“Bursting the AP Bubble”
Sometimes, while spelunking the Internet for information related to a blog post I’m writing, I come across interesting bits I haven’t read yet. (I only have two eyes, there are still only 24 hours in a day, and I have not yet received the super-human reading powers I ordered weeks ago).
Included in these finds is an opinion piece in the LA Times written by a self-proclaimed AP drop-out. Tom Stanley-Becker was a junior at the University of Chicago’s University High School when he wrote the article in May 2008, so–according to my awesome calculus skills–he’s currently a senior at said high school.
His piece explains why he ditched his AP coursework on favor of normal classes where he felt he’d have time to actually learn the material, instead of doing “learning” the AP way and memorizing a phenomenal collection of facts for the AP exams.
The overriding goal is to crack the AP test. That means taking a lot of practice tests — week after week, filling in those bubbles in class. It means researching past AP exams to predict what will be on the test. It means answering model AP essay questions for homework. It means brute memorization. My classmates ask: Will there be more questions on the American Revolution or World War I? What do we really have to know about mercantilism? Their unspoken question is: If I blow the AP test, can I still get into a good college?
Adults (like me) yammer on and on about the best and worst ways for kids to be taught. It was refreshing and intriguing to hear a student write less-than-favorable things about AP classes. While I’m a staunch supporter of education, learning, and getting into college (if that’s where a kid wants to go), I have historically had a hard time with the unhealthily intense focus that parents and high school students seem to have with Getting Into College. I have a slew of foul language and inappropriate utterances that are just begging to tumble forth whenever I think about the hoop-jumping and the high pressure.
To the parents I say: Back off a little. Chances are good your kids will survive even if you’re not there breathing down their necks and wiping their proverbial asses.
To the kids I say: There are only eight Ivy League schools. Chances are really good that you won’t get into one of those no matter how many hoops you can jump through at once while blindfolded and balanced on a tightrope fifty stories up. However, there are over 6,000 colleges and universities in the United States of the non-Ivy variety, and you have an excellent chance of getting into one of those.
Further Reading:
National Center for Education Statistics: (see Table 1 for reassuring info)
Posted by Alexa Harrington
Great article. And if college or a university isn’t necessarily a student’s path, that’s not so bad, either. There are tons of vocational training schools out there in all sorts of industries that can help students find perfectly rewarding and lucrative careers that are better suited to their needs and talents.
Good article! Along the same lines as Heather said above, one should ask themselves why they want to go to a particular school. Is an Ivy League or other very expensive university really necessary to meet your career goals?