For years, Bernards High School students have been choosing their own classes based on what they believe is a good fit for their interests and academic rigor. However, not all schools get the luxury of deciding class level or even classes in general. In Watchung Hills High School, students show their frustration about having to go through prerequisites, grade requirements, and class rotations every other year.
While Bernards High School does have academic requirements, it’s not as strict as Watchung Hills’ mandations. The Bernards requirements consist of ideas like “you must take honors world history to take AP psychology”, and even without taking the honors class, you could discuss it with your guidance counselor and negotiate a compromise.
In an interview with a junior from Watchung Hills High School, CJ Quinn, says that deciding classes includes “grade requirements, prerequisites, the issue that certain grades can’t take some classes, and some classes get rotated every other year.” Quinn claims that these prerequisites and grade requirements “limit what [they] choose to do, and it’s brutal.”
These limits stop students from expanding their horizon on undiscovered interests. Quinn states, “most of my electives were picked because of the limits.” Quinn shows their distraught when exclaiming that they wished they could’ve taken AP biology or AP calculus, also explaining that they’re lucky to “get [into] culinary [class] in sophomore year, [they] would’ve been upset because as a senior you can’t take it.” CJ shows their frustration with these limits, and especially expresses this when saying, “ [the restrictions] are just inconveniences, and they may add an extra course in college… [depending] on the major.” These stipulations are making it hard for students to academically express themselves.
Another high school student, Cooper Paylago, a junior, was also interviewed on behalf of Watchung Hills High School. Paylago expresses the same frustrations as Quinn, in stating how they had to “talk to [their] guidance counselor and email the head of the arts department just to get [culinary class] on my for next year.” Paylago expresses, “I mean regardless, I will still be interested in learning these things but one of the hardest things about learning [this] is just getting started… this is the most accessible these activities will ever be to me and they’re preventing me from doing them?” The fact that students are being stopped from doing as much as they can to ensure a successful future is wrong.
It is unfair to the students’ academic lives for the school to limit classes and class levels. Bernards High School has a fair curriculum and the best guidance counselors to reach out to, in terms of changing schedules and discussing your future.
