<p>So basically I do to a dumb school that has little in the way of advanced classes. As of now there are 3 APs, USH, Bio, and English Lit. Somehow next year we are getting AP Calc, maybe Comparative Government, maybe Art, and maybe Spanish. </p>
<p>However. AP Japanese is what I truly want. I think I would do anything for APJAP. The problem is, the Japanese 3 class (juniors right now) has only ~25 kids in it and around 15 of them are failing horribly. That leaves 10 kids left, and half of THOSE kids hate the class. So I have 5 people that would even think about it. My principal is an evil man who forced my Japanese teacher to take on a Spanish 1 class (yea, she's trilingual) so she has a full schedule. Is there anything I can do to 1. get her to not teach Spanish next year and 2. get around 15 kids who would take AP Jap?</p>
<p>AP classes take a long time to form and can’t just be created in a year or two. So it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to create an AP Japanese class within your high school career. However if you are truly interested in Japanese and are willing to self study, you can take the test on your own without taking the AP course.</p>
<p>I have a friend who’s in your situation, she goes to a very small Catholic school … what is your graduating class size? </p>
<p>… I’m afraid that as far as the school goes, you probably won’t be able to convince the principal to add AP Japanese to the roster. However, you might be able to bend the rules and self-study AP Japanese and then find time a few times a week to talk with your teacher about it. Or, if you really feel strongly about the lack of AP courses, transfer.</p>
<p>And I really want the class, not just the AP test grade. The experience of being in Japanese class and actually learning something more than saying “America is bigger than Japan” (because 90% of the kids in the class still don’t know any of the characters).</p>
<p>I would still recommend self-studying regardless of whether or not they offer an actual AP course in the future. If there isn’t an AP course, see if your school offers independent study or if you can possibly dual enroll. Independent study at my school consists of students who have, well, broken the school’s curriculum and have taken all possible courses in some sort of subject - whether it be science, math, language, etc. They then elect independent study and have a teacher sponsor them in order to track their progress as the student self studies (obviously) and that way you’re still learning the material and not missing out on anything. Dual enrollment would allow you to take courses at a college. For the most part, your school should be the one paying the tuition because they don’t offer that course at the school however it depends on the school and district. </p>
<p>Self studying and taking the AP exam would allow you take higher level courses in college rather than the introductory level classes.</p>
<p>I’ll have taken Japanese for 4 years so I plan to test out of a few levels of Jap and I want to major in it anyway so there’s no reason to fulfill requirements. Is it really that weird that I want to take the class for the sake of taking it? Even if I didn’t get AP credit at all, just as long as I learned something -_-</p>
<p>And my school would rather burn me at the stake than try and get me a tuition waver at the community college (which doesn’t offer Jap anyway). On the brochure for 8th graders they advertise having tuition wavers but they haven’t had them in 3-4 years.</p>
<p>It’s not ‘weird’ but at the moment, it’s pretty much impossible to request for an AP Japanese class. I’m just saying that taking the AP exam would give you an opportunity to learn MORE, especially more advanced level material, since that’s what you’re really aiming for. </p>
<p>Haha wow… Well I don’t think a whole lot of students at your school request for a tuition waiver any (with a small class of 150) so I think you should definitely give it a shot. If this is something you’re truly passionate about (which is sounds like you are!) I’d say go for it regardless of what past trends have been.</p>
<p>At my school, there are only like 5 kids who take AP French each year, so they just put them in with the French 3 kids. I don’t see why they couldn’t do it at your school</p>