Opportunities appeared endless for juniors as they sat down to plan their first schedule for a senior high. English alone was offered in four different intensities. Though each level has a similar curriculum there are different angles and depth that apply to each level. It can be taken as AP, honors or regulars credit. For those who pick AP, there is yet another choice to be made: take it in American Studies with AP US History, or just by itself.
Although American Studies gives the same amount of credit as AP English 3 and has a similar curriculum, the real challenge for students is to integrate what they are reading and learning in English into the history they are also learning. This was too much for some juniors.
“There is a heavier work load in American Studies,” AP English 3 teacher Bill Borowicz said. “I have three students who moved out of the class.”
As with most AP classes, students of AP English 3 and American Studies had summer reading. The students who chose to take AP English 3 were assigned The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and two literary criticisms, whereas the students who selected American Studies were required to read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and a literary criticism as well as two selections from The American Reader, a book they were required to buy for the class. This summer reading was just a taste of what was to come. For American Studies students, the challenge had already begun.
“The Scarlet Letter is a harder book to read independently,” Borowicz said.
As the year progresses AP English 3 will study The Scarlet Letter and American Studies students will read The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. Honors students did not have any required reading for the summer, but will look into both novels during the year.
Reading novels with a class requires the students to keep to a measured amount of reading every night, as well as questions and discussions with peers. Though reading the two novels with their class may not let students have the freedom of reading it at their leisure, some were just satisfied without tainting the summer with school work.
“Deciding on honors over AP was a combination of not having summer reading and a lot less work, but you still get a good GPA,” junior Claire Chambers said.
When it comes to GPA, the step from regulars to honors is a mere 0.5, as well as for honors to AP. With American Studies, the AP credit is counted twice, once for AP English and again for AP US History. A 0.5 may seem small, but given the time to accumulate, a student who has taken several AP courses may have close to a 5.0 GPA, on the other hand a student who only took regulars, no matter how tremendously they may have succeeded in every class, can only receive a 4.0. A 4.0 isn’t even good enough to get a student into the top 10%. This year, anything less than a 4.03 won’t make top 10%.
A student must be dedicated to achieve that 5.0. Between the strenuous homework, agonizing tests and essays and grueling seminars, something has to give. For most, it comes down to a choice of a social life, a good night’s sleep or good grades.
“AP doesn’t affect my social habits, it affects my sleeping habits,” said junior Julie Weltman, who is taking four AP courses and three honors classes.
