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My experience with the american HS has been great. I went in Halifax County High, in rural Virginia, in the late 90s. It is rated 5.5/10, so average school I g

My experience with the american HS has been great. I went in Halifax County High, in rural Virginia, in the late 90s. It is rated 5.5/10, so average school I guess and it was racially diverse. I attended it as an exchange student, (From Albania), from my senior year. I took mostly AP classes, and they were pretty good, as the average student was very/well motivated. They were smart and most went to good colleges after it. I got the chance to advance many of my skills, computer wise, and even took programming, which was great as it cemented my desire to pursue CS. (Pascal was the language being taught in 99). Things like AP physics and biology/chemistry were way behind my Albanian education. I can't image what Gen Ed physics would look like. (probably comparable to middle school level in former commie Europe). AP Calc, was challenging and on par with former communist country education (but very few people take those classes). Gen. Ed classes, (the ones where average people take) were a mixed bag, as they had plenty of students that clearly didn't want to be there, and just wanted a pass grade and move on. I also got to join the soccer team and I loved it. Made lots of friends, never got into a fight (perhaps because I was the only foreign student, and people were super friendly), went to the prom, and all that. Became friends with the popular/'in' group of girls, had a gf., etc... It was something like out of the movies. For me it was a great experience, and it really really depends on how you use it. If you take mostly AP classes, or participate in sports, it is a great thing. If you take the gen. ed classes, you will end up in classes that are designed more to just teach the bare minimum, as most students there don't have any interest in being there to begin with. The trend of reducing AP classes in the name of 'equity' is very troubling, as it remove the chances of smart students to have a stimulating environment, and let them learn at their faster pace.

dorchadas 5y ago
> The trend of reducing AP classes in the name of 'equity' is very troubling, as it remove the chances of smart students to have a stimulating environment, and let them learn at their faster pace. This is happening at the school I worked at. They're offing the AP courses in the name of dual credit, which is absolutely useless if you want to do anything halfway related to the degree. But parents like how it looks better because "college credit" is always seen as good, even when it doesn't transfer because it's from a local community college that state universities laugh at. I've had students in the past told they wouldn't have to repeat it in college to just have to do just that as it wouldn't count towards their major, whereas a more rigorous AP class would have. It's all because our guidance officer might be the most incompetent person in the world at her job. In the words of one of the few remaining AP teachers, "Her children aren't accelerated so she's going to make sure nobody is." And it's not far off, with her telling kids to take easier classes and not challenge themselves, etc. It's awful, thank God I'm on a leave of absence this coming school year.
veilrap 5y ago
I came here to write up a similar story. Grew up in the mid west, went to through a pretty average public school system. Participated in sports, AP classes, and generally had an excellent time. I suspect that like most of the internet there's a strong tendency for people to post their feelings about negative experiences. From polling people in real life, it seems to be somewhat hit or miss, so clearly there's room for improvement, but I don't think that the current system is completely broken.

dorchadas 5y ago

> The trend of reducing AP classes in the name of 'equity' is very troubling, as it remove the chances of smart students to have a stimulating environment, and let them learn at their faster pace. This is happening at the school I worked at. They're offing the AP courses in the name of dual credit, which is absolutely useless if you want to do anything halfway related to the degree. But parents like how it looks better because "college credit" is always seen as good, even when it doesn't transfer because it's from a local community college that state universities laugh at. I've had students in the past told they wouldn't have to repeat it in college to just have to do just that as it wouldn't count towards their major, whereas a more rigorous AP class would have. It's all because our guidance officer might be the most incompetent person in the world at her job. In the words of one of the few remaining AP teachers, "Her children aren't accelerated so she's going to make sure nobody is." And it's not far off, with her telling kids to take easier classes and not challenge themselves, etc. It's awful, thank God I'm on a leave of absence this coming school year.

veilrap 5y ago

I came here to write up a similar story. Grew up in the mid west, went to through a pretty average public school system. Participated in sports, AP classes, and generally had an excellent time. I suspect that like most of the internet there's a strong tendency for people to post their feelings about negative experiences. From polling people in real life, it seems to be somewhat hit or miss, so clearly there's room for improvement, but I don't think that the current system is completely broken.