Most Frustrating Thing about High School

Pre-College Issues High School Life
381

Uh, trust me, when the tests are easy for A+ kids, they always aim for 100% or more with extra credit. It’s always nice to have something to fall back on in case you don’t do so well on another test. Especially when we make stupid mistakes on the tests, it really stinks to get a 98%.

If any student gets any lower than they usually get, they complain about it. Average B students would complain about getting an 81%, since that’s a borderline B/C. It’s the same for us, a 91% is borderline A/B, and a 98% is borderline A+/A.

Most A+ students in my grade (maybe 6 or so out of 500 kids) are aiming for valedictorian. We need all the marks we can get.

382

The unability to get a job. Why the restrictions on Child Labor for those who genuinly want to work?!?

383

Amen to that

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@sternyc

“And for those of you who don’t enjoy it when A+ kids complain about getting 98%s, it’s the same thing for us when a B kid complains about never getting A’s. Our standards our higher, and we seek to excel in most things we do. We know we can’t be perfect, but it sure as hell doesn’t hurt to try.”

I get what you’re saying; I’m a straight A student, with a few A+s sprinkled in (Literature, Geometry, Choir). However, I respectfully disagree with your comparison. When B kids complain about not getting A’s, it’s most likely because they are lazy and did not pay attention in class or study enough to receive an A. When an A+ student has worked their ass off to make sure they score a 100 and end up making a stupid mistake that costs them a few points, they do have a right to be upset, unlike the former. This doesn’t mean that they should openly complain to others though.

I wouldn’t agree that getting a 98 is enough to get upset over; at my school, you only need a 96.5 in any given class to receive an A+. Also, the busywork can do wonders for your grade. If you get a 98 on every test and do all of your homework, you will be well above the threshold for an A+. Regarding “complaining,” I don’t think it’s ever necessary to complain about a 98 unless the teacher obviously made a grading error. You can be upset about making the stupid mistake, but at the end of the day it is your fault that you made the mistake, not the teacher’s.

Sorry for my rant. I agree with pretty much everything else you said though. :slight_smile:

385

People who ask for advice (and disregard it).
I don’t have an issue with giving advice, but I cannot count the number of times I’ve been asked for advice, whether it be about relationships or school, which people COMPLETELY ignore. I will spend several minutes trying to assist someone with an issue they wanted help with and they will turn around and do the EXACT OPPOSITE of whatever I advised them to do. Why do they ask for help if you don’t want it?

Example:
Friend:“Oh my gosh, IAmNotCreativ, I need advice! Bryce (or whoever, I just came up with that name) cheated on me for the 5th time! He said he would stop, but I don’t know what to do!”
Me: “Hmm, maybe it’s time that you break up with him and move on. I mean he cheated on you repeatedly and last time he said he’d never do it again, but clearly that didn’t work out.”
Friend: “You know what, you’re right! I’m going to break up with him today!”

Next day…
Friend: “We’re getting married!!!”
Me: :smh:

1 year later…
Friend: “We’re getting a divorce!!”
Me: :walks away: “I can’t deal with this bs.”

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The things I don’t like about high school (specifically mine…) in no particular order:

  1. Kids who kiss a$$ out in the open to ABSOLUTELY everyone around them, whether it be to a teacher, a coach, or other students in order to get a good grade or a leadership position in a particular club. It’s absolutely fine to have genuine conversations with your teachers, but when you throw in compliments just for the “bonus points” or start a conversation when you are clearly uninterested, we can all tell, and odds are the teacher can too.

  2. My friend who sends snapchats of him pissing in the urinal. Sorry dude, we are not and will never be that close.

  3. Someone mentioned this earlier, but we have an awards ceremony and last year this one Asian dude collected 8 of the 14 awards (got accepted to 5 Ivy’s but chose Stanford). The rest were split between 4 people.

  4. KIDS WHO CALL ALL OF THEIR TEACHERS SH*TTY! Maybe this isn’t as prevalent in public schools, but many of my classmates who are taking Honors classes but getting B’s and C’s in them are claiming that the teacher is “so bad, she can’t explain anything, yada yada yada.” Here’s a thought: maybe you’re just NOT READY TO TAKE ON THIS HONORS LEVEL CLASS! (Note: I know there are some bad teachers, but it’s very rare to come across one at my school. People complain in every single one of their classes about the “poor quality” of the teaching, which ticks me off.)

