<p>At my high school, I took regular English class last year, but I wanted to take honors English this year. So last year I asked my English teacher and she was strongly against me taking honors. But in my school I can override the teacher's recommendation so I overrode and my gc said that she will put me in honors English for this year. This was at the end of last year. However, when I came back to school this September, my gc said that honors English doesn't fit in my schedule so I can't take it, and she put me in regular English. Gc says it's a schedule problem, but I think the real problem was that my teacher from last year who was strongly against me taking honors, is teaching the honors class that I tried to take. gc said that it's disrespectful to put me in the class that the very teacher teaches. gc also didn't put me in Spanish this year, because it didn't fit in my schedule either. And there was nothing I could do about it, so I took regular English and no Spanish til now. However, just yesterday I discovered that if I give up one of my electives, both the honors English and Spanish would fit in my schedule, and that Spanish wouldn't fit without honors English. Although it's late into the year, I can still change my schedule. </p>
<p>If you were an English teacher, and your student that you strongly recommended against taking honors English, which is a class you also teach, overrided your decision and is in your honors English class, because the student really wanted to take Spanish, which otherwise the student can't take, how would you feel?</p>
<p>The thing is, that teacher is the only teacher teaching the honors class, and she strongly thinks that I don’t belong in the honors. I don’t think she’ll refuse to let me in the class, but she’ll dislike me for this whole year. And frankly I care more about getting into a good college than being nice to a teacher. Wouldn’t not taking honors affect my chance to colleges?</p>
<p>Your teacher probably thinks you’ll get a C in Honors, that’s why she’s strongly against your taking the class. Not because she doesn’t like you, necessarily, but because she hasn’t seen the depth of work that Honors English requires. Did you get an A in her class?
A C would not be good for college applications anyway. In addition, you won’t be able to ask her for a recommendation. Instead, show your current teacher that you can get an A in Regular English and do extra readings+ extra credit, so that you can be allowed into Honors next year.
Isn’t there another elective you can push around so that you can take Spanish? I agree it’s more important for you to have Spanish (3?) than an elective.</p>
<p>I agree with MYOS. It sounds to me like you have enough challenging courses that having a regular English class as opposed to an Honors class one year won’t make a difference in your college plans. Would you really like to be in a class with a teacher who thinks you don’t belong there(rightly or wrongly)? Especially since it’s not a math or science class where the grade is based on exams with right and wrong answers. It’s also quite late in the year and I wouldn’t expect that you’d do very well given the circumstances.</p>
<p>Have you spoken with this teach recently? Kids grow. It’s a calculated risk, but you need to personally be able to take this further. And you need to be mindful of college requirements for foreign language. Don’t know why you chose an elective if it posed these conflicts.</p>
<p>I would go talk to the teacher about her concerns and what you can do to mitigate those, but it’s awfully late in the year to start class. You’ll have missed a lot–especially the Spanish.</p>
Annoyed. Probably not vindictive, but not inclined to be generous if you were struggling.
I have never had–or even heard of–such a prerogative. It is surely not universal.
At some colleges, yes. On the other hand, suppose this teacher is right. (Or vindictive.) Wouldn’t getting a C or lower in honors English also affect your chances for admission at selective colleges? IOW, I agree with MYOS.
Yes, two.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Are you seriously considering joining a language class that has been going on for three months already? How do you propose to make that work?</p></li>
<li><p>How are you doing in standard English this semester? If you’re getting an A, and clearly better than the rest of the class, you could consider pressing for this change. If not, I don’t think you should agitate.</p></li>
</ol>