<p>I went through the same dilemma when my son was picking his junior year classes back in January. He’s also a math/science kid too, but is doing really well in honors global history this year (and in all his honors classes). I knew that all of his subject teachers would recommend him for AP next year. Individually, he could handle that. Together, it’s a lot. Especially because, like the OP’s DS, the reading just takes a long time.</p>
<p>We met with the GC about this because I just didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want it to look like he was slacking, but considering his overall courseload for junior year, she assured me it wouldn’t look like he was slacking. He’s got:</p>
<p>AP Physics (2 periods/day)
AP Calc (whichever the one they offer for juniors)
AP Language
College Spanish (credit through local college)
Honors US History
PE (required)
Band</p>
<p>Now, the GC said not taking APUSH would hurt him if he wanted to be in the top few kids in the class because “ALL” the top kids take ALL AP classes. DS and I talked about that – and we also have an idea of what colleges he’s aiming for – and decided not to kill him at all costs for the year in HS. </p>
<p>Fast forward to when the students pick their classes. Turns out that not ALL the top kids are taking all AP classes. In fact, there are only about 7 who are going into AP Physics.</p>
<p>Considering that he will have to add in SAT prep and drivers ed in the fall, on top of his regular EC’s, I didn’t see the point of APUSH because it is a ton of outside work - reading/writing - in our HS (many of DD’s friends took it and I asked).</p>
<p>I hope that sharing our train of thought helps.</p>
<p>At my son’s school, all of the top students take APUSH - even those who don’t take all or many of the other APs. It seems to be the bare minimum requirement for “most rigorous.” You mentioned that your son’s current history teacher requires detailed outlines for each chapter. Find out if next year’s APUSH teacher does the same thing. My son’s teacher provides the students with a Powerpoint presentation for each chapter - something he’s compiled over the years, it seems. Very helpful. The students have to answer the “focus questions” in the textbook - this homework is not graded, but test essay questions are very similar, so it’s helpful that they are completed thoughtfully.</p>
<p>My son has two AP prep books - if you’re interested, I’ll get the titles - (not the typical Barron’s or Princeton Review) that he follows along chapter by chapter. He’s figured out that some of the terms in his textbook deviate from what he expects on the AP exam, so he uses the books to supplement. He doesn’t want any surprises in May and doesn’t want to spend too much time prepping because he’ll have four other AP exams that week. He said that these books are very readable - much more interesting than the textbook, and they help with depth of knowledge.</p>
<p>My son is just like your son (a math and science kid who is a slow reader and dosen’t care for history). My son is currently a high school junior and he/we opted to NOT take APUSH and he is taking honors American History instead. He is SO GLAD that he did not take AP History this year. He is very busy, bordering on overwelmed with his AP Calculus AB, AP Physics, AP Spanish, AP English Lang and AP Chemistry. His friends who are in APUSH complain about the reading requirements. That said, he IS PLANNING TO TAKE AP Government next year. It is not supposed to be as time consuming and is only a half year class.</p>
<p>mommeleh, my D2012 was discouraged from taking APUSH because of the time requirement, and while we originally resisted the teacher’s recommendation, we are happy this year that she decided not to take it. APUSH students at her school put in at least 2 hours a night to do well in the course, and considering D’s overall workload, that would have been extremely difficult. Additionally, she has no special love of history. </p>
<p>Re: the Calculus AB requirement, is there any possibility for your son to get that out of the way in a short summer course? My S2012 attends a science/tech magnet school, and he wanted to take AP Calculus BC as a junior. In order to do so, he had to take a three-week math course in the summer between sophomore and junior year. Next year as a senior, he’ll be permitted to take a zero period Catholic University course in differential equations/Calculus 3, so he really got a good jump from that brief summer class.</p>
<p>Two chapters per week seems to be typical for APUSH, but my son does some of the reading over the weekend, and because of a block schedule, he only has class four days per week. So on school nights, he probably puts in one hour a night twice a week, with an additional hour the night before a test. It really is not that bad. Again, the difference will be in the teacher. If the course adheres mostly to the text, with minimal supplementary work, it is very doable. </p>
<p>If the teacher assigns lots of projects and papers, it may be overwhelming for a student who already has a heavy course load. Your best bet right now is to get the lowdown from several current students with a similar background as your son’s.</p>
<p>I found APUSH to be a very manageable AP class. I’m spending more time on homework this year in AP Lit. I did all of the reading for the class, and it didn’t take me that long (I rarely spent more than 1 hour a night on homework). I got a 5 on the AP. I probably actually found AP Psych more time-consuming in terms of reading. Additionally, I think I was the only person in the class who actually did all of the reading (I found it really interesting/fun because history is my thing). I have several friends who didn’t do the reading and received 4s/5s. If he has a solid background in US History going in, it shouldn’t be too ridiculous of a course to take.</p>
<p>So much wisdom out there. i love it!