To change it up a bit… One thing I LIKE about my high school:

Unlike most other high schools, we select valedictorian and salutatorian in a way that I’ve never heard about. Basically, there’s a 3.5 GPA floor, but anyone at 3.5 or above can “apply”. They write their valedictorian speeches, submit them, and a select group of head staff/faculty read each speech blindly (without knowing who wrote it). They select the first and second best speech and those people are the valedictorian/salutatorian. Some folks on here may not appreciate this system, but I try to spend more time on ECs and maintain an A rather than going all out in classes and getting straight A+s, so this system gives me a chance to become a val as well. :stuck_out_tongue:

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@LucidGman, my school is very competitive amongst the top 10-12 students, and an A+ is a 98.5 for us. Reading what I posted, I realize that what I wrote might have sounded REALLY snobby.

At our school, we have the typical cliques: jocks, hipsters, cheerleaders, the nerds that just look like “nerds”, the anime club, etc., but basically the A+/high A kids hang out together. We compete among ourselves, and even then, we rarely tell everyone our grades. It’s mainly to judge competition for valedictorian, even though that’s 3 years down the road. We use the normal valedictorian system, which I prefer, probably since my grades so far are #1-3 in our class of 520-ish kids. Probably the 20s students would prefer that system, though. I find it easy to maintain A+s in classes without much study, since I’m naturally good at sciences, math, and foreign languages, we don’t have history this year, and English doesn’t require much studying overall. My ECs are mainly academic based, too, so it all works out for me in the end. :slight_smile:

Ok, some teachers are honestly just irritatingly mind-numbingly boring and low-quality. Not naming names, but some certain teachers of mine find it rather interesting to give personal anecdotes rather than teach. Since this is a foreign language class, which I’m planning on taking IB down in my senior year, I kinda need to know the language. If I were to quit before IB (something I might do), then I’d easily get an A+ (no notes, no practice, nada) in that class. But, I actually can’t get an easy A in this class and actually need to learn! That bothers me. Yeah, there are some kids who really need to learn how to take notes and not copy homework. It’s one thing to copy homework if you understan the subject (some of my very smart friends do this), but it’s another if you’re about the fail the entire class!

And becoming a teacher’s pet through flattery is quite irritating. It’s fine to strike up a non-sycophantic conversation, but not to sweet-talk them.

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@sternyc , 98.5… ouch. I apologize for making the generalization that all high schools use the same grading system as us… and no worries about sounding “snobby,” I didn’t really get that vibe.

Our school contains all of the cliques you’ve mentioned as well. My friends and I are all kids who aim high (A- and above.) This may seem low to you, but in context, A- and above in all honors/AP classes is quite a feat at this school (there are only 5 or so kids of 150 who achieve this-- most have a B+ in there somewhere.) I know all of the smart kids personally, and there is only one who has achieved all A+s, (keep in mind this is even with 96.5 being A+) but he only takes 6 classes and has a free period, unlike most top students who fill in all 7 slots. He also took Calculus in middle school, go figure.

You must be VERY good at math/science/foreign language to not have to study to get a 98.5 or above, at least where I’m from. I applaud you for that. I sometimes wish I went to a larger, less competitive school so I could breeze through things and have more free time to do other things (academic or nonacademic), but that’s just the nature of my school I guess. The top students continuously moan about getting only five hours of sleep or so (myself included, occasionally) due to the work load, and nobody is getting straight A’s without a ridiculous amount of time committed to homework/studying.

Okay, I do admit, there are definitely some teachers that would rather tell stories than teach, but why should you care? You can study/do homework for other classes during their class, since you know it won’t be useful, and then study using a textbook and/or looking at online instructional videos. Better yet, find someone who speaks the language and try to have a conversation with them (in that language) daily. My Chinese teacher speaks in terrible English and doesn’t teach us crap, but by using the textbook for vocabulary and online sources for grammar, as well as speaking to my Chinese friend in Chinese when I can, I’m sure to do well if I choose to continue it. It sucks to be stuck with a bad teacher, but just make the best of it, I guess.

Most smart kids in my classes, including me sometimes, don’t even do homework for certain classes when it’s not worth a grade. When it is worth something, kids will put in the time to do it right and not copy, because they can’t risk ruining their homework grade because it boosts their average for that class. Kids who copy are usually (as you mentioned) kids who are getting C’s.

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@LucidGman,

I do understand that an A in each class itself is really good, it just depends on the teachers you have. I luckily have teachers that either teach really well/grade really hard, or don’t teach/don’t give tests.

