<p>Iglooo- What I tell my kids that if at all possible to not limit their options. By not taking a Life Science your D is risking limiting her college choices. She should clearly understand that. How about taking Bio over the summer at a community college. She can get it out of the way in 6 weeks.</p>
<p>Isn’t this a ongoing discussion most parents have with their children? My math-oriented son just asked me yesterday why he has to spend the next few weeks analyzing Victorian poetry. He finds it extremely tedious and quite frankly, stupid. I think it’s good for him because it forces him to see the world in a less concrete way. My daughter can’t imagine when she’ll ever use calculus after high school, but I know later in life, she’ll have a good enough understanding of math to actually understand her bank statements so that she doesn’t get snookered by a Madoff type. I tell both of them that it is important that they be well-educated - which means having a broad understanding of how the world works, not just a narrow focus in a particular area. Most kids would rather only take their favorite classes, but the discipline required of a challenging subject is also a good lesson. In most professions, we find that there are aspects to our jobs that we hate, but we do anyway. A difficult class in a challenging subject is not the end of the world.</p>
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<p>That’s probably why taking bio is a good idea. Learning is to challenge oneself. As long as the kid is intelligent, the course should not be a problem at all.</p>
<p>I agree with gourmetmom’s and mom60’s points about not limiting options.</p>
<p>In general, I think there has to be a very good reason not to take 4 years of all subject areas in high school. High school is the time to take a difficult class for the first time. If the student winds up taking the subject or a peripheral subject in college for the first time it, will be much more difficult and most of the college students will have already taken a base course in high school.</p>
<p>mom60 - I agree. The problem we have is that my D’s hs science courses are two years long. Taking all three would mean 6 years of science or two sciences for three years. It seems a bit absurd unless the kid is a hard core engineering type. I say this as a physicist.</p>
<p>Goumetmom - I don’t see connection between calculus and Madoff. Taking humanities would be more helpful in that regard imo. I think we learn subjects to grow up intellectually.</p>
<p>OK, you all are really making me anxious. My dd (also class of 2012) is a student at a highly selective math and science high school. She placed (i.e., tested) out of the mandatory first biology course and took a biology elective last semester. She really doesn’t like biology, and says she is done with biology. Generally, courses at this school are considered “all AP” or “college level” and compact a year of a high school science course into a semester. (The mandatory Bio, Chem and Physics courses are all 1 semester). There are no courses labeled “AP” but the students know there are certain courses that will prepare for an AP exam.</p>
<p>So isn’t that enough Bio? She’ll have 5 semesters of chemistry (and an AP exam Junior year) and 3 semesters of physics (AP exam senior year) and a total of 10 semesters of science total. </p>
<p>Please tell me I’m just being silly. I’m actually less worried about highly schools than the “bean counting” ones. I’m assuming that unless something really bad happens to her grades, her test scores, transcripts and reputation of her school with get her application read at the most selective schools.</p>
<p>Applying to college is competitive enough; why give an Adcom a reason not to look at your kid?</p>
<p>There’s also the grades factor. She’s likely to not get as good a grade in an upper level elective in which she’s not interested in, and she’s likely to resent not getting to take another math course of interest.</p>
<p>I have D2transcript in hand on my way down to Mexico to find an international school to put her in for next 2 years. Luckily two schools I am interested all know her currrent school well. Hopefully it would mean she could be placed in the right track.</p>
<p>Good luck, oldfort!</p>
<p>IJustDrive – </p>
<p>Is the course that your daughter placed out of on her transcript?
