Advanced Placement Classes

Students should listen to their instincts and not bite off more than they can chew, but rather ease into challenging coursework (such as AP and IB classes). If I were to return to high school (knowing what I know now about myself, academic preferences and capabilities); I still would only take advanced placement classes in a few subjects in which I am deeply passionate at most. Too much pressure academically and emotionally removes the joy of learning resulting in low performing students without vision or passion. School should not be a torture chamber and painful experience. On the contrary, there needs to be time for independent study and cultivating creativity. Only then can students discover their gifts, mature and become high achievers. Unfortunately, much of the present American educational system has confined and crippled students merely making them to be conformists teachers can easily manage within the classroom.