Calculus in middle school?! That kid’s going to have a hard time doing community college math all four years of high school. It also depends whether it was just Calc or AP Calc (he probably couldn’t have taken the exam back then in middle school). Calc itself isn’t that bad.

Eh, I’m not too good. I participate in national math olympiads, and Chemistry was really easy for me. We’ll see if I can manage an A next year in Biology. We’re also on the semester, non-rotating schedule, as I’m a freshman, and we can’t take APs for credit. :frowning: So we only have 3 classes each semester (freshmen also can’t fill out all 8, they only can fill out 6). This makes it really easy. My Chinese teacher was really easy and loved me (even as a non-Chinese student); she also gave little to no required homework. Woah, you take Chinese?! That sounds like my teacher, though. Except our textbook has literally everything in Chinese, including the directions, so that class was an easy A. I’m getting ready to fail Chinese 2, since our current teacher is moving to Montreal or something next year, and we’re getting an ACTUAL teacher. :frowning:

The teachers I have who don’t really teach, also hate it when you do other homework. I got my Chemistry study guide taken away in Chinese class and handed to my Chemistry teacher (it was actually really funny since the study guide was also optional, and I was writing long explanations for the hell of it, and actually got extra credit for that), but yeah.

Two of my classes are quite literally 100% (ok, maybe 90%) participation and homework-based. One assignment causes me to drop down to a low A, which is not good in those classes. I remember missing 4 assignments or so in Spanish, and my class average was a C~ish for a couple of days (late credits and tests saved my life). I wish I could miss homework though. My Chinese and Algebra 2 teacher let me not do homework as long as I maintained an A+, which was awesome.

390

It is possible to take an AP test in middle school.

391

My school district is honestly quite crappy, then. You have to take the exam in high school for us.

392

@sternyc, He took the AP Calc BC in 8th grade. He took Multivariable Calculus last year (which our school offers due to so many skipping ahead in math) and is now pursuing Linear Algebra with an online course. He’s going to drop Math next year to double up in sciences. His sister also went to Harvard, so yeah…

Yes, I take Chinese as well. It’s unusual to find another non-Asian Chinese taker! Your current teacher sounds a lot like my teacher in middle school, who also had to leave. My teacher loves me a lot because I speak to her in Chinese outside of the classroom, and tell her about my Spring Break in Chinese and stuff. I got put into the “National Chinese Honor Society” (seems legit lol). Chinese is an easy A but an impossible A+ because our teacher will sporadically give pop quizzes and expects us to know how to write every character we’ve ever learned. Without her huge curves, my grade would be a B- but I am currently the top Chinese student with a 94.6. There’s only one other sophomore in my class, but we were moved up to one level above where we should be because they didn’t want to waste a whole class period for two people.

Silly, you’re supposed to hide that you’re doing homework, or sit in the back or something… No teacher likes it when their students do other homework. Basically, history is that class where the teacher just tells random irrelevant stories about his life. During every class, I use my laptop and open up a Google Docs with like 5 bullet points of notes from his class, and then do other things (write papers, study for tests, etc.) on another. Look up every 5 minutes, sit close to the back, and have your volume off, and you should be set. It’s hilarious that you got extra credit for that, well done. :slight_smile:

You have 2 100%s, well done. My geometry grade used to be 102, but now it’s ~99 because I stayed up particularly late before one test and ended up changing my answers that were originally correct at the end due to being tired… ugh. My only class that is a perfect 100 is choir (it’s sweet, counts as an honors class because I’m in the select choir too ;)). You take Spanish and Chinese?! I thought I was the only one who took this peculiar combination. Nice.

393

Woah, you take Spanish and Chinese too?! Crazy. It started off in 8th grade when I had an extra period, and my friends were taking Spanish, so I just took the class for fun. And then I did really well in the class and ranked 1st, so I just decided to continue.

The “National Chinese Honor Society” at my school is basically the place where everyone who’s even vaguely Asian (there’s a 1/4 Russian 3/4 British guy who calls himself “Asian”) hangs out. That’s basically the biggest Asian networking place in our high school. That, along with our White Rice club. Curves are awesome, except for the fact that they don’t curve anything but math, and that sometimes lowers my grade (what used to be a 102% would turn to a 100%, etc.) :confused: .

We have assigned seating in all of our classes (sigh), so I sit in the middle. No laptops allowed, either. :(. I’m not very well-versed in the art of being discreet, so that doesn’t work out in my favor. I remember one time when I had forgotten to print my 1,000 word Chemistry essay, but luckily had texted a clear picture of my laptop screen with the essay on it, so I had to copy all 1,000 words down by hand during Chinese class. That was not very fun, but it was the only time I succeeded in doing homework in another class.

