“If this was an AP or DC class, I would care.” This is something one of my teachers said to my class, and it has made me wonder about why students are made to think they need to take upper level classes in high school.

My entire life, I have been in honors classes, and I took DC and Pre-AP classes just last year. While I passed those classes, it was a lot of stress and I felt like I was putting myself through more than what was necessary. I could do it, I just didn’t particularly want to, so I chose to take “normal” classes this year.

The opportunities we have for college credits and advanced classes are very beneficial for a lot of students, but I feel like these classes are increasingly being seen as the “good” classes that most people should be in. 

Almost every time I am talking to someone about a class, they assume that it is some type of honors or dual credit version of the class, and when I say it isn’t, their response is always just “Oh,” because it is not seen as normal for a junior to not be taking advanced classes. 

I also hear teachers all the time say things like, “You probably didn’t choose to be in this class since it isn’t honors, you just got thrown in here for the credit, so I am not going to expect much from you.”

But in my case, it is exactly the opposite. I chose to take these non-advanced classes this year to make it easier on myself. This does not mean that I am lazy or can’t handle the workload, and saying things like that can make students feel like they are expected to fail. 

Also, just because it is a “normal” class does not mean that teachers should give us middle school level work and not actually teach. Yes, I wanted to not have to worry about so much work, but I still want to learn and actually be able to prove myself in these classes.  

When I was in advanced classes, I was seen as a good student who worked hard, and now it feels like I am just seen as a student who is doing the bare minimum.

There were times where I had a C in one of those classes, and people had the mindset of “It’s okay, it’s a hard class,” and now in these classes, I can have a B and now they are thinking “It’s such an easy class, you should be able to get an A.” Just because it is not an honors class does not mean that it can’t be difficult or take a lot of work to keep up with. 

Students should not be grouped in with the “bad kids” or students who don’t want to be there and cause problems. Not everyone in these classes is there because they just don’t try. Some people aren’t as good at school as other people and they are doing their best. They should also not be made to feel like they are inferior to other students simply because they are taking classes that fit their learning style along with allowing them to not be extremely overwhelmed all the time.