They’re just trying to motivate you

I agree with Tremerica. My anatomy&physiology teacher scared the bejesus out of us.. told us how hard our first exam would be.. blah blah blah. I studied my *ss off.. and then, lo and behold, the test was pretty darn easy compared to what I'd prepared for. I think it's a way for teachers to scare ("motivate") their students. Wait 'til college though.. things do actually get tougher.. well...

Hmm, okay, so basically it's a mixture of students who aren't as good and teachers with lower expectations of the students they teach and are trying to motivate them.

They’re just trying to motivate you

In my opinion, there is "motivating"...and then there is "scaring the living shit out of someone that eventually results in an ulcer all for nothing because it's not very hard".

But that's just my opinion.

I got 116% on my Honors World History final.


I question the legitimacy of any academic institution that gives peoples scores of 116% per cent given the intrinsic meaning of "per cent".

AP classes are not easy. Rather, if your AP class is easy, you either know the material VERY VERY well or you're going to get a 2 on the exam. Our school works our kids to death, but they mostly get 4-5s. It's generaly considered suicide to take more then 4 APs in a year (out of 7 periods), however at some other schools, kids take more then 4 without a second thought...and get 1s, 2s, and 3s.

I think this whole thread is self-masturbation.

I think this whole thread is self-masturbation.

Is there another kind of masturbation?

Sica']Is there another kind of masturbation?
Yes.

The only time taking a whole ton of AP classes becomes hard is if you work on the side too.

I took 5 APs my senior year and still got the same good grades, but it was "insanely hard." Working some 25 hours a week and totally slacking didnt help, but to each his own.
Yeah, and adding to the 25 hours of work (or 35, in my case) being in four school organizations, at least 10 hours of community service a week, time to practice my instrument and taking time out for health care.....then add to that the fact that I was actually in IB, not AP, and you have the reason behind my senior year decision to drop IB, get out of my crappy job, and party all the goddamn time.

Yeah....high school's only hard if you don't know how to manage your time.

Sica']Is there another kind of masturbation?
Mutual, do it with a friend.

And now they're telling me that taking the AP classes that I want to take (AP Calculus AB, AP Physics B, AP US History, AP Chemistry) and Honors Language Arts 3(11th grade) would be an insane course load for a junior.
What the hell?! You're allowed to take AP Calc and Physics as a Jr where you go to school? I have to wait until senior year to take those. And if you think AB calc is bad, BC Calc is the devil incarnate if you take it (w00t I'm taking it next yr).
Poor me, I'm only taking 2 AP courses this year (US History and Brit Lit). I get to up that to four next yr (BC Calc, French, Econ, World Lit). :p

Add this to a year-round committment to things like the paper, volunteer work, and sports, I'm screwed :D

I'm wondering, has my ego been fed too much for the past few years that I may be doomed to overwork myself or do I have a legitimate feeling that I can certainly manage getting through these AP classes?
Just face it, dude. You're smart.

they told me pretty much every year that "next year school will be much harder and you'll have to work at it". all the way up to grad school. i'm still waiting for it.

What the hell?! You're allowed to take AP Calc and Physics as a Jr where you go to school? I have to wait until senior year to take those. And if you think AB calc is bad, BC Calc is the devil incarnate if you take it (w00t I'm taking it next yr).
Poor me, I'm only taking 2 AP courses this year (US History and Brit Lit). I get to up that to four next yr (BC Calc, French, Econ, World Lit). :p

Add this to a year-round committment to things like the paper, volunteer work, and sports, I'm screwed :D
We have kids who were in calc BC in their FRESHMAN year and are in Calc III+ now.

In my opinion, there is "motivating"...and then there is "scaring the living shit out of someone that eventually results in an ulcer all for nothing because it's not very hard".

But that's just my opinion.
I agree.

My year had coursework deadlines for last Friday that were made out to be the be-all and end-all of everything. Everyone I know has been insanely stressed out, thinking that if they don't get it done their GCSE grade will be doomed.

I've had extensions on my coursework for health reasons and all the teachers have been incredibly accomodating and flexible because we have months until it has to be done and they only wanted it in to mark over the break.

