Piggy Backing off Switching Classes Question.....

Does geography, human studies, etc. fit into his desired major in college? Is it an AP class that could allow him to test out of a similar class in college? In other words, is there any benefit for next year?
If not, let him switch.

Never mind! I thought he was a senior!
He should stick it out and give it a try!!

He should take the most challenging class for which he is qualified. If he needs to drop something, it should be football. Challenging classes ARE fun. Easy classes are boring and a waste of time.

Wait until school starts and see how it goes. Make sure he meets with his counselor before making any rash decisions. I respectfully disagree with those who say to drop football. Being on a team (or in a club, band, choir, etc.) freshman year REALLY helps a kid meet like minded people, and I think it's important to be part of a group or team outside the classroom. They spend so much time in class and doing homework, without extraciiriculars (sp?) high school becomes sad and tedious. I was a good student, but if I hadn't done yearbook, cheerleading, drama, track, leadership, etc. my experience would have been a whole lot different. Who wants to do nothing but work and study? Teenagers need physical, fun and creative outlets too, that's what keeps them out of trouble.

Let him switch. I'm with the opinion that HS should be a mix of hard work and fun.

Hold off a minute on just letting him switch. It's easy for us here to say, "Yeah, let him have one easier class" but if he just makes the change without getting all the details he could end up making a lot more work for himself later.

Here's why: Did you or he find out exactly why last year's social studies teacher said he "needed" to take Human Geo. rather than World Geo?

You need to know the why. It may be about more than just the teacher wanting a strong student to take the most challenging class.

Is Human Geo. actually a prerequisite for some other classes he's expected to take in the high school years after ninth grade? That may be the case. And some school systems actually have different levels of high school diplomas with somewhat different "tracks" of classes each year, so taking the right classes in the right years is important. It's not always made extremely obvious to parents or students, either..So you need to find out whether his taking Human Geo. is actually part of an academic path the school assumes he is on for a certain type of diploma. There is often a more basic diploma but also another one (could be called honors diploma or advanced diploma or whatever --and is not the same thing as getting AP credits for formally designated AP classes). But you need to be sure. Maybe you are already up on all this and know he doesn't "need" Human Geo and if so -- sorry!

But I found that it's easy--when moving from elementary to middle school or middle to high school-- to miss details of requirements that will come up a few years from now. There is less communication as the students get older, I think, and if I hadn't proactively gone in to see people in Student Services this spring, my kid would have not registered for some things she actually needs to be lined up for other classes in a few years' time.

That's why I'm not so ready to leap in and say "Let him switch." If he can, great, let him have the one easier class, but only after he and you know whether the harder class is part of a bigger picture for a strong student like him.

Let him switch. I was on the honors track with science in high school, when I had no business in AP anything related to science. It was incredibly hard and demoralizing. By my senior year, I was due to go into AP Physics. My engineer dad finally talked some sense into me and had me slow down and review all of the options. In the end, I went back and took the Earth Science class I skipped over freshman year instead of AP Physics. Best decision ever! I actually enjoyed science that year, still got into my college of choice and was much, much happier.

Football his freshman year?
Then he needs to switch. He needs to get used to what it is like to play High school sports and take classes, to know if he could handle so many honors classes.

I know many of the football players took lighter loads in the fall.
It is just a lot of late night games and many times the freshmen players are expected to also attend all of the Varsity games too.

He should in the future consider taking some summer classes so he is not too overwhelmed in the fall.

The kids in Band, Most of them took all Advanced and then AP courses all through High School and did great. But at practice, they were given some breaks and many of them could pull out homework.. The football teams, are not able to do that.

I would let him switch. Honors classes along with football is a lot of work for a high school student... Especially just going into high school. I would let him take the easier class now, and get used to high school life. He can take it another year if he wants to.

If my kid was realizing that he's over booked - I'd let him switch.

Yes, switch.

Consider which honors courses he is going to need based upon what he's tracking towards for college and choose those. I think it's wise not to overload the schedule, but I really wish I'd taken science honors courses instead of playing around with arts and English honors.

AP classes in our district are crazy tough. Super time consuming and with football and other advanced classes it sounds like a bit too much.

The AP World Geography class my daughter took last year is know as the toughest class in the school and they take it as Sophomores. It was crazy difficult and time intensive. She takes mostly AP classes but opted out of AP physics for the same reasons you state. High school is so intense these days, too much stress can be terrible.

I think as long as your son has a couple of AP classes already, easing up on that one is just fine. High school is completely different than the other question about switching classes. They will move your son any time in the first several weeks as long as it's for academic or scheduling reasons. Sounds like he's doing well, good luck in HS!

Has he talked to both teachers and the guidance office? One thing that may factor is the rest of his schedule - sometimes the only open slot in a class means he can't take several other classes. When I was moved out of and back into of GT classes in 7th grade, I had to leave the art teacher I loved for one I hated because the first teacher's 4th period class was full. I was so sad about that, and later she admitted she wished she had pushed for one more kid in that class (me). I was also not able to stay in the same gym or geography classes.

