“You should value learning over the grade you get”
If that were true then school wouldn’t have to be compulsory.
Here at our school, you can only be on the all A honor roll if you have solid A’s in all of your classes- no A-'s. I hate this, because for a person in all advanced classes I feel accomplished with an A-, but I can’t be recognized as an all A student. All of my friends (also all in advanced classes) feel the same way
@xxCaraBearaxx Ah, so does that mean that students who are taking those regular/honor classes and getting A+s are in the A honor roll? That sucks. Reminds me of the Junior class in my HS and how some were complaining about how a person is in the top 5 highest GPA isn’t taking any ap classes and it would suck if they end up being the valedictorian.
I personally wouldn’t worry about it too much. It’s what you get out of the class is what matters; getting easy A’s in classes and hardly learning anything is a waste of time.
High school for me wasn’t frustrating, I would it do all again if I could(why isn’t there a rewind button on my life?). I wish I went into high school knowing the importance of grades, volunteer experience, etc. Teens don’t know how it feels to be out of high school until they graduate, the fact is you will never know what its like to be in the “real world” until you graduate. I used to always say I want to drop out or I hate my life and I hate school but not realizing that high school made me the person I am today. It’s been a year since I’ve graduated and I wish I could go back. My advice to everyone is to make the best out of high school…it will all get better.
When teachers give half an hour to an hour of homework each night, not realizing that I take six or seven other classes a day AND participate in extracurriculars after school AND have a job.
I know college professors do that, but that’s different, because you don’t spend seven hours a day in class at college. And the work is relevant.
Also, when 200 out of the 280 students in our class are in National Honors Society. Something’s off here…
@dragonfly26 agree about the NHS thing. It should be more selective. I also hate how teachers feel the need to assign so much irrelevant “grind” work in high school that takes up too much time.
While in high school, there’s a high chance of getting stereotyped. By stereotyped i mean, attaching you with something (behavioral, moral, talent-wise etc). And in most cases, this is done by teachers who you so look up to.
I agree with the several posts about cheating. I’m known as a “nerd” for simply doing my homework. Even my friends get pissed off when I don’t let them copy a big assignment. Often times kids will say “It’s not fair!” or “God you’re such a *****!” Like seriously? How isn’t it fair? What’s worse is when they’ve blatantly copied the homework and pretend to show it off to the teacher.
- people who call me a Tryhard because I actually due my work
- People who want to copy my work even when I know they had the time to do it a. People that literally take my work to copy because they think I won't mind
- People who go out of their way to tell the whole class when I miss something on a test when they didn't
- People who take honors classes but should be in regular classes
- Slow classes
- Teachers who don't teach
- Cheerleaders who think they are soooo talented with their sloppy back handsprings and back tucks a. People in school sports think they are better than everyone else (compared to outside-of-school sports)
- Waste of time in classes a. 5 min for attendance b. 5 min for packing up c. 5 min for worm up d. 6x 7 min long passing periods e. That's 2 h 12 min of wasted time!
- Mean popular people
- When Counselors say that IB students are the best students on campus. THEY ARE THE BIGGEST CHEATERS EVER!
I wish I could homeschool…
I think the most frustrating thing about high school is…
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.
.
.
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LEAVING MIDDLE SCHOOL.
such good times,and…sniffle…they’re just gone…
The worst thing for me is the competition. The top three of us have been competing to be first since like freshman year and it’s so exhausting. Going into high school us three were all friends but it’s gotten to the point where we’ll lie to each other about stuff because we want to have the edge. I know we’ll never talk to each other after high school because we’ve all done so many terrible things to each other to be number one.
Just scheduling in general is enough to give me a headache. To take AP Stats or not to take AP Stats… that’s the real question.
The pressure of not being in honors / AP classes. For some reason, at our school, if you decide not to take an AP class for whatever reason, even the guidance counsellors repeatedly ask if you’re positive. Students who fail some AP classes get waived into the next one, just so the school can say that a majority of the school is in AP / Honors courses. I decided to take CP (which is, in fact, an advanced class… basically, an honors class with less breadth than honors) precalc this year, and I legitimately felt like people treated me like I was stupid for it. I’d rather get an A in CP than a C in honors, but that’s just me.
I don’t know, it’s just ridiculous. It’s my future, and I still have so much time to plan it. It’s my GPA, let me pick what I want to do to improve it.
