One thing we pride ourselves on as a school is our great support systems that help students achieve their learning goals. Some students still complain, however, that our school is failing to provide the necessary tools and skills to move from college prep(CP) classes up to honors level classes. They are of the opinion that honors classes are much too hard, but some also think that CP classes are too easy and want a greater challenge.
In my opinion, in some situations, it is up to the students to try and put more effort in to succeed at the honors level, but I also believe that it would be beneficial to students who move into honors classes to get more support than they are currently receiving in order to feel successful in the advanced classes.
“[We’ve gotten] complaints [about] the difference of the level of challenge between the two courses,” said James McLaughlin, math department head. “I dont think it’s a huge difference in terms of the amount of work, just the level of depth we go into.”
There are a few notable differences between honors and CP, but most of them are to be expected. The pacing is faster in honors, more work is assigned to be completed out of class than in class, and there may be less of a guiding hand from the teacher. Students who take honors are expected to take a more active role in their learning.
“Honors classes require students to be a little more independent in their learning,” said Stephen Ribsi, science department head. “Kids have to have excellent student skills: consistently doing homework, asking questions and being present, mentally and physically.”
Students who decide to move up from CP to honors are usually recommended to do so because they are doing well at the CP level and getting consistent A’s in the subject. If they then try to succeed at the honors level by putting in the same time and effort they did at the CP level, they may come to the realization that the same strategies that worked in CP are not sufficient in honors, which can be frustrating. I don’t believe that the problem is entirely the students’ faults. The previous year set a precedent of how the system worked and how to advance and earn better grades. Once students move into higher level classes and their regular system stops working, they start to feel like they no longer can progress and get discouraged from continuing with honors.
“When students choose to drop, it’s usually because they get their first graded piece back and aren’t happy with the grade, and they assume that will be their grade all year,” said Kate Lemons, head of the English department. “There is often that sticker shock of that first grade making them anxious that they are in the wrong place.”
Some teacher involvement might help ease this transition along. Maybe there could be a system where every third W block honors teachers offer catch-up classes to assist struggling students, or teachers could email students and request that they have a one-to-one talk with those who are feeling challenged. It should of course involve a lot more effort on the students’ parts than teachers’, but a little nudge in the right direction could be the first step on the path to improvement.
In the end, it is up to every student to decide for themselves how they want to prioritize their education, and the amount of time and effort they want to put in. But it’s also important to remember that we all have lives outside of school, and that some students may be dealing with external factors that make succeeding in their classes difficult. With just a little more teacher support, students who feel stuck in between levels can find success by smoothing over the cracks in the system. As they say, it only takes a little push to go a long way.