^^^^ agreed @dfbdfb
@dfbdfb I agree in principle. My D15 was on the super competitive track and and took 3 non-honors art/theatre classes during fresh/soph years. After that, she never took anything āfor funā through the rest of HS. Taking those 3 non-honors classes definitely cost her a few spots when class rank came out after junior year. Even with straight Aās she was ranked below the kids with super strategic parents who made sure to avoid any non-honors/AP classes (except the required unit of PE).
With D19, on the other hand, getting her motivated to just show up for school has been a big issue, and that caused us to totally recalibrate. She took choir freshman year and is taking both art and theatre this year. Next year sheās taking more art and a class in criminology. She detests foreign language and is going to do just 2 years of online Latin in the summer to satisfy the bare minimum requirements for college (and that sheās doing grudgingly). Weāre much more focused on the moment now and not hyper focused on college admissions. Weāre trying to make high school itself a positive experience for her.
The challenge we found with AP physics is there was little to no homework. It really required a lot of self driven at home studying but without the homework deliverable to facilitate that happening (and accountability). He ended the year with an A- and I am still amazingly proud he pulled that off. He worked really really hard for it. That said I wish we hadnāt bothered with the AP test. He spent all that energy on the AP Lang as he knew he could do ok there and so really the test fee was a waste.
For S17 it meant a LOT of khan academy. 1st semester was tough but he really knuckled down and stepped up to the plate because he found it interesting.
He couldnāt quite muster the will to take it to that level of effort for AP Calc as he couldnāt see the value and didnāt have the interest.
I love that youāve weighed in and are forcing a more realistic load! It sounds like a very good mix that sets him up for success.
S19ās current lineup looks like
AP Lang
AP Calc AB
APUSH
AP physics 1 or AP chem
AP CS or leadership
Jazz
Wind ensemble
Heās torn on the chem versus physics. Heās loving honors chem so if he does AP makes sense to do it back to back versus taking a break. But heād hoped to take both physics 1 and 2 so if he does chem that canāt happen.
Either way I will not let him do both chem and physics next year, thatās ridiculous. However honors chem is extremely self study driven and heās been wonderful with that (with a teacher who has a reputation of mr being terribly helpful when kids do not understand) so Iām not overly worried as to which one he picks.
But who knows, thatās today. The wish list could change.
I hear you @homerdog . D19ās friends are taking 4-5 APs jonior year in our competitive school. She feels that she is not doing enough if she takes just 3 APs. Currently, she is taking 2 Honors and 2 AP classes with 5 As and 1 B in AP Chem.
The courses she wants to take:
AP Calc BC,
AP Eng Lang,
AP Phy1,
AP Stat
Spanish and
USH.
The courses I am asking her to take:
AP Calc AB,
AP Eng Lang,
Physics,
AP Stat,
Spanish and
USH.
I really wish her to have more time for her yearlong ECs sheās deeply involved in. Our school advises 2 hours homework/prep time per day for all AP Science/AP Math courses. She works 2-3 hours per day for AP Chem and 1 hour for APCS including HW, test prep, lab reports etc. Ughh, why does she think that 3 APs are not enoughā¦
ETA: @eandesmom, we had similar situation with Chem and Physics. Our HS counselor advised to take both, AP Phy1 and AP Phy2 senior year.
@collegeandi How could you take both physics senior year? Our school requires 1 before you can take 2.
Just learned from the GC that S19 wasnāt recommended for any AP classes, but she thinks āmaybe he could take one.ā I guess heās been put on the ānot an applicant for top 3 instate public schoolsā pile even though heāll likely have SATs in the 1400s. Thatās what he gets for not taking all honors classes in 9th and 10th!
It sounds like heās meeting with her as early as Friday, so hopefully heāll stick up for himself a bit (I donāt think he should take three APs, but itās annoying that she thinks one is potentially too much!) Ultimately, he can probably take what he wants, but Iād rather not have to negotiate it or sign special permission forms.
One advantage of not having a top academic kid is that course selection is much more fun. My kid will take the basics - physics, algebra 2, English 3, and world history (juniors take this at our school). All will probably be at the regular level except history which will probably be honors. And then, its completely open. He may take Spanish 4, he may take some business classes, maybe some art, and there are some interesting half year history courses. We donāt pick until March so he hasnāt decided yet but there are so many more options at our school for the kids who arenāt on the AP track.
@me29034 that certainly sounds like more fun. After science/math/english/history/french, S19 only has one spot left and, for him, itās always art since thatās his thing. Wonāt get to take any āfunā history classes or interesting English or writing classes. Our school has so many and I always wonder who gets to take African American History or Creative Writing!
@eh1234 thatās a bit frustrating. He has had honors classes, those generally lead to AP around our school so one at least seems reasonable! Generally our classes are self selecting. S19 has had to be recommended or approved for 2 classes so far (honors bio in 9 and honors chem in 10) but generally kids take what they want. Teachers definitely provide input, as does the GC but ultimately it is up to the kid/parent.
