Former Massachusetts teacher Diane Weir reacts to news of a high school student with a GPA somewhere north of 4.0 being turned away from taking a fourth AP class out of concern that she might be taking on too much.
I realize that not all students could maintain such a high GPA with that sort of workload, but no student should be denied the chance to try. We wouldn't tell the athletes that they couldn't play a sport each season, even if we knew that they wouldn't play each equally well. Why then would we limit the scholars from challenging themsleves? ... So, instead of taking an Economics class, she is going to the movies with friends. Tell me, if given the chance to redo your high school years, which would you have chosen? According to a survey in USA Today, it would seem that today's students would opt for Economics.
Wow, high school has changed.
(On a side note, Weir is now a school committee member in Westford, Mass. Not only is it unusual to find a local public education official who runs a personal blog, but she’s gone so far as to include her voting record and a justification for taking a stand against a recent teacher contract. Wonder if other school board members will follow suit.)
(From Diane Weir.)
