@MotherOfDragons, yes, maybe. Though the way she said it, made me think that there was more going on and she was just really focusing on his emotional well-being and no longer cared much about grades, sports, etc.
@MotherOfDragons The BS I attended didn’t have AP or Honors courses, though there where certain ‘accelerated’ classes that the prodigies took. This had the effect of allowing us to take some fascinating courses that we wouldn’t have had we been worried about APs. My concern is that I have visited high schools that had some fascinating electives but the ‘best’ students didn’t take them as they instead focused on AP classes. This was tragic as the teachers of APUS, AP Geo and AB Biology all admitted that the AP syllabus was dry and formulaic and the electives were more of a stretch. A long way of saying that I would push my child to take the courses that really interested them, or follow the IB if it was offered.
@widgetmidget, we have a charter HS in our area where all the kids take AP classes with no regular alternatives. The school itself is lottery-based so there is no cut-off of lower-performing kids. The end result is that AP classes in that school are significantly easier than in a regular HS my daughter will attend (since teachers need to cater to the entire class, not just to best-performing kids who get into AP classes a ta regular school), it is easier to get an A in each class, and thus a higher GPA, but I assume harder to get 5 on each exam due to quality of teaching.
But I agree with you, there is only a limited number of classes one can take and AP’s sometimes take a spot away from excellent electives that can help kids explore different things and develop their passions. For example, in my daughter’s school, everyone in grade 9 takes regular biology and next year has a chance to take Biology AP. If one was allowed to take Biology AP without the regular class first, that could have cleared up a spot for an elective.
College Board recommends that AP Bio be taken after a year of bio and a year of chem. I’m surprised that the progression is bio followed directly by AP Bio.
@allyphoe, thanks, I will check with our school 