Advanced Placement

We have just stepped into the fifth month of the school year and it is already time for my girls to sign up for next year's classes. Ninth graders start the process first which means that Avery is stressing about what classes she should take next year. To top it off the school district has added an AP World history class and an accelerated Algebra 2 class to the sophomore class line-up for next year. This has sent Avery into stress overload about what classes to take next year.


AP stands for advanced placement, and while I am happy that Avery is thinking about pushing herself, I am not sure if we need to go so far, so fast. Accelerated means the class moves faster and farther then they would in a normal Algebra 2 class, since Avery (like her sister Aly and unlike their mother) is a mathematician, I can understand why she might want to step it up a little when it comes to her math education. However, she is so worried about being bored and not being challenged she even had me considering she should probably be signing up for the AP World history class. On Wednesday night, there was a meeting at the high school for parents and students to learn about the schools AP program and also their dual enrollment program, where a student can take courses that are not offered at the school at local colleges during their senior year and earn college credit before they even graduate high school. By the time Avery and I left the meeting, we were both high on advanced placement possibilities (which also included testing at the end of the year and if you scored high enough receiving college credit) and we were getting ourselves all excited with the possibilities. In the back of my mind though was this nagging thought…What's the hurry?

 As we drove home and tossed around all her possible course choices I decided to get real and just say out loud what was pounding in my head, "You know Avery, maybe you should just think about taking one challenging class next year and let the cards fall where they may with your other choices, I mean you have plenty of time, what's the rush?" "I know Mom I thought that too, I am just so overwhelmed. I have these big decisions and they have to be made by Monday when I turn in my scheduling form."

 So today I am sitting here trying to decide exactly who is pushing my child. Is it me or is it the school? I understand that they want to accommodate the children that excel in school, and I certainly want my children to be challenged, but is it necessary to push them so hard? I remember pulling into the parking lot on registration day before Aly's eighth grade year. At registration for middle school and high school, they take the child's school photo, Aly had dressed nicely and I had allowed her to wear some mascara and lip gloss. In the car next to us there was a mom of one of Aly's classmates performing a full on makeover on her daughter. I looked at Aly and I said "If you get all that now, where do you go from there?"

 That is what I thought about as Avery and I drove home. If she takes these classes now, where does she go from here? Yes, it would be nice to have her take courses that challenge her, but do I want her to be overwhelmed and stressed? I am watching Aly go through that this year with the course load she assured me she could handle this same time last year. While she is maintaining good grades, her emotional state is subpar. So, the question of the day is, is it really worth it? Won't my kids end up where they need to be in life regardless if they take advanced placement or not? Yep, they sure will.

 Maybe when Avery gets home today we will talk about starting slow, sort of like taking mascara and lip gloss classes. There is plenty of time to get through school and get on with her life. Maybe I am ready to test out of my advanced placement crash course in mothering; then again, I am not sure if I could pass the test. Perhaps there is an accelerated course available. I will have to look into that.