Did she have biology as a freshman at her prior high school?</p>
<p>Nope and nope, but I can document the bio course (taken as an 8th grader). And she does have this Junior/Senior level bio elective on her transcript.</p>
<p>I would guess that college admissions people would be pretty familiar with your school. It’s in the school info, I think, that bio is required unless you place out of it. (If I’m guessing right, my daughter has several friends there.)</p>
<p>My daughter actually took Bio in 7th grade, but the way our high school does it, it still appears on her high school transcript. She’s taking AP Bio now, though, and will still have to take 1 year of biology when (hopefully!) she starts our state science & math school next year. She’s planning on Biochem and Genetics making up her bio there.</p>
<p>There is, of course, no link whatsoever between calculus and Bernie Madoff. I was trying to illustrate the importance of a well-rounded education. This was an example that I gave my daughter to help her understand the benefit of taking AP level math classes. Many people go through life avoiding numbers because they are afraid of math. This puts them at a distinct disadvantage. I’ve read several articles by Alexandra Penney, who lost her entire fortune to Madoff. She said that she never looked at her statements from because she didn’t understand them - she just trusted him and she thought that she was making money. I never want my daughter to be in that situation.</p>
<p>IJustDrive: btw… i love your name…
I think it depends on what your kid does. I have a D at UCLA and she is in theatre. She only took Chem and Biology and Anatomy. No AP. </p>
<p>I have a sophomore who wants to major in English and go to an Ivy. She knows she has to take 4 years of lab sciences. She has Bio, Chem, AP Chem and will have Physics. But she isn’t doing more because she isn’t a science major. Instead, she has AP English Language, AP English Literature, French 1-V, AP French Language, AP World History, AP US History, AP Government, AP Economics, AP European History or AP Psychology, and four years of Journalism. That reflects her strengths…</p>
<p>Okay, I would like some input from you guys (especially if you have been through all this before). DS’s honors English 2 teacher took him aside yesterday and told him that she wants him to take AP English Language next year. She said that he will NOT get an A in it and may not pass the AP exam but it is an invaluable class and just getting the B in it all year will prepare him for college. My kid (a math/science guy who HATES to read and got an A in English first semester “by the skin of his teeth” (and so far has a solid B in honors English for this quarter) now thinks he will take AP Lang next year along with AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Physics and who knows what else. So what do you guys think, is it better to take the AP English and get a B because of how much he will learn or would he be better off in honors (it will be less intense than this year because this year he is in Gifted/honors English) where he dosen’t have to work as hard or read as much and will probably get an A??? Because he is already wanting to take such hard math and science AP’s (Calculus, Physics and Chem), shouldn’t we make him do honors for history and english so that he is not overwelmed next year???</p>
<p>I just really don’t know.</p>
<p>seilan, was the English teacher aware of everything else on your son’s 11th grade plate when she made her AP Lang recommendation? If she was uninformed, then I’d say disregard it. If she knew, then I’d say it’s time for a conference with the GC. </p>
<p>My S’10 is high-verbal. I wouldn’t persuade him to step out his comfort zone to take a 4th AP in the math/science area. So, I wouldn’t blame you if you felt the same way about the reverse for your high-math kid.</p>
<p>seiclan –</p>
<p>AP English Language should be more relevant to a math/science kid than AP English Lit would be. English Language should be more non-fiction and rhetoric-based stuff.</p>
<p>Ask the teacher what the work load is. Ask what they read this year and how much out of class writing they do. Consider how long it takes for him to write an essay.</p>
<p>Then, ask the same questions about the honors class.</p>
<p>If he likes the stuff they’ll be reading in AP Eng Lang more than the stuff they’ll read in honors English, the AP Eng Lang class will probably feel like less work.</p>
<p>Seiclan -</p>
<p>I’d be wary about any such advice from a teacher. I love it when they know the grade before the kid even takes the class. I’d suggest taking honors English next year and save the AP language for senior year - then, if he gets a 3 or below on the test, it won’t appear on his application. My daughter is in AP English lit - lots of poetry analysis - I’m pretty sure that my math son '12 will hate it, so he’ll save it for his senior year. I wish their school offered AP English language because it would be a better choice for my son.</p>
<p>Good suggestion, Gourmetmom. Although, I would be pleased to know that my child was recommended for such a class. Teachers at this time are trying to fill their seats to ensure that they have a class for that term and are inviting the qualified students. It ultimately rests on your child and you to make that decision. Good luck!</p>