By : Makayla Campbell
In high school you have the option to take regular, honors, AP, or even IB classes. So why do some students take regular and honors while others only take AP or IB?
Personally I take 2 AP’s, 1 IB, 1 honor, 1 regular and 3 electives. This is also my first year taking AP and IB classes, but I have taken a few honors prior.
My reason was to get a higher GPA and to take more challenging courses to get me ready for college. I have always wanted to apply to competitive Ivy League Universities that suggest students take AP classes. Additionally, my goal is to graduate with an advanced honor roll diploma; I’ll be able to achieve my goal through these advanced courses. I also like learning new things and keeping different perspectives in mind, which is why I chose AP Psychology as one of my electives. I love dance, so I am taking it for the third and final year. Since I wrote for the paper last year, I decided to do it again this year. Last year I took honors US History and I really enjoyed the added challenge, so for this year I chose to take AP US History. The workload is heavier, the tests are harder, and the structure of the course is more intense, but it is worth it. I think I am learning a lot more than I would have if I were taking honors.
When asked what classes they take and why, Owen Wegner, who is a freshman at The University of Hawaii Maui College said, “I chose piano because I’ve been wanting to learn to play since I went in the path of music for my career. I took Spanish because I need the language credits plus I took it in high school so it’s a little easier”
“My parents are fully supportive of my classes and major. They’re proud that I am going to college because they didn’t. Also because they know how much I love music so they think pursuing that is amazing” shares Owen, on how his parents felt about his major.
When asked about why she takes her classes, Aja Mitchum, who is a junior at Palo Verde High School, said, “My honors and AP classes are the only classes I chose to take because I want to make my parents proud and because I also wanted to challenge myself.”
“There is no particular end goal with my classes except to pass with at least a 3.8 gpa” was Mitchum’s response about her motives for taking her classes in high school.
This shows that students take classes for their own enjoyment, but also take classes to make their parents proud. As well as that most of them have their parents' approval for their classes they take.