<p>Wz, a year of high school physics is more than enough. Many high schools in America don’t even offer more than that. American colleges KNOW this. They teach their physics majors everything they need to know in COLLEGE. They don’t expect them to come to college already knowing much beyond the basics. </p>
<p>What are you so afraid of? There is a lot of fear in your posts.</p>
<p>You’re placing arbitrary ideals as to what you feel is necessary on an educational system you’re not familiar with. US high school students looking at highly competitive and rigorous STEM programs are required four years of science, three must be lab sciences, one year minimum each biology, chemistry, and physics. Very commonly students progress with 9/honors biology, 10/honors chem, 11/either AP bio or AP Chem, 12/AP physics. Some students will double up in Jr or Sr year as their schedule allows, but it is not necessary and sometimes not advised. Our kids must have hon bio/chem before AP bio and AP chem, and AP Calc is a co requisite to AP physics, thus the order. </p>
<p>Honestly, really, it is the LESS competitive students who take physics in Jr year to avoid AP bio or AP chem. It’s seen as unnecessary, less rigorous, and redundant prior to AP physics in Sr year.</p>
<p>I agree with PG that there’s a lot of fear in your post. You sound as if you’re concerned that if you make the slightest error in scheduling your son’s curriculum, he (and you as a parent) will have failed. </p>
<p>I might be considered a couple of standard deviations north of mean when it comes to being involved in my kids’ academics, but I have not micro managed them since 6th grade or so; macro management is enough. My son, in spite of his selecting his own schedule since middle school (with help from his school), will be attending Yale next year (I know it’s not Harvard, but it will have to do 
). </p>
<p>I don’t intend this in a snarky way, but I think you need some professional counseling that is beyond what can take place on CC. Parents should be there to gently nudge their kids back into their lane when they get distracted and lose sight of the lane markings, but they have to let their kids learn how to drive without wrestling the steering wheel away from them. I started reading this thread in anger, but came to feel that you are well intentioned but afraid, as PG said. Good luck.</p>
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<p>I think this varies by school district. Again, if my guess about where the OP lives is correct, the local high schools generally will require the pre-AP level of all three major sciences – bio, chem, and physics – before permitting enrollment in the corresponding AP class. The “STEM majors” generally double up two of three in their sophomore year if they want a shot at taking all three APs. This also generally entails going to summer school at least once to knock out “lesser” required courses like health. It’s a bit nuts, but the kids seem to survive, although unfortunately it does cause some talented musicians to drop band or orchestra due to scheduling conflicts.</p>
<p>The OP has been given lots of good advice, and it is now up to the OP to take it or discard it.</p>
<p>1 year of AP Physics is fine, and I would say necessary when applying for a STEM major at a top school (and I don’t mean just the Ivies/Stanford/MIT), especially coming from a high school where both B and C are offered. I understand the AP Physics curriculum is changing; I am just trying to be consistent with the arguments presented here. </p>
<p>Your son should be able to get that one year in with no problem. If he wants to jump through all the hoops necessary to fit in a second year of AP Physics (now 1 and 2), have at it. I don’t think getting 1 more year ahead on math is necessary. A few kids in our school have taken regular Physics in 10th by doubling up on the sciences, which leaves some room in 11th and 12th. Something has to be given up though as there aren’t enough periods in a day, and that really depends on the student and what they want to pursue.</p>
<p>SomeOldGuy is right - our school district requires regular physics before AP, and this seems pretty standard in the nearby suburban districts. Same requirements for Chem and Bio. Most students who are leaning towards math/science do double up at some point so they can fit in some AP’s. It is actually advised in our school as it’s the only way a math/science kid can take some of the AP’s. My 11th grade daughter is doing it and seems to be thriving. She does not strive to apply to the Ivies, just wanted to take these classes. She would never pursue History classes this way as it isn’t her thing. So, it think it’s fine to do this.</p>
