By Amilia Wu
Staff Writer
In our overly competitive high school environment, students often overburden themselves with multiple AP classes. According to the 2022-23 Curriculum Guide, standard courses cannot be dropped after the first week of school, while honors and AP classes are immutable.
Taking on too much academically can cause accumulated stress and fatigue, spiraling into mental health problems. Student-initiated drops should be permitted for the first three weeks of school in order to relieve the unnecessary stress of being trapped in an advanced course.
Standard courses can be dropped within one week, while AP and honors courses cannot be dropped at all.
Stress from the more advanced classes piles up, while standard courses don’t have it much better. One week is not long enough for a student to accurately assess their coursework for the entire semester since the first week of school tends to be filled with seating charts, syllabus review and grading systems. Once a course is in full swing, work can pile up and have adverse effects on mental health.
“Right now I haven’t been talking to my family,” senior Jackie Li said. “I lock myself in my room. I sleep at like two every day. It’s definitely taking a toll because I don’t have time to build friendships, walk my dog or eat. I don’t have time to do anything until I finish my homework.”
Many students are taking multiple AP classes on campus, and academic competition is extremely high.
Unprepared students may be pressured to take an advanced course or two, which can become too much to handle. Students that have waited past the one week deadline may feel trapped in their decisions and locked in for the whole semester.
To relieve unnecessary stress in students’ course decisions, the policy could extend to allow class drops during the first three weeks of school.
This would allow enough time for a student to assess the classroom environment and workload, rather than judging from the syllabus.
An extension also provides enough time to make up missed work from the alternative class. Paired with the relatively light amount of work given during the start of the school year, students can make up much of the early classwork.
Some argue that class sizes would fluctuate too much with course drops. Dropping classes can lead to both empty or overflowing classrooms, putting a strain on teachers and students.
“There’s not always a place to go,” Principal Fil Lujan said. “We build our schedules based on course requests. We try to make those course requests as accurate as possible by having those meetings in the spring, making sure that you’re taking the courses that you’re going to be successful in.”
However, no student would arbitrarily drop courses. The three-week policy would help struggling students who desperately need to reduce their stress load. Dropping a class is more beneficial to the student than a hindrance to the teacher.
Simply moving a few students around does not significantly impact class sizes, but saves students from future academic grief.
Addressing the mental health crisis that many students face; it’s a familiar struggle that affects everyday life.
In order to decrease educational pressure and maintain students’ sanity, the class drop period should be extended to three weeks.
This would alleviate unnecessary stress, allow informed decisions and provide a safety net for those unsure of their academic future.
Schools should allow students to chart their own course in high school, preparing for college and beyond. Give students the chance to determine their own destiny.