This article looks at the changing cirriculim of Advanced Placement classes and the work load that accompanies them. Many of us being high school teachers know the difference between AP students and general ed students but this article brings up the solid point that many of these classes are putting too much emphasis on the exams. Also the article pointed out that over the years there has been a larger work load put on the students.
Do you think that we are putting too much emphasis on testing? Are we trying to drown the students in work? How are they able to keep up with all extra curricular activities and work assigned in class?
I don't think as teachers we are intentcially trying to drown our students in work. I think we put so much emphasis on testing because administration puts it on us. Everyone is always so concerned with the numbers and ranking of the district amongst other districts! I think that students need to either manage both extra curricular and their work OR give up the extra curricular. I play soccer all year long since I was 5 years old, this doesn't come as an excuse to me. I was able to do it and if a kid/student wants it bad enough they too can do it. I honestly don't think the work load is sooo much so kids need to stop being babied and have their parents always make excuses for them.
ReplyDeleteI think too much emphasis is placed on testing. I think that there are other ways to assess students that are more authentic to real world situations. When I coached Varsity lacrosse, the girls were bombarded with so much. The girls would tell me they would go to sleep at 3 am to go wake up at 5:30. There was just not enough time in the day to finish all that they needed to do. I graduated high school almost 11 years ago, and I think there is a vast difference in expectations and work load.
ReplyDeleteI do believe there is a bigger emphasis placed on testing. That is probably because administrators are looking for higher scores thereby saying that their school students have higher and better grades.
ReplyDeleteIf students want to rgey can possibly manage everything.but there needs to be a time management skills course that might help students achieve this even if they are bombarded with huge work loads at school.
I do agree that there is too much emphasis placed on testing. However, when it comes to AP classes, you know what you're getting yourself into. You know that you're preparing for the AP exam and that the exam comes up quickly. Furthermore, there is a reason why certain students take AP classes and why others don't. In my high school all the students who took AP classes were actually more involved in extracurricular activities and sports than general ed students and for the most part we all did well on our AP exams. I feel that it is important for teachers and students to know their limits and know what you're getting yourself into.
ReplyDeleteIn the private school where I teach, the students are made to feel that they MUST take as many AP courses as possible to be competitive about getting in to good colleges. As a result, some go to college with a semester's worth of credit already under their belts. This contributes to the overall stress level of the students and definitely contributes to the lack of sleep that burns so many of them out. I think the whole AP course idea has gone off the deep end; what was originally intended for the highest level students is now being put in to practice for practically everyone, and we are most certainly drowning the students in work. No wonder they resort to cheating and plagiarizing!
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