<p>Our school is small and doesn’t offer many AP’s. Still, I don’t know how someone could actually take all of the AP’s that are offered.</p>
<p>“There is a big difference between liking the idea of physics (which is about all that 99.9% of middle school kids are capable of) and liking learning physics and solving physics problems.” This is absolutely true. Talking about supernovas may be fun, but he may or may not like actually having to solve physics problems. That’s why I think it would be better for him to start physics as a sophomore if that can be scheduled. But it’s not worth turning his life upside down to do this.</p>
<p>@Pizzagirl, sorry but if a kid’s school offers AP Physics and the kid doesn’t take it, that will not look good to colleges. Of course it would be a different story if his high school didn’t offer it. I’m sure colleges would not expect him to go to summer school or whatever to do it in that case. And it makes no sense for him to forgo taking AP phsyics if it’s offered. If that’s what he’s interested in, why wouldn’t he take that? </p>
<p>Many of the people on this thread keep saying the father isn’t listening to his son, but his son IS reading and talking about physics. Why on earth are people on this thread saying, listen to the boy, oh except if he’s saying he likes science, make sure he takes arabic or filmmaking instead. If the kid were interested in filmmaking, ask yourself, would you be telling Dad to forgo his school’s filmmaking class and put him in physics instead?</p>
<p>@OP, I have never heard of anyone taking 3 years of high school physics. Physics B is changing into Physics 1 and Physics 2 next year. I expect there will be a sequence of honors physics then physics C or else physics 1 and physics 2. Or just one of those two tracks. The difference is the level of math. In some ways, C is probably easier because teaching things like kinematics with out calculus is just plain awkward. My daughter is now in Physics B (after taking a prerequisite year of honors physics). That’s how physics is taught in our school, but she wishes that she had just jumped into Physics B because it’s been very slow-moving for her, despite having a very good teacher. She is planning to self-study Physics C this spring when she has some time on her hands. (and if anyone has any advice on how to “upgrade” a Physics B class into Physics C with self-study, I’d love to hear it). I really don’t see a reason to spend more than a year studying physics before taking physics C. I suspect you are over-estimating how much physics is involved in all of this.</p>
<p>Schools systems absolutely do this differently, I appreciate this. My point was to make the OP aware that his frame of reference is very skewed…a foreign educational system, and a high school system on steroids that doesn’t reflect the majority if the country. We are in whackaloon Northern Virginia where I doubt it would be argued the schools are good, students are competitive, and opportunities are great. I’m offering to the OP another viewpoint where the kids are succeeding, excelling in great numbers. Obviously you have to follow your schools prerequisites. If you never understand that others do things on a more moderate scale and succeed it’s hard to see the environment you’re in is the outlier.</p>
<p>“whackaloon” - love this.</p>
<p>“There is a big difference between liking the idea of physics (which is about all that 99.9% of middle school kids are capable of) and liking learning physics and solving physics problems.” This is absolutely true. Talking about supernovas may be fun, but he may or may not like actually having to solve physics problems. That’s why I think it would be better for him to start physics as a sophomore if that can be scheduled. But it’s not worth turning his life upside down to do this.</p>
<p>@Pizzagirl, sorry but if a kid’s school offers AP Physics and the kid doesn’t take it, that will not look good to colleges."</p>
<p>Why is this addressed to me? I didn’t write the above.</p>
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<p>He’s reading and talking about physics because he’s a “good boy” who dutifully shows interest in what the parent WANTS him to show interest in. That’s different from having an organic interest, which he may or may not have.</p>
<p>In all fairness, though, most parents do have interest areas that they push on their kids to some degree or the other. The ways in which that interest is pushed, though, vary … from the mild “let’s go to a museum or library and learn about” all the way to the “I’m going to tutor you in X and ensure you take advanced classes whether you want to or not.” I think one of the comments by the OP suggests that he or she (I’m not sure which) is afraid of the son losing interest in physics, which suggests that it’s more parent-driven than intrinsic / organic.</p>
