Angela and Elana recently argued that Advanced Placement (AP) classes aren’t for everyone. A schedule chock-full of AP classes, they say, can be too much, too soon, for some high school students.
I agree. However, even if high school students don’t choose the exact same path I followed – seven college-level classes in two years – they can still benefit from as little as one AP class, taken any time during high school.
Students enrolled in just one AP class would not be excessively stressed out. Instead, they would begin a gentle, gradual transition to college-level work, which requires deeper analytical skills, a faster reading pace and increased independence. As a result of this early exposure, students would not feel overly apprehensive and frustrated as college freshmen.
In an ideal world, we could immediately correct other, deeper issues that cause lack of student motivation and preparedness for college. We could address faulty parenting, lack of adequate public school funding, and huge class sizes.
But for now, the easiest and most immediate solution is a single AP class.
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