Also, the weight of tests on one’s grade. I feel like a big part of high school is the development of responsibility and individual decision-making skills, so your grade should rely mostly on how your dedication level is, ex. turning in homework, paying attention in class… and for the most part, it is. Until… EXAMS. Your exam is below your current average? Oh, no. God forbid it’s a whole letter grade lower than your average, you’re screwed. Forget the year you spent keeping that grade up- you didn’t perform perfectly on the exam.
Your ability to retain useless, and most times inapplicable knowledge shouldn’t determine your value and the types of careers you can achieve.
^ this
@Earthlingo That post is perfect
@Earthlingo THIS! I also hate how some people call CP classes “regular classes.” It sounds so condescending…
7:20. What went through th school board’s collective head?
Also, there’s a weird culture thing. The school is about 20% highly competitive, 10% druggies, 10% total failures, and 60% (probably wonderful but ultimately indistinguishable) other people. And then there’s the senior nicknamed after a vegetable who watches porn and hentai in class. But if you’re in the highly competitive group, past sophomore year, you don’t notice the other ones. You can’t be only mildly competitive at my school, you have to be SUPER COMPETITIVE! There’s a sophomore taking WHAP, Euro, AP Chem, AP Music Theory, and AP Physics 1 (give or take one class). This isn’t completely uncommon, either. In the sophomore class (I’m a freshman) about two dozen people are taking three or four APs they don’t have interest in. Meanwhile, I’m likely to be regarded as a slacker in academic circles next year because I’ll only be taking one AP, Bio, which some sophomores took last year as freshmen. I’ll be in that 1 AP plus 2 standard required semester courses plus 5 honors. That’ll tank my class rank, but I have no interest in WHAP or Euro or Music Theory, and I don’t have enough math (parentals made me retake algebra 1 in eighth grade due to my…terrors…85) to do physics or enough chem knowledge to skip honors.
- It's great to have a site like this where you can vent. Admittedly, I would have to say that the test scores, college application process and class rankings pretty much occupied my waking thoughts when I was in high school. It's hard and tough, no question. Talking through your frustrations and knowing others are in the same boat helps to get your mental bearings and to keep the edge off the stress a bit.
- There are colleges that want you and you will make it in the world. While I wasn't at the top of my class (nor at the bottom), I did put in the time, hard work and did my best in all my classes (had honors and AP, but could've taken more). If you get a "B" or a "C," don't make it on varsity sports, academic team, etc, know that it's not the end of the world. Make a plan B, and know that you always have options.
So long as you put in an honest effort (don’t cheat, they’ll get caught in some form later on), and do your best (will Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, social media dominate your time or memorizing math theorems and formulas) through high school, there will be a college out there interested in taking you in. Even if you decide to take the 2-year community college route and transfer to a 4 year university, know that there are students who are still able to press forward like their traditional peers and enjoy equal success (i.e. I’ve heard of a transfer student who applied and got accepted to UCSF medical school, a top ranked and very prestigious school). It can be done.
- Recognize your strengths and uniqueness.
While I currently run my own business (and possibly seguing into management), the skills, interest, abilities and experience to get to this point came into fruition years after I graduated from college. It wasn't forged during my early years in high school, and no AP class would have prepared me for this path (for others it will).
True, everyone takes the same required courses at high school, and it’s tempting to pigeon hole yourself into a comparison with other academically stronger students. While doing your best in those classes, don’t forget that you too have natural, inherent (and dormant) abilities that others don’t necessarily possess (and to an advance degree perhaps). Write them down on a sheet of paper, and list them. Do you have a knack for musicality? Passionate about make-up, design, style? Are you good at tutoring your friends? You enjoy talking? Do you have a knack for problem solving? Writing and keeping that coveted list will keep your confidence even more intact. Did I forget to mention that those qualities and abilities (if nurtured and mentored properly) are translatable into the real world too?
Yes, high school is frustrating on so many levels, but don’t forget #1, 2 and 3, and you’ll be able to approach those years with a renewed sense of confidence, mettle and assurance.
@Smythe I get you so much. At our school there had always been three of us competing for one and two, and for the longest time it was expected two of us would be co-valedictorians and one was a salutatorian. Then all of a sudden the dynamic changed because this one guy didn’t want to share the title with me. I still have a bad taste in my mouth after learning I’m probably gonna be salutatorian all because an ex-friend gamed the system.
I’m honestly glad I have this forum to vent.