While in the past, FCHS students could only take advanced classes with a teacher’s recommendation, today’s students now have the ability to register for whatever classes they choose.

But is this a good idea?

On the one hand, this plan has opened up many opportunities for students by giving them flexibility to explore classes to which that they might not otherwise not have exposure without taking a prerequisite class, such as Advanced Placement classes, honors math or English classes, electives like Journalism, and advanced foreign language classes, These classes may not only expose students to a field they might want to pursue for the rest of their lives, but also open up chances for students to get ahead on college requirements or attain a higher GPA.

On the other hand, this lack of requiring recommendations if a student turns out to not have the skills or proper prior knowledge to succeed in an advanced class. Teachers– who arguably have the best sense of whether a student is ready for an advanced class– now have no say in whether a student should take an advanced level class; instead, the decision is up to students and parents, who may have a limited understanding of what a class requires and whether a student is really capable of doing the work,

As a result, some student have signed up for classes like AP Government, but are unable to keep up with the work, and end up failing, resulting in a lower GPA and potentially needing to retake classes.

Teachers already have the constant stress of how to control a classful of active high schoolers, so having to worry about whether all those students are even capable of succeeding in a class may provide them with yet another difficulty.

This can be a problem for students as well. “With students being able to double up and take any class, it ends up overcrowding more popular and higher level classes, making concentrating during learning and other activities during class difficult,” said Sophomore John Bland, “Also, if students can access higher level classes, regardless of their teacher’s decision, they could be too confident in themselves, and have major difficulty in the class,” he added.

Bland, an Honors student, said he has personally encountered many situations with students finding themselves in classes where they are in over their heads. “I’ve noticed that more people are trying out Honors classes this year that hadn’t before,” he said, “and they haven’t been doing particularly well. Interruptions are more frequent, with people asking for help all the time, and complaining.”  

Taking advanced classes can be a high-risk, high-reward situation. If you do poorly in these classes, your grades and GPA will be adversely affected. But if you do well in these classes, your GPA could get a tremendous boost as many of these classes are weighted, and colleges might take more interest in you.

Overall, this new system has its ups and downs, so perhaps the best solution is for students to talk frankly with their current teachers to ask their advice before signing up for an advanced class. While the final decision will still be in the student’s hands– as will the outcome– at least that decision will be an informed one.

Update: Class scheduling for the 2017-2018 school year begins on Monday, February 27 in Homerooms.

Students will be given course selection sheets from their homeroom teachers and will need to fill out their course selection sheet that day and return it to their homeroom teacher. Students who need more time should take the sheet with them to complete, have a parent sign it, and then turn it in to the Counseling department by Friday, March 3.

For a recap of instructions on when and how to schedule for next year’s classes, go to the Guidance website at www.flucoguidance.weebly.com.