You are in that one class that you actually enjoy. The class is watching a movie only loosely related to the academics that are supposed to be taught, and the substitute teacher present doesn’t care if anyone is on there phone. Needless to say, things are going well, that is until some senior comes in with those small slips of paper that if given in any other circumstance would cause rejoice and celebration. Unfortunately, the odds were not in your favor and that colored directs you to attend the ever so enthralling, exciting, and eternally motivation guidance office on the first floor.
I’m pretty sure that it’s that time of the year again. Guidance has finished chasing seniors down for college this and scholarship that and finally has time to meet with all the underclassmen about course selection. Now, the newspaper here has done a number of stories about this very subject, so many that I’m sure most people will glance over this one in anticipation that it will be like the rest. I originally was going to write about why you should back into parking spaces or be forever mocked as an invalid of society but instead I decided the best way to make my mark was to help those few individuals that actually read these repetitive articles and lend them my wisdom on what courses to take seriously, and which one’s to just take.
First, let’s clear some things up. Oliver Ames offers dozens of courses that you can elect to participate in, and these options just become more available to you as you progress through the ranks of public school. The majority of these subjects can be separated into two groups: those that put a glossy shine on that college resume, and those that function as an offering to the eternal and almighty GPA.
Clear Polish Classes- These types of classes are the ones that start with fancy letters like A,P, and H. They usually are marketed as being harder and more advanced than other courses and thus are only taken by the systematically deemed “smart kids”. Having been in one or two of these, i’ll tell you the only thing advanced about anyone in those classes is their ability to grade grub over every point and convince themselves that an 83 is failing. If you feel like you want to be in the exclusive applicant pool with the other 200,000 honors students because uniqueness is cool and individuality is out of style, I recommend these courses. Before you jump the gun though and sign up for that sexy looking AP Physics class, remember, H doesn’t stand for honors, it stands for hefty, and that’s just what the workload will be. If you’re the kind of person that struggles to complete things on time, tread carefully. While the slackers lifestyle can be continued in these environments, it comes at great cost. You may end up winning one or two battles, but by taking an easier class, you could avoid fighting the war at all.
All Hail- Everyone in high school knows where it is their bread is buttered. We all know who decides our fate, and we all know who holds the keys to our futures in their metaphorical hands: the almighty and ever holy GPA. It’s because of this unquestionable fact that many students seek to take lets say “intellectually un-stimulating classes”, otherwise known as senior friendly courses. These offer the unique ability to simultaneously boost the grade point average and make your parents uber proud when you bring home that A+ in Community Service. I’ll admit, pride and parental approval go a long way in constructing that ego thing we all seem to have, but for admission boards, you might as well be honest and just say “I played on my phone for an hour”.
Ultimately, you have to take the courses that you are most comfortable taking, whether those be AB Calc or Tech Draft. It would be horrible sitting clueless in an environment of learning in which you have no place being, just like its equally as bad to cheat your own ability by going the low road. I realize that if you read up to this point, I haven’t actually recommended which classes to take, however this is intentional. The problem with freedom of speech and press is that I’m restricted to what I can say and type in this commentary. Therefore, if you ever are in doubt about a class choice, search out someone that failed that particular elective and get the run down from them. The colorful de
scriptions of any event are usually the most telling.