My mom won’t let me take challenging classes. When I first went into high school last year, my mom would only let me take one honors course, honors algebra 2 trig because she said that I should instead put a lot of effort into making friends and just getting adjusted. I made all A’s on my last report card. This summer, I moved to a new city and a new high school. When she told me what high school I’d go to this year, I found out that the honors courses had summer homework. I asked her if it would be okay if I could take honors/A.P for core subjects. She told me it was okay. So, I did all the summer homework for Honors English, Honors Chemistry, Honors Pre Calculus, and A.P European History. Now, I talked to her again and she told me that she won’t allow me to take the courses. I plan to do marching band, Model U.N, Science Olympiad, AV club, and some other extracurricular activities as well like I did at my old school. She told me her reasoning was that I should just ease into this year and take no honors and just focus on making friends. How should I convince her to let me take these classes or should I only pick a few?
Since you can’t seem to convince your Mom, maybe you need to enlist the aid of your new counselor.
Why are you doing what your mom is saying? That sounds bad but this is your education, not your moms. Tell her if you take AP classes, you might be able to get college credit and save a lot of money. Take the classes you want, honestly. Go to your counselor and take charge, you are in control of the education you receive.
Maybe you can try to reason with her. Usually with high school classes, the type of people who are in each class vary. For example, students from lower classes often engage in different types of activities than honors classes. You can tell her that it’s easier for you to get along with kids who take more challenging classes because you share more interests with them. Good luck, this is probably just what I would do.
Thank you all. She argued to the counselor that because I have social anxiety so I should focus on making friends. The counselor agreed, so I’m only taking honors Chemistry and honor pre-cal.Honestly, I’m kinda sad because I feel more inferior than my peers because most of them are taking all honors as well as I feel I won’t make it into MIT anymore. Its been my dream since I was 10. It sounds silly, but its true. I need to make friends at this school; it will be the 10th school I’ll ever go to (hopefully my last). I’m shy, and have low self esteem. Because I’ve moved around a lot, I’ve never kept a friend for more than a year. Due to lack of friends, my grades were the only thing that made me happy. Especially when people asked me for help. That made me feel good because I was wanted. Oh well
Honestly I’m made the vast majority of my friends through hard classes. Complaining about classes together forms oddly strong bonds. But this is your education, not your mother’s. You should be in charge. Last time I listened to my parents, I was forced to take AP Physics and barely made it out alive, although that’s not quite the same. Talk to your mom or counselor about your dream to attend MIT, and taking advanced classes is the only way to have a shot so see what they say.
So your mom and your counselor both agreed that your societal anxiety is a big issue.
Honestly, it has the potential to damage your future plans far, far more than the lack of that coursework.
Ten schools by 10th grade is a lot. You need to make friends, build relationships, and work on those self esteem issues.
And the friends you had last year are still accessible via Skype.
I agree with raffie and emilyskates. You need to talk with your mom and counselor. You’ll make friends in any class - but the kids you become friends with in the honors classes may be more your type. Your record from your previous schools should prove you can do the work. It’s also always easier to go from an honors class to a regular class than it is to go from a regular class to honors. If you’re not on the honors track in a subject this year, it might be hard to get into honors next year. You really need to give it a shot. It sounds like you’ve got a good plan for getting involved with the clubs you’ve listed that you plan to join. I’d wager it will be a lot of honors kids in ModelUN and Science Olympiad. You sound like a bright, self-aware kid who can handle it.
As someone who attended two junior highs and three high schools many, many moons ago, I empathize with your situation. It’s hard, but the ability to adapt and make new friends will serve you well in the long-run. Good luck.
If your social anxiety would interfere with your academics, their decision may be an intelligent one.
Or, you may be a student like me. I’m extremely shy, although I have a best friend and boyfriend outside of school. I’m very outgoing while spending time with them. In school, I mainly just focus on my work, and I don’t have any true “friends”. I’ve been this way throughout high school. Similar to the poster above, I attended 2 middle schools and 3 high schools, so I’ve met a bunch of people.
My point: If you’re like me, I don’t feel you shouldn’t be allowed to take APs. You’ll make other intelligent friends in these classes. Participating in clubs is also a great way to make friends, as you’ll be in several. Transferring to a new school is never easy, but this shouldn’t affect your academics.
@Kastel I feel like I have to tell this story repeatedly. I have a friend. He graduated high school this year. He stayed in one school his entire high school life. These were the “advanced” courses he took during high school:
Freshman: Chinese 4H
Sophomore: Pre-Calc H, Chem H, AP Chinese
Junior: Calc BC, AP Chem, Honors Lit. Took APLAC without the class and got his only 4.
Senior: Physics 1, Stats, UNKNOWN (I think this one is Gov, he never told me).
Do you want to know where he ended up going? MIT. Class of 2019. Hard classes are not the only things required to get in. Have a personality.
Social life is important but it’s true you need to decide who and what. Not mom and counselor.
Don’t neglect friends–they are more important than anything. On the other hand–maybe you just haven’t found your group yet.
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Take the hardest classes you can. Colleges look for that. Mom and GC need to keep that in mind. If you are capable of the class then take it
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Don’t kill yourself doing it however. Balance. Repeat…Balance.
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You need like minded people as friends.
Those people may not appear in high school. Or maybe they are lurking in other classes. Or you have to wait for college. Be open! Friends are made by contact on a regular basis with some common background.