Oh Noes, Hard Works!

7:15 pm EST January 25th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Sorry, I’ve got no sympathy for people complaining about how tough and intense the coursework is in AP classes. We are competing with the world here, and significantly behind. We should have year-round school, not the constant coddling.

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9 Responses to “Oh Noes, Hard Works!”

  1. Rheinhard says:
    January 25, 2010 at 8:33 pm

    Forget about competing with the world… what about college? AP courses are more work than your usual high school course, but still not much compared to college classes, especially upper level classes. Since the kids taking these courses are most likely on a college preparatory track anyway, what do they think will happen in college?

    I had 4 AP classes my senior year in High School (Calculus, Chemistry, English & German – got 5′s on most of them), and I really enjoyed those classes. (They were hard but we had great teachers) Suck it up, young’uns!

  2. MatanteDodo says:
    January 25, 2010 at 10:57 pm

    You’re aware that stress decreases performances right? Children just don’t resist as much stress as adults, if you want them to work harder you have to give them a break somewhere else and you can’t count on parents to support them.
    “Suck it up” means not asking for help when you’re struggling and trailing behind until you can’t hide it anymore, when it’s much harder to catch up. My brother was left behind at school, he got punishment over punishment for his poor work, and only once I came back in town did I discover that he did not know how to read in fourth grade. Pressure is bullshit, teachers who insist the most on it end up handing out passing grades to kids who couldn’t even read the exam questions, they assume results out of faith in their method.
    But lets not worry. No more coddling, no more support! The ones who drop out or commit suicide were worthless to begin!

  3. Amused Observer says:
    January 25, 2010 at 11:00 pm

    AP classes have very little to do with 4th grade illiterates.

  4. Frank DiSalle says:
    January 26, 2010 at 1:53 am

    I believe kids should go to school for 10 full months, and the two months off should be worked out in conference with the parents, the teacher(s) and the student(s). This way, family vacations and other considerations can be taken into account, kids will spend more than 180 days in school (the February break and the Spring break will become a thing of the past), and we can abandon the “School Calendar” that stays with us all our lives and compels us all to take vacations in the summer.

    What happens to Summer School? Easy. Once you start dropping below passing grades, you start going to school for a half day on Saturday. { *GASP!* Saturday? Did he say Saturday? } Yes, I did. You start getting up every Saturday morning to go to school, and staying there ’til noon, I bet you’ll catch up real quick!

  5. Oliver Willis says:
    January 26, 2010 at 2:24 am

    Or everyone takes the same 2 months and sucks it up. Our school calendar is based on the farm calendar, and very few kids are still growing up on the Kent farm nowadays.

  6. Oliver Willis says:
    January 26, 2010 at 2:25 am

    Pressure is bullshit
    Welcome to the real world where nobody holds your hand. I’m not saying we throw our kids to the wolves but people are arguing for padding the walls while the other countries kick our rears.

  7. MatanteDodo says:
    January 26, 2010 at 9:24 am

    You’re assuming that all families are supportive, and that’s far from the truth. I’ve had a lot less stress since I’m grown up, you know, no more bullying, parents that yell at each other all night long, “spankings” that leave you with stiff swollen joints, etc. Academic matters are a tiny concern compared to the rest. I ended with an average of 86%, so don’t you accuse me of being frustrated for failing or something. I did have very poor social skills, and frankly I don’t think I’d have made it without breaks, our school was very tolerant about violence.
    Maybe you’ll discover it later, the grownup’s world is a lot easier. Today I sleep in a heated room and I eat everyday, many times a day if I want! What exactly do you have to teach me about the real world?
    Oh, and if I’m not at work at the moment it’s because the illnesses I developed around 14 are in an active phase right now. You’d be surprised how much organic damage stress does, but what do doctors know eh?

  8. Russ Best says:
    January 26, 2010 at 9:59 am

    I teach AP US History and yes, there is a great deal of work and pressure for both the students and the teachers but the assumption that these kids can’t do the work or don’t learn “in depth” is bogus. It is simply work at a faster pace than a normal class. I use most of my AP material for my “regular” US History classes and the kids handle it quite well. As for those teachers who are complaining about the work, get out of AP and leave it to those who want to do it and are willing to put the work into the course. There are administrative dictates that take too much time away from the course so Oliver is correct in saying that the school year needs to be modified to reflect reality. Stay the course or we will get our heads handed to us by the rest of the world.

  9. texan says:
    January 26, 2010 at 1:42 pm

    Leave summer alone. Culture is the culprit, not summer.