<p>Here’s one for you! They recently changed it, but a few years ago our high school used the algeostat math program. So each year, you took algebra, geometry, AND statistics 1, 2, and 3, and then you either took ags 4 or calc depending on your performance.</p>
<p>For my son, the biggest flaw in his HS is a basic technology course that’s mandated by the state (Maryland), even though he’s in a science/tech magnet program. In order to fit all his required & prereq classes in & still get to take band, he kept trying to get a waiver for the tech course. No such luck–so next year, as a senior, he’ll be taking a joke course with freshmen. He’s being good-natured about it, but it sucks, esp. b/c there are so many other courses he wants to take. Also, not enough Latin class options. He is taking AP Latin as a junior and there are no other levels.</p>
<p>Biggest flaw in my daughter’s HS is the limited offering of classes, esp. AP, which is understandable since she attends a small private school…but it still presents a problem.</p>
<p>My d attends a large suburban public high school. The school dropped many AP classes this year. They waited until 2 weeks before school started to inform students of this.</p>
<p>My daughter is a senior and had signed up to take AP German and AP French this year. Her gc (who quit shortly afterwards - but that’s another story) emailed her 2 weeks before school started and said neither of those classes were going to be offered.</p>
<p>D had to scramble at the last minute to find 2 classes to put into her senior year schedule. Most of the alternates she wanted to take were full. She ended up with classes she really didn’t want or need. </p>
<p>Sigh!</p>
<p>Not enough AP classes. Although S1 has taken the most rigorous classes offered at the HS and he has been top 1-3 in his class throughout HS career, he was not as competitive in college admissions process. He will do just fine at the state flagship. (We moved around the world 5 times in past 17 years, and he always managed to claw his way up to the top of the class wherever he went). But I think he could have done better in college admissions had he had the opportunity to get more AP’s under his belt.</p>
<p>We have a strange new schedule this semester…late start every other monday, rotating tutorial period Tues-Wed-Thurs, regular schedule/assembly/minimum day on Fridays. It’s a mess. And the students who are not getting an actual D or F have nothing to do during the tutorials (they are released from class). Supposedly they can use the time to study/do homework, but it doesn’t work in practice for most periods–go to the locker for the book, find somewhere to study, study, go put the book back doesn’t work time-wise. For the classes where the teachers let the kids stay (mostly the IB specific classes for D) it works–the kids do homework, study for a quiz etc. I agreed to be a parent volunteer tutor for this program (so we could open extra classrooms for the students to use)…not a single students has come into the classroom for help, or to study etc.</p>
<p>At our highschool, student has to take Fundamental of Arts before taking most of the art classes so that limits the kind of art classes one can take. For student council position, a student has to have a free period to take leadership class or take it the summer before. There are only 6 periods available for classes unless a student is in band. It’s limiting the kind of ECs that a student can do.</p>
<p>The trend in high schools, because of budget cuts, is to reduce the number of languages that are taught, but then to offer distance learning. The end result is that more languages are available than before. </p>
<p>Anyone have experience on how distance learning in high school has or has not worked???</p>
<p>My general complaint is my kids spent too much time in the classrooms waiting for the bell to ring. I don’t like the idea that kids go back to classrooms after lunch. I would sleep in the class after lunch. I prefer classes at 7:30-8:30 and end at 12:00-12:30or start at 1:00-1:30 and end at 5:30-6:00, or a combination of both morning and afternoon classes. I think kids need to have more time to learn on their own or to participate in sports, ECs.</p>
<p>I also don’t like the school to babysit the kids. I hate to receive phone calls from from school asking me to call in to clear my kids’ absence or they will face detention.</p>
<p>At our local high schools, the very best students often have to choose between upper level language classes and music. Additionally, our local publics recently changed to a block schedule (students take eight courses per year), and they don’t have enough relevant course offerings once the kids get to be seniors, so kids take a class in office helper, English department helper, library helper–you get the stupid idea. A free period would be more useful, but they can’t trust the kids to behave.</p>
<p>We also had a limited number of AP classes. No Calc BC, no Physics C (the year I left they just started AP Physics B), only one AP English class available for only seniors (now they have one for juniors). We also had this required health class that was state-mandated but completely useless. I don’t think I learned anything in that class (smoking’s bad for you? Stop the presses!)</p>
<ol>
<li> Not enough AP classes. DS’ high school has the IB program and just enough AP classes to cover 5 of the 6 periods available next year (senior). Result: DS only taking 5 classes next year. Hope that doesn’t hurt his admissions chances.</li>
<li> No support from the school for science program ec’s. We just found out about the state science fair from the newspaper. Never has been mentioned by any of his teachers… he is in three honors/AP science classes just this year (junior). Very disappointed.</li>
</ol>
<p>1) band is pulled out of electives instead of PE which makes kids fall behind</p>
<p>2) special needs students have aids in every class but electives which doesn’t give them the full attention (i.e. blind kid in wood shop) </p>
<p>3) all “normal” levels science have to be taken before AP (so bio + chem + physics –> any AP science) which means a student can only really take one AP science class</p>
<p>^
4) sports and clubs are “pay to play” only so this is a huge disadvantage for low income families</p>
<p>My biggest pet peeve: high school starts at 7:35 am. Middle school starts at 7:25 am! No one likes it, but its the only way to make transportation work - so we can re-use the busses, one run for middle & high and a second run for elementary. They tried to start all the schools a half-hour later but the elementary parents screamed, they needed to get their kids on the bus so they could go to work and/or if elementaries got out at 3:20 supposedly it was too late for kids to do things like dance, karate or CCD. They won’t start/end hs later than elementary because many families depend on their teen to watch the younger kids after school. </p>
<p>I still think its ridiculous to have middle & high schoolers in school from 7:30 - 2:00. Who wants a bunch of teens on the street at 2 pm? And they’re half asleep for the first two periods. Sports don’t start till 3:30 so kids can get after-school help, and because many coaches teach elementary or teach in other districts and can’t get here before then.</p>
<p>My son is taking Latin 2 this year using Florida Virtual School since his school is not offering Latin 2 this year. He does not like it and does not feel like he is learning as much as he would with an actual teacher in front of the class.</p>
<p>The one that is bothering me most right now is that they only offer 5 AP classes - English lang and comp and lit and comp, calc ab, biology, and chemistry. For the English ones, they have prerequisites of English 2 and English 3, and the bio and chem have prereqs of regular or honors bio and chem making it all next to impossible to take them all if she wanted. </p>
<p>I also hate that coaches teach all of the social studies classes because they really don’t seem to care, but that’s a whole 'nother issue.</p>
<p>Yes, cyclone - that the case in my high school. We had an awful football team, so the School District kept hiring new teachers whose main qualification was as a football coach. (At the time, coaches had to be teachers.) Instead, we ended up with horrible teachers and still had a horrible football team.</p>