mihcal, in my gut I agree with you. there is no robotics club, and the one semi-engineering club seems to be a bust, too. Most of what my son has done is on his own, and it would help if he could get some advisor/club to support this interest. Btw, my son took his health class online, too. Might be a good stock investment- these online course providers
Linymom, it did indeed help to hear about your experience. I am of a similar mindset: ie how are we going to fit in the driving and the SAT prep on top of all of this coursework. My son is smart, but he is not a superstar. And I don’t like to see him working every waking minute. I think that is a miserable existence. Unlike your son, however, mine would only be taking 2 AP courses. I’m curious: did your son have to take regular physics before AP physics? In my son’s school, the science curriculum is screwy. All freshmen must take an intro to science course, then biology as sophomores. Then they can choose. There are some very interesting-sounding courses (like biotechnology), but they would need to be chosen at the expense of a basic science. My son is taking regular physics next year. This is the prereq for AP physics. He could take the AP physics in his senior year, but I think I will advise against it as that would mean he would not get in any hs chemistry. A friend of his is going to take a test to see if he can bypass the intro physics course and go directly to the AP course. My son has had no exposure to physics, so this is not a viable route. Plus, frankly, I think it doesn’t hurt to take a real college intro course in your potential future area of study. But I really digress…
Gourmetmom, your description of your son’s time commitment sounds very reasonable. I have told my son that he must ask around to see what the class is really like. He actually does have an interest in history, so if the teacher is good, it might be tolerable.
seiclan, that sounds like a very heavy load your son is taking, so I really doubt the lack of APUSH matters. I also thought my son would take the AP govt class the following year. Don’t know if there is an honors option for the US history (it would not be a distinct class, but extra work a student opts to take on). That might be a nice compromise.
JenPam, that’s what i am afraid of: if it’s two hours a night, I think it would kill him. He’ll have to find out. I don’t feel a need to accelerate the math. He used to dislike math, and just seemed to start liking it this year since he is starting to feel good at it. I don’t want to undermine that.
Nonsensical, I don’t think there is a great background in US history to start with, but the fact that other students you knew did well on the exam with moderate effort is good to know!</p>
<p>Is the AP Physics course B or C? B should be thought of more like an honors high school physics course, and tends to give no useful subject credit for a STEM major in university. C (with calculus) may give physics subject credit (more likely for mechanics than E&M), depending on the university. Still, it is best if he takes at least one physics course (whether regular or honors high school level, or AP) if he is interested in science enough to consider a STEM major in university.</p>
<p>Having high school chemistry is desirable, at least for him to see if he like chemistry, if he is generally interested in science. AP chemistry credit may or may not give chemistry subject credit in university (usually a semester’s worth if it does).</p>
<p>I think he should ask around about how time consuming and difficult it is at your school. My older son disliked history and was reluctant to take APUSH. GC pushed strongly for it, and I pointed out that if he got a good score he’d probably never have to take US history again. I’d say he rarely did more than 5 hours of homework a week and he got a 5 on the exam and an A in the course. He has the advantage though of reading very fast and having a better than average ability to memorize facts quickly. </p>
<p>My younger son who loves history, but was not as strong a student, spent about the same amount of time on the course - except for a couple of all nighters writing research papers. (Bit of a procrastinator!) :rolleyes: He also got an A and a five.</p>
<p>My kids were never forced to do outlines thank goodness.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus, that is useful info. The course is AP physics B, so maybe it’s just as well that he take the intro course now and then again in college. I definitely agree with the idea that he should take chem for a well-rounded education. Dad is a chem professor, so it seems reasonable for son to at least be exposed to the subject
Mathmom,
Your comment:
'My older son disliked history and was reluctant to take APUSH. GC pushed strongly for it, and I pointed out that if he got a good score he’d probably never have to take US history again. '<br>
That says it all! Glad to hear your kids managed the course so well. I do think we are starting to lean towards my son taking it-especially if he doesn’t hear too many horror stories when he surveys kids this week.<br>
Kelowny, no. No robotics here. And my son is not much of a start-a-club kind of kid. We will probably look for opportunities for him to intern or such at local university.</p>
<p>Thanks all for your comments. It really has helped me to sort through the options here.</p>
