I’m a high school freshman who’s taking Elementary French I at a local college. This shows up on my transcript and is presumably weighted as an AP. Please note, my school does not offer French.
Anyway, the class is quite time-consuming. Between cheerleading and getting tutored in Arabic (which I cannot drop as I have been doing Arabic for quite some time), after-school clubs, and other homework, I am very busy. I’m worried that if I continue this dual enrollment throughout my high school career, I may not have time for AP classes. The class meets twice-a-week and I get approximately two hours of homework per class (it isn’t hard, just a lot). We have quizzes every class now.
I have the option to drop the class and take Spanish II H at my high school. Though, I would be a little behind and I liked learning the French and Arabic together. I am also doing quite well in my French class – I got 100 on my first quiz.
What do you think I should do?
*My school says that I need to take a language through the school or DE program.
From a HS sophomore who’s taken a couple DE courses:
College level language classes can be very time-consuming. If it doesn’t seem worth it to you, Spanish is an excellent language (and shouldn’t be hard for someone versed in a romance language to pick up).
If you’re doing well in French, consider ways to spread your homework out. Do you turn in last class period’s homework each meet, or is there a specific day (eg each wednesday meeting)? How much is this work worth on your final grade? Do you need to complete it all to prepare for quizzes, tests, etc. or would you be better served studying what you can on your own?
Often exams carry very significant weight, although YMMV.
You are a HS Freshman!! Yes, drop the DE class. That will be at a much much faster pace than you are used to.
Take Spanish 2 Honors. You will get to Spanish 4 and that is all that colleges require although you can do more.
If you love languages, take French or more Arabic in college.
It’s not necessarily that the class is moving too fast for me–it moves at the perfect pace for me–, it is more whether all the time spent on homework is worth it. I’ve taken college-level classes before and am used to them moving at a quick pace. @bopper I have gotten 100% on the first three quizzes.
I guess what I am saying is that if it is not working for you, that you don’t get to experience HS activities because of college activities, that it is okay to be a HS student.
4 hours a week is not much (there are kids who spend 4 hours A DAY for their ap class, although that’s excessive.)
You’re getting a 100%: if the pace is good for you, hs language pace will be boring (first semester in college covers two years in high school…)
BTW : A freshman getting an A in a college class, wow.
But if you think 4hours a week is a lot of homework, not sure you realize how much more hw you’ll have with AP classes.
If you can hold on through college French 3 or 4 (3-4 semesters) you’ll have reached AP level in two years. Then you can take other subjects :)… Or continue at a high level.
Arabic +French are a good combination BTW.
If you don’t want to take the class, then switch. But you’ll learn soon enough that once you get past the easier freshman hs classes that 4+ hours of homework per week isn’t much even for a core hs class. I’m kind of surprised you say you have taken other college classes but were surprised by 4 hours of hw. College classes are meant to move at twice the pace of a hs class, so 4 hours per week is light.
I have decided to continue with the class, as I am doing well. But, my main concern wasn’t just the homework – it was that the class occurred at night and therefore took up a lot of time (not just due to homework). But thank you for your insight @mathyone