<p>Wzg69…you sound like your son is bright enough. BUT he is a not yet 13 year old. Could you please treat him like a preteen, and not a PhD candidate? He has many years of schooling ahead of him. From my backseat, it sounds like you are pushing him to the nines…for some unexplainable reason. Let him be a kid, for heavens sake. Enjoying life is AS important as taking a multitude of AP courses in High School.</p>
<p>It sounds to me like your expectations are aligned with something from another country. It is fine to encourage excellence…but really, mapping out a 12 year olds whole academic future is over the top, in my opinion.</p>
<p>RELAX. This kid will be fine.</p>
<p>Wzg69 - you moved to a new country precisely because of the opportunities afforded here. Part of the opportunities and part of what America stands for is that possibilities are endless – you don’t have to declare yourself a physics major / pre-med / Harvard-bound / whatever at age 13 and dutifully follow that path. You can zig and zag along the way. You don’t have to go to Harvard or an elite school. We are asking you to reconsider some of the cultural baggage you have brought with you – about orchestrating a child’s life at a young age, about believing that scores and tests are what provides entrance into elite schools, about believing that elite schools are the measure of success, about believing that it is the parents’ job to force interests on a child. It is clear that you love your child very much and you are quite smart yourself. Now use some of that intelligence to try to think another way.</p>
<p>“Sorry but if a kid’s school offers AP Physics and the kid doesn’t take it, that will not look good to colleges.”</p>
<p>I don’t agree. DS13 took 9 AP’s and AP physics wasn’t one of them.His HS does offer AP Physics. He had no problem getting accepted into good colleges. Except Harvard which honestly is a crap shoot anyway.</p>
<p>@Michigan
If your school offers say 15+ APs and you “only” take 9, then missing physics is irrelevant.</p>
<p>OTOH, if your school offers 5 APs and you don’t take physics then schools will be questioning the rigor of your class selection.</p>
<p>If the student wants to go into engineering/comp sci/physics, etc. and AP Physics is offered but wasn’t taken, I think at a minimum a college would question that. On the other hand, if a student is pursuing the humanities and did not take AP Physics, I don’t think that would raise much of a red flag. It’s all about context, what the student is pursuing and the high school they are coming from.</p>
<p>My point was not that if the school offers AP physics and a high-achieving student doesn’t take it, that it will look bad. My point was that if the school offers AP physics, and a student who says he is really interested in physics doesn’t take it, that will look bad. Colleges will be wondering why he didn’t take advantage of readily-available resources to further his stated interest.</p>
<p>@pizzagirl, it was addressed to your comment " a year of high school physics is more than enough". For a pre-physics major in a high school which offers AP physics, I don’t think a year of physics is “more than enough”. 2 years of physics (assuming the school doesn’t start the kids off with physics C) is enough.</p>
<p>Yes, there is a real concern about this parent being too pushy, but that does not justify giving out bad advice. A kid who scores in the 99th percentile for SAT math in middle school and has stated interest in physics, absolutely should take the most advanced physics available in his high school. The question of whether he will continue to be interested in physics in a few more years is a different issue. You can give him different advice when he says he wants to study romance languages.</p>
<p>"If the student wants to go into engineering/comp sci/physics, etc. and AP Physics is offered but wasn’t taken, I think at a minimum a college would question that. "</p>
<p>@VMT- DS13 is an engineering major at Georgia Tech. So I’m pretty sure AP Physic’s isn’t the end all be all for engineering majors… Now if he had told GT in his application that he wanted to major in Physics than yes he probably should have take AP physics.</p>
<p>Ok, you’re right. Your fate is sealed by the high school courses you did or did not take. I have never taken ANY physics in my life (high school OR college) - it’s a wonder I am not asking “will you have fries with that” for my career.</p>
<p>Of course a student interested in physics should take it if offered. Duh. The question here is should a student whose PARENT wants him to be interested in physics be forced into studying it at high levels anyway out of fear that it’s not enough?</p>