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@sternyc Yep, I take them both as well. At our school, it’s basically any kid that meets our minimum requirements for NCHS just applies and waits… You just write an essay, your ECs, your gpa, etc. it’s not like a real club though, which is kind of weird.

I see, we don’t really have assigned seating, but people end up sitting in the same seats a quarter way through the year anyway. Also, at my school basically everyone has a laptop (lots of rich kids…) so very rarely does a teacher disallow use of them during class.

Well, it was fun talking with you, but I’ve got to focus on life now and need to stop wasting time on this forum, lol. Production week for the musical next week, delcos for track, need to plan this event out, APs… Phew. Good luck in your future endeavors, and maybe we will cross paths later on CC! :slight_smile:

395

P.E.! Screw P.E.! I appreciate and respect the goal of bettering your own body, staying healthy, and working out (Which I even do at home), but…GAH. I don’t find the excercises horrible or anything(if a little boring); It’s the people. I go to an all-male highschool, so their etiquette in the locker room is absolutely abhorrent. Spraying AXE everywhere, disgusting conversation, people who never shut up, people who take the games WAY too seriously. Last year I was able to stand it because I had a friend with me, but this year I’m not so fortunate. The best P.E. class I ever had was the one where we were just allowed to stay in the locker room doing nothing. At least then I was able to look up some interesting stuff on my iPad while I ignore all the stupid going on around me. I realize that sounded kind of stuck up, but…God I hate that class.

396

Most frustrating thing about high school? The unnecessary competition. At-least in my school, everyone thinks that they are better and smarter than everyone else. We often compare each other’s stats and as a result, some of us have low self esteem about our future… This kind of pressure affects some of my classmates psychologically and gives them a pessimistic mindset for admission to prestigious colleges.

397

The idiots who constantly pad their resumes in. Seriously? Just because you created an organization that miserably attempts to help the poor, and only meets once per year and does only one three-hour volunteer session per year does NOT mean you will get an advantage in college because they see right through that.

Also, the people that create nonprofits just for the hell of doing so, and putting disingenuous interest in them. It’s SO easy to see right through their intentions - everything they do is based on getting into a top college. You went to a foreign country for a week and spent a day with poor children, then write a tearful essay about how you wish you would help. It’s fantastic work, but please don’t profit off someone else’s pain. If you were genuinely interested, you would solicit donations individually, door-to-door.

398

I hate all the cheating at my school. Our ranks are seriously screwed up; like I have a 3.9 GPA in all honors/AP classes and i’m not even in the top quartile.

I also hate how teachers act like their class is the only one that exists. My teachers KNOW that the majority of my class is in upwards of four AP classes, but still expect us to do well on all of our work, and stay awake in class all the time.

399

I hate that teachers actually have such students as “teachers pets”. It might not affect grading but its annoying to see a teacher so energetic with one student and not caring to ask another how that persons day went. This however is a life problem as I’m sure it exists even outside of school.

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The students.

So many of them cheat on tests. I don’t understand how they manage to do it so often and so successfully. They can pretty easily outperform those who persevere with dignity. In the end, the number would be near the same, but some idiots can put in nowhere near as much effort to do so.

Oh, don’t forget to mention that most of them are party harddies (with alcohol) and a decent percentage of those party harddies love pot. Funny thing is, they’re the ones who cheat successfully. Great. Half-assed party animals that do just as well as those who do it with integrity.

Some of my fellow classmates are extremely arrogant. Great, I couldn’t care less about how amazing you are and how you’re going to get into an Ivy school. I don’t care if you manage to get a recommendation from a certain world renowned astrophysicist. Bet you didn’t know that colleges ask for those who know you best, and not from the most famous. Maybe if you didn’t have your head so high up your ass and belittle everyone else, we can talk about your ambitions. However, if all you ever speak of is your own “greatness”, then I hope you fail at everything you attempt to do.

I like almost all my teachers. Most of them are absolutely amazing, but I have a certain teacher who I despise.
She is horrible at teaching, and because of that, my best subject gpa dropped from a consistent 99 each year to a 92 in my most important year of HS. You’re never guess who does well in her class! That’s right! Party animals and potheads do. I wouldn’t be surprised if they paid her.

Sorry about the rant. I guess I’m just butt hurt.