It's crazy and totally counter-effective. People become stressed, disheartened and I know many who just gave up on work because they couldn't deal with it. Plus, resentment grows against the school. And coursework deadlines become less strict after students realise teachers lie about their importance.

We also get, every year, the talk about how important this year is - how this year is the most important year. It's just become a joke between me and my friend where, whenever we hear this speech, we start laughing.

You're forgetting that you're growing at the same time.

When I was in the third grade, I had to write a three page report on turtles (I LIKE turtles, lay off). I couldn't believe that anyone wrote three pages, even on such an interesting topic as turtles. It took me forever to finish it and it scared me when my teacher said that in 6th grade, they did three page papers all the time (and NOT on turtles).

By the time I hit junior high, three page papers, on turtles or no, were so common that they were a breeze. It was the dreaded 5 page papers that were killers.

By senior year in high school, I was quaking at a 10 page research paper I had to do for English, and worried when I was told this was normal for college. But 5 pages wasn't hard at all.

My final senior year in college I had to do a 20 page report for a capstone English class and I was REALLY wishing it was just a normal 10 page paper. I could whip one of those out in a night.

Then in graduate school I was faced with one page papers; which were really hard because I had to stop writing, but I didn't have any problem turning in 25pages for a simple book report.

See, you grow at the same time and your capasity for work grows along with you.

Still wished that all I had to do was a simple 3 page report on turtles though.

I did nothing outside of football and wrestling in high school. I never applied myself and never even paid attention in class. Finished with a B+ and a 1220 SAT.

The kids who worked through AP classes ended up going to the same school or worse than me. There were the few who went to legitimate colleges.

You're forgetting that you're growing at the same time.

When I was in the third grade, I had to write a three page report on turtles (I LIKE turtles, lay off). I couldn't believe that anyone wrote three pages, even on such an interesting topic as turtles. It took me forever to finish it and it scared me when my teacher said that in 6th grade, they did three page papers all the time (and NOT on turtles).

By the time I hit junior high, three page papers, on turtles or no, were so common that they were a breeze. It was the dreaded 5 page papers that were killers.

By senior year in high school, I was quaking at a 10 page research paper I had to do for English, and worried when I was told this was normal for college. But 5 pages wasn't hard at all.

My final senior year in college I had to do a 20 page report for a capstone English class and I was REALLY wishing it was just a normal 10 page paper. I could whip one of those out in a night.

Then in graduate school I was faced with one page papers; which were really hard because I had to stop writing, but I didn't have any problem turning in 25pages for a simple book report.

See, you grow at the same time and your capasity for work grows along with you.

Still wished that all I had to do was a simple 3 page report on turtles though.
*nods* you always think you've got it so bad... but it just gets "worse"
but as it gets worse your capacity for dealing with it grows - thats the point of doing the work.

similar things here - once i balked at doing a 3 page essay for homework in a week... my perspective changed after doing an 80 page whopper (over 8 months admittedly) for a-level economics (and got 96% for IIRC :D)
uni became a case of knocking three or 4 pieces of coursework/essays out in a night (tended to be about 10 pages or so... no longer such good grades though :()

but all in all it just teaches you how to work - whats important (and how to decide and plan that), how to research efficiently, shortcuts, things like that...

Depending on the teacher, AP classes can be really hard. I had a really hard time in AP chemistry and from my friends I have heard that AP World History is comparable to stress-suicide. Thease classes tend to be really different than honors classes. On the other hand, you might just be really smart. If that is the case, be quiet; you sound really obnoxious.

Don't let them scare you. I made the mistake of paying attention to the people who were telling me how hard all the classes I signed up for, which made me drop a couple of the APs and take a comparitively light workload.
I slept through most of school, never did any homework, never paid attention, never gave a shit, and still had a 3.6 from my "difficult" classwork.

Depending on the teacher, AP classes can be really hard. I had a really hard time in AP chemistry and from my friends I have heard that AP World History is comprable to stress-suicide. Thease classes tend to be really diffrent than honors classes. On the other hand, you might just be really smart. If that is the case, be quiet; you sound really obnoxious.
So, I take it you weren't in AP English? ;)

Simonist']So, I take it you weren't in AP English? ;)
Sorry about that. I should of caught that. My bad.