@dfbdfb well, in S19ās case he has 2 āfunā music classes already so his max academic is 5, this would make it 4 (which is like a major NO around CC land lol and hey, itās junior year.aka make it or break it year).
I am only torn in the sense that I know there are academic classes he wants, (that he has been looking forward to, talking about all year) that he will not be able to take if he does leadership. I donāt personally have a preference other than his happiness, itās a plenty rigorous load either way and Iād love it if he won. Heck I love that he is going for it knowing he is unlikely to win (super popular kid who we all adore is one of the competitors). I firmly believe in keeping fun in there and get frustrated when there isnāt room in the schedule. All of our kids have had āless rigorousā course loads to keep music and other arts related classes (theater, photography) etc in their personal mix. If they are penalized for that, so be it.
My kids would have more āfunā options if they didnāt do music, that eats up all the fun spots but thatās ok for the most part, if a bit frustrating at times.
Itās hard. S17 was finally able to take a āfunā non music class his senior year. But he took 3 APās feeling he āhadā to and honestly we really should have opted out of one and really didnāt consider that as a valid option based on tracking and pressure and expectations. Not so much from us per-se but in general if that makes sense. Sometimes though, that is how kids have to/need to learn their limitations.I hope to guide S19 a bit better but boy, he knows what he wants and I just have to smile and nod most of the time!
S19 has picked his schedule for next year and it wasnāt what I would have picked but after discussion we are going with it.
AP Calc BC
AP Chemistry
AP Comp Sci.
English 11 honors
US history honors
Latin 3
Band
Jazz Band
AP Chem and AP Comp Sci. surprised me. I thought heād go with the traditional AP Physics but his plan is to do that senior year. Heās in honorās chem now and likes it so he wants to stick with it. Computer Science surprised me since the class is considered kind of a joke with a lousy teacher so kids have to self teach anyway. He is totally a CS kid who has been self teaching himself for years, knows several different languages and in currently creating his own operating system. But his reasoning is because he is self taught there are large gaps in his knowledge including Java so he wants to try a class.
Iām kind of sad he wonāt do APUSH because he loves history and I personally think that class is great preparation for college but given his other priorities he is totally making the right call.
His grades 1st semester were definitely not up to his abilities or educational goals. There are some issues going on that we are addressing and I canāt really talk about yet. His therapist doesnāt think he has ADHD but has recommended testing for Executive Functioning Disorder. I can find lots of places that test for ADHD but no one who mentions EFD testing. Thereās lots of info out there but itās overwhelming and my head is spinning because this is just one little part of things going for us right now. Iām going to follow up with the therapist, but wholey moley is educational testing expensive.
Apart from any diagnosis/testing I feel like we are in a better place organization wise. I think he is coming to terms with the idea that he needs a little help in scheduling/organization and isnāt resisting as much which is awesome. He is eager to prepare for college and still wants to aim high so we shall see.
@eandesmom , D19 wanted to continue Chemistry followed by AP Chem. She wants to take AP Phy1 and AP Phy2. She has not taken Physics in HS until now. Our school leaves many electives to the students, parents, and the GC. We had a meeting with the GC, the AP Physics teachers, and current AP teachers. They gave us 2 options - taking AP Physics1 without taking Physics or taking Physics her junior year followed by AP Phy1 and AP Phy2 as a senior student. The teachers feel confident that she can take AP Phy1 without Physics.
Vent alert : I am not happy skipping Physics regular entirely(our school does not offer Bio, Chem, Phy honors).
@mom23travelers it seems like a reasonable load especially given everything else, it is still quite rigourous. Have you asked your pediatrician for a testing resource? That may be a place to start. I feel lucky in the sense that weāve never done more than testing at the pediatrician as the costs are truly outrageous. You are actually lucky to have a non AP honors option for 11th, we do not. Itās mainstream or AP, absolutely nothing in the middle.
@collegeandi, I see. That is a different set up than we have. You can either take regular physics or AP Physics 1 and then take AP Physics 2. There is no honors option and AP 1 is required to take AP 2 so you canāt do them at the same time. But you could take regular physics and then take AP 2 but boy, that doesnāt sound like a grand idea to me. S17 who is a B+ ADHD student took AP 1 without any prior physics and managed so I would agree with the teachers assessments on that front.
@collegeandi S17 took AP Physics C (covered mechanics and e&m in 1 year, took both APs) as his first HS physics class in 11th grade. He is a very strong math student, and did well in the class.
Thank you, @eandesmom , and @MA2012 for sharing!
To take AP Phy1 without prior Physics speaks a lot about the studentās admirable work ethic and commitment. It is not easy for sure. Congratulations to your son, @eandesmom!
AP Physics C is a whole new level itself. It takes a deeper understanding of Physics and Math to achieve what your son has achieved, @MA2012. Congratulations!
Your inputs definitely make me revisit my assumptions. Can you share the resources your sons used for preparation of the respective courses? What was the most challenging part? How did they overcome it?
