By Kate Huneke

Come junior year, we all must face the question “to AP or not to AP?” For me, the answer was obvious. I don’t see the point in spending nine months of my life in APUSH killing myself with work when I could be taking a moderately-paced course like that offers virtually the exact same curriculum, with the exception of the more extensive research paper.

This response to AP courses is not specific to me. Lick Wilmerding High School in San Francisco has recently done away with AP courses altogether, primarily because they are concerned about how breadth tramples over depth in these classes. As a replacement, they now offer “rigorous” honors courses. Similarly, Castilleja recently decided to eliminate AP science courses and replace them with classes created by the teachers themselves.

Personally, I think Menlo should go in this direction. Generally, APs endorse coverage of a wide variety of topics via drilling and memorization. I think it would be more beneficial for students to have classes that cover a wide variety of topics, while also taking a deeper look into the subject and what it’s impact on our world is.

Although I think that the majority of students at Menlo are genuinely interested in learning about new things, I also think that APs get in the way of this process. Students take them because they (oftentimes) want to enhance their transcripts for college, not because they are truly fascinated with thermodynamics or Henry Clay’s American System. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing–the ultimate goal is to get into college–but are we willing to sacrifice knowledge that will have an impact on us for a 0.3 grade bump?

This calls to attention several other issues–like PACT, for example. Yes, community service is good, but PACT forces kids to volunteer, which essentially gets rid of any positive feelings related to the cause, making it feel like an obligation instead of something we really enjoy doing (note–not true for all cases). I feel like school nowadays is more of a burden than a blessing to many kids, as their parents expect a superb education for them–which is fundamentally good and honorable. However, all of these expectations shoved upon us breed competition. It is this struggle–to always live up to the expectations projected by our parents–that causes us to shut down when the going gets tough and eradicate whatever joy of learning we once had.

In general, APs act as a channel through which the competitive spirit of Menlo kids really comes to life–maybe too much. I think we all need to remember that the goal of high school is to be prepared for college, not to be first in the class come hell or high water.