I'm actually in AP Lit and am currently hating James Joyce's guts.

Sorry about that. I should of caught that. My bad.

I'm actually in AP Lit and am currently hating James Joyce's guts.
Eugh. Joyce. Thank God we only touched on Joyce for two weeks when I had to do that shit.

they told me pretty much every year that "next year school will be much harder and you'll have to work at it". all the way up to grad school. i'm still waiting for it.
Same here.

Simonist']Eugh. Joyce. Thank God we only touched on Joyce for two weeks when I had to do that shit.

We're reading Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It is so hard to pay attention when reading that book. After the first paragraph i slip into this reading stupor so all I get is this.

lug...lug...lug...lug...Parnell,...lug...lug...blah..blah..Dante...wha..wha..Damn Catholics...

1)Teachers always try to scare you into working harder in their class by making it seem like you need to prepare for the next year's course the is supposedly so much harder.

2)The difficulty with taking alot of AP classes is time management.
-AP U.S. is really easy but since your covering so much History you have to do a lot of at home study. Because of this, most of my class is falling due to procrastination.
-I've don't have the option of taking the other classes, but my friend at other school takes them. She does pretty well, but she spends maybe 3-5 hours on homework a day.

Well, if you study and work hard no worries. If your a slacker, like most of us are, your pretty screwed. AP English is no worries, if I can skate by with an A i'm pretty sure you can. AP US is all memorization nothing to bad, just time consuming. Chem killed though, had no clue what was going on. But half the time I was goofing off, so, it pretty much depends how much you pay attention and study. Ha! Who would have thought teachers were right. :P

I'm wondering, has my ego been fed too much for the past few years that I may be doomed to overwork myself or do I have a legitimate feeling that I can certainly manage getting through these AP classes?
Frankly, I'm surprised that they haven't jumped you a grade or two. Don't they do that any more?

I seriously doubt that you'll have any problems, no matter what courses you take. Go for it!

i dont agree with the current grading system, they grade on how people do their homework, or if they do their homework. homework isnt an essential part of learning for everyone. a retard could take a class, just do the homework and pass in some classes.

Frankly, I'm surprised that they haven't jumped you a grade or two. Don't they do that any more?

I seriously doubt that you'll have any problems, no matter what courses you take. Go for it!

in high school, (atleast nowadays, not sure what it was like Wayyyyyyyyyyyy back then ;) ) its has alot to do with credits, and then even after credits some dont like you to leave early. i had a friend finished all credits by end of winter semester junior year, school wouldnt let him graduate yet

they told me pretty much every year that "next year school will be much harder and you'll have to work at it". all the way up to grad school. i'm still waiting for it.

I had a friend like that. He always ruined all the curves in classes I had with him.

I put it in past tense, because he's now in the middle of getting a PhD in applied mathematics, and he seems to have met his match in his dissertation.

Yeah, I'm taking a lot of AP and honor classes and there's nothing hard about them. They just give you a lot more homework.

Yeah, I'm taking a lot of AP and honor classes and there's nothing hard about them. They just give you a lot more homework.

I'd say, it's more "optional outside work". Math is about the only class in which I have consistent homework. The rest of my AP classes are just reading and taking notes especially in my AP US History class for our quizzes (BTW which is what I am doing now).

I'm taking quite a few difficult courses this year. Most peoples' jaw drop when they ask me what i am taking this year. With the exception of English, I should be able to manage 90% in all my accademic classes. For me anyways, the person who knows how hard your classes will be are the nerds that are in the majority of your classes. For example, last year me and my friend played poker during lectures and homeworktime in Chemistry. Our marks were all above 90%. This year, they said they had to work there asses off to get that 90%. Therefore, I know that I should try to limit my poker playing. But that reminds me, I should really start my Chemistry homework....

Exactly, the people who actually don't care are the only ones I see who are actually failing. And rightfully so.

Heh, guilty here. I didn't really care, just did the bare mins to get out. HS was a waste of time anyway.

Public School.

Meh.