I was concerned about skipping Physics because D19 did not really have exposure to many topics in many courses as she attended the available schools all the time we were travelling. AP Chem this year, made her realize the importance of missed material. She made up for it by losing her sleep last semester. I donāt want to burn her out or keep her from reaching her potential.
Kids at our school started course selection last month. We will get confirmation early in march.
My d19 has zero interest in the music and art classes. She may have liked jewelry making (some friends considered taking it before) but she has metal allergies so she wouldnāt be able to wear anything she made. She said that would take the fun out of it. She was in band and played flute from 4th-9th grade. She loved it until 9th grade and then just felt like it was a chore. The metal allergy issue didnāt help.
Her current electives this year, completely chosen by her, are a tech class and AP Stats. Sheās not crazy about the tech class, partly because of the teacher and partly because she now knows she isnāt excited by computers (itās computer integrated manufacturing). Still was a worthwhile class since she now knows she doesnāt want a computer related college major.
Next yearās electives are Principles of engineering and an extra science (she is doubling up by taking both Honors Physics with Optics and AP Chemistry. It will be interesting to see if she enjoys chemistry as much next year as she has this year. Iām predicting she is really going to like physics a lot.
Her classes sound fun to her. I canāt imagine. I was a kid who took almost all the possible English and Social Studies classes my high school offered. I took the bare minimum math and science and my grades sure reflected my interest.
@collegeandi. He did not prep for AP
physics, other than to have taken BC Calc. He had no problem with AP Chem in 10th grade with no regular HS chem. His school only has AP classes in science and math (his strengths). Schedule is 5-6 classes per trimester. Usually 6th class is art or music (4 required for graduation). Kind of a different schedule than some schools.
@collegeandi at our HS it is not unusual at all for kids to take AP Physics 1 without ever taking Physics. No one takes regular Physics and then AP Physics 1. Alg 2 is the only pre-req for AP Phys 1.
That said, it might have been better for him to take APES as a junior and AP Physics 1 as a senior simply because some of the math used in Physics, he was learning concurrently in pre-calc. He felt the seniors that had already had pre-calc had a leg up on the juniors in the class that were taking it in tandem.
S19 really wanted to take AP Physics 1 as a sophomore and we all counseled him to wait a year for this exact reason. Most kids at our HS take biology or honors bio sophomore year. Junior year would typically be either Chem, Honors Chem, Physics, AP Physics or APES. S19 is a bit lucky in this regard as he tested out of 9th grade science and into honors bio for 9th but thatās not normal, my S17ās path is much more the norm.
Setting the math aside, the biggest challenge for S17 was that there was zero homework. Everything was done in class. Which meant that it was self directed study, not my ADHD kids strong suit. Kahn Academy really got him through first semester, combined with him really just stepping up to the plate and knuckling down. He liked the subject and wanted to understand so that went a long way. As time went on he needed less and less of that and ended up doing relatively well gpa wise, at least for him. He did not do well on the test but given the score distribution Iāll be honest, that didnāt bother me a bit. LOL!
Physics 1 2016.
5 - 4.3%
4- 13.6%
3- 21.3%
2- 30.7%
1- 30.1%
@mom2twogirls I can relate. I did not take math or science after my sophomore year in HS. I had enough to get into the college I wanted and stopped there. Amazingly I still managed to graduate from a highly ranked flagship, on time, despite that.
That said, I really wish I had taken Stats. May still do so. Actually I am mildly considering going back to school these days, which sounds absolutely insane, but may really be something I need to do career wise.
Our school is another school who doesnāt require any physics prior to AP Physics. They also choose AP Calc AB or AP Calc BC, one is not a prerequisite for the other. Itās interesting to see how dofferent schools provide certain classes .
Same here. Kids choose either Physics or AP Physics I. Then, AP Physics I is a prerequisite for AP Physics C. We also have to choose between Calc AB or BC. I canāt understand why any school would do that differently. The material in AB is exactly the same as BC for the first semester. For the second semester, BC picks up the pace and ends up hitting a few more topics by the end. Thereās a huge overlap.
Kids here have a choice of Active Physics (very little math), Physics, Honors Physics and AP Physics 1 after completing Bio and Chem. (some donāt take physics at all and take Geosystems). The honors class disappeared the first time they offered AP Physics 1, but itās made a comeback.
S19 is planning to take AP Physics 1 next year along with its co-requisite of PreCalc. His school offers the option of AP Physics 2 or AP Physics C (although I think you can take the latter after any Physics class as long as you have Calc too).
He took regular Chemistry this year since the honors class seems to follow the AP Chem curriculum and pace and the chemistry teachers are pretty bad across the board. I figured he was better off getting the basics down at a reasonable pace. AP Chem might be an option for senior year but it is supposedly the most difficult class in the school.
ETA: Yikes, I hadnāt seen the score distribution for the AP Physics 1 exam. Maybe S19 should take AP Chem junior year