I did take Ecology vs Pre-cal my senior year because of the stress of two college-level courses I was taking at the time. They were offered at the same period so no other swapping necessary. I had an otherwise full courseload. I had to plead my case with both my mother and the guidance office. The teacher felt that I was doing fine with a solid B at that point but I honestly didn't want another math, knowing I was planning on majoring in a non-math related field in college. I only got through Algebra II with some serious tutoring at the end (after I'd signed up for PreCal for the next year). That was the main reason my mother approved me dropping it.

Has the year started yet or is he worried about the *perceived* workload? How did he find out it's hard? And how long would he have to switch if it's really that hard?

Another thing to think about is the other 3 years. My SD kept a class she didn't like in part because changing would mean that later she wouldn't have the option to take a prerequisite for a specific class only offered to seniors. So he should look ahead to see where this might impact him later, if the schedule means he won't have room for something that really interests him.

IMO, I'd make him at least try the class, and withdraw if he really needs to. But he hasn't even had the class yet, has he?

So, basically, if he switches, make sure there isn't some other impact you haven't yet thought about.

RE: football, my SS played football and wrestled all through HS and took AP and honors classes. While we did encourage him to join a team, it was made very clear that we expected much more than the school-required 2.0 to continue to play. Your son needs to balance sports and school and if sports makes school suffer, then he should reconsider playing. My SS ended up tutoring many of his classmates and I think MAYBE one got a sports scholarship, while he got nearly a full academic scholarship to college. It was tough, yes. I also wanted to point out to some people that not all schools are on a semester system. Many still do a full year of 7 or 8 classes, so if he's taking a lighter load, it may not be just for fall.

Let him take World Geography. Let him have some say in what he takes. He is a good student. It will be fine. Kids need to enjoy high school too. It goes by so fast.

I think your son sounds like a very level headed soon to be young man. Unless he plans on a career that Human Geography might be relevant to, let him drop it. Two AP sounds like enough.It's all about balance, if you ask me.

With most AP classes, you have the option to switch within an allotted amount of time ( usually on paper work from advisor) .

Our daughter was varsity cheer captain and she stayed in AP but had the option to opt out if she felt it would be too much time due to the time cheer ( and football) requires.

I'd ask your advisor. Chances are, he'd do well ... You never know. It depends on the instructor as well.

Switching classes in high school is very different than switching in elementary. At elementary levels, most of the time it's just a parent wanting a certain teacher or to have their child with specific friends. That process is looked down on and not allowed in our system.

In advanced classes for high schoolers, it's a different story.

I would not allow him to switch just to get into a easier class. If something has to go, it should be football.

Switch. Human Geography is very, very hard and if he's not up for it let him switch.

I think he's old enough to decide himself. I don't think we had AP classes as freshman but I was ahead a year in math and science. My parents had nothing to do with it or really much say in what I did. If I'd said no to those classes, they probably would have said fine. You're a smart kid. You know what you're doing. 2 AP plus football doesn't sound like a slacker schedule. Let him ease into things. Unless he wants to focus on Geography for a career, who really cares which class he takes? I think he's old enough to make this decision himself since he sounds like a good kid and young enough to not have to be working 24/7. And I agree with the people who say sports in HS are an important part, not just schoolwork. And being a freshman has got to be enough of a transition! I'd let him smooth it a bit. Sounds like a good kid!

Let him switch, why take a harder class just to prove he can. It's not going to teach him anything he needs. If it's something eventually related to his career he'll get that stuff in college. World Geography is actually more useful in general. Learning about the countries of the world and some of the changes that have happened is interesting if he ever travels.

My daughter had AP Human Geography last year as a sophomore. It was a really hard class and she did not care for the text book at all. Additionally, it was a ton of work, much more than she anticipated although she was warned too. She didn't bother taking the AP exam because she believed she would not score high enough to submit it as a college credit and she was also told better college don't except that class any way. In hindsight she wished she took honors history instead.

Personally, I would let him take whatever classes he wanted. Two advance classes in addition to playing football is more than enough to do. I jokingly told my daughter if she was really so smart she would not choose to take the hard classes;). Haha!!

If he is taking 2 other advanced classes then he will be plenty challenged. Unless you and he are planning on his being valedictorian at h.s. graduation, 2 honors classes in 9th grade are plenty. I say that seriously -- if my son had taken all AP/honors in 9th he could have vied for valedictorian -- I think two regular classes in 9th are what knocked him out of the running. He didn't particularly want it, anyway. But other than for becoming valedictorian, it's not necessary.

He can take all honors classes for the rest of high school if he wants and is able to, and if he gets A's in those he will have a stellar GPA.