<p>A little background..... I'm a junior that is interested in taking the AP level English course for my senior year. I realize that this is a pretty big feat(transitioning from regular English), but I'm prepared to do what it takes.</p>
<p>So I emailed the English supervisor to inquire about any information regarding requirements, placement tests, pre-requisites, etc. But to my dismay he replied, quite frankly I might add, "You cannot jump from a CP level English course to an AP class."</p>
<p>Now this is completely fair and fine, but my school's Program of Studies clearly states that as long as I fulfill the requirements(maintain a certain avg., pass the placement test, etc) I should be allowed to take the course.</p>
<p>So am I to assume the English supervisor is right and be content with CP English? What else can I do? I can already see my guidance counselor complying with the supervisor and not doing anything about it.</p>
<p>How annoying is your school when it comes to cases like this? Are they really nit-picky about pre-requisites? Shouldn't I be able to challenge myself if I feel the need to do so? What right does a school have in preventing me from pushing myself?</p>
<p>that teacher's a jerk. if you want to be in ap, he should've just let you. my school is full of kids with 'prerequisites' that end up failing the class anyway. if you really feel like you can do well in the class, than yeah, why not.</p>
<p>Don't get on his bad side too much -- be mature about it and don't make him resent you (the last thing you want in a subjective-prone class is an angry teacher).</p>
<p>But, yeah, talk to your counselor to see if you can work it out.</p>
<p>OP: I was in a similar dilemma like you last year. At my school, if you want to go from CP English to AP/Honors English, you have to fill out an application, have a current A (93%+) in the class, and pass a test/essay. It is the hardest transition of all departments at my school, and a picky one at that. Last year, I had an A-, and they were kind of unsure about it, but I kept pressing them about how I was jumped down from honors in freshman year to CP in sophomore year, so I know what the workload is like. I didn't make it into AP English Language last year - and I'm kind of glad now that I didn't. There was only one teacher who taught the course, and she was the hardest teacher in the Englisih department. This year, I was more prepared. I took the test to get into next year's AP English Literature, and I was one of only three people that made it in. Thank God.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would tell your supervisor that you'd like to challenge yourself with a rigorous courseload. Tell him that you understand that as a student, you know that it will be very difficult for you, but you are willing to undergo this curriculum because you feel that it will prepare you for college level courses. Don't make it sound like you know everything and you're smart enough. Keep it sincere and truthful.</p>
<p>don't settle with what they tell you. if you have the prerequisites and the ambition to do it, then they have no reason to tell you that you can't!</p>
<p>That really screwed me up because I couldn't get into some of the honors and AP courses in high school which made me struggle freshman year and now I have summer school in college next month. errrrr</p>
<p>I'm thinking about taking AP English next year too. But I'm not sure if my school need any prerequisites. I'm kind of nervous since I have never take honor english or anything like that.</p>
<p>Good for you. Talk to your counselor perhaps and promise the advisor that you will try hard. I think that you will get in.</p>
<p>Try self-nominating. That's how we have to apply to a class if we don't have the prerequisites (and I suppose being on an honors or AP track can count as a prerequisite in your case). For example, I had to do it to take AP physics. I wrote a personal statement about why I should be able to take the class. I also had to sign, and then have my parents and guidance counselor sign a statement in which I agreed to maintain a certain average-- and if my grades fell below that average, I would be switched into a lower level class. My current science teacher also had to sign it, stating that she was confident I would be able to keep up in the AP class (she also happens to be the AP teacher as well, so that part was a bit easier), and then finally the AP teacher has to agree.</p>
<p>Try to have your current English teacher vouch for you, and make it clear that you want to take the class to challenge yourself and you expect the work to be harder. However, DO NOT have your parents call up and override the teacher's decision. If your school is anything like mine, the teachers absolutely hate pushy parents. We've had a problem where the parents call up and get their child into an AP or honors class, and then their kid can't keep up and slows down the class. Like WindSlicer said, you don't want to get on the teacher's bad side.</p>
<p>We have open enrollment here; for the most part anyone can take any course they want if they took the previous courses. There are no exams in order to get into certain classes; however, many have prerequisites or corequisities, but most of the time these are general (if one took 11 English H and 12 AP Composition it is fine; all one has to do is put it on the program planning sheet). The only classes where one cannot get in without having been in a certified track prior to the course are the Math (AB/BC Calculus) and Foreign Language (Spanish, French, German, Latin) AP courses.</p>