Honors classes or not?

[golfgal]

We are in the process of registering the kids for their new schools for next year. DS13 will be in 9th grade, high school and they have to apply to be in the honors classes which then will roll into AP classes as they get older. DS is more then capable of achieving good grades in honors courses but he is lazy and his grades are not stellar because of that. I would like to sign him up for the regular classes this coming year and see how things go, but the counselor suggested that if we want him in honors classes he should really start in them in 9th grade.

The reality of the situation for him now is he is going to get the same grades no matter what class he is in. If he is in the "easy" class he won't try because he knows it already (right) and because he is bright will do ok on tests just from listening in class. If he is in the honors class he will most likely do the homework but won't remember to turn half of it in and since the tests will be more difficult, he will probably end up with the same grades as the regular class.

I don't want him to find himself as a junior in high school and not being able to get into college because he was lazy in 9th grade and finally figured out that you do have to put forth some effort in life (at least I am HOPING he figures this out).

Any ideas or opinions on what you would do?

 

[Southern4sure]

My son is in honor classes. There is more work involved and lots of studying. He keeps his grades at A's & B's but recently had a C. My DS school counselor told us to start off with honors and if that was a problem he could be moved to reg. classes. So far so good right now.

I would try the honor classes and if your DS has a hard time, moving him to reg. classes should not be a problem. Also, anything to get your son involved in highschool activities is helpful.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I have my kids take honors classes whenever possible. If it's a subject that they struggle in they drop to a regular class. My DD (now in college) did this with math and so did my first son (now in 10th grade). My 2nd son (3rd child) is on a higher "track" in math and is in all honors classes (current 7th grader) and the ironic thing is that he is the only one of the 3 kids that is not considered G/T by the schools. LOL I really base it on the individual child, which classes they excel at, and adjust it semester by semester based on how they are doing. Everything can be changed, even after the semester has begun.

 

[emilymad]

I would recommend the honors classes. In 9th grade I did all honors classes and it was a lot of work. I ended up switching back to regular English in 10th and just having one less honors class was a huge help in terms of workload. Where I felt it really paid off was when I went to college. In comparison to honors classes at my high school, college was a breeze. I was much more prepared for college classes then a lot of my peers. I felt that it helped make the whole transition a lot easier.

 

[chris1gill]

Here's the thing I don't understand... you said it wouldn't matter which class he was put in, he would get the same grade right? Did I understand that correctly? OK, so here's my thing, he might get the same grade in the Honors class, but he might learn a LOT more!!! I'd put him in the honors course straight away & make him work for it if you think he is capable of doing the more rigorous work....

 

[ChibiJones]

I can tell you from experience that it is harder to get into honors/AP classes as a junior/senior if you don't start out in them in 9th grade. I barely missed the cutoff for English honors going into 9th grade. Literally, I was one point away from the cutoff. (This was a private high school, so they used the entrance exam scores to determine honors placements). I had to take a test to get into 10th grade honors that I did not pass. I finally passed the test the following year to get into 11th grade honors.

In French, I got into the honors/AP class my last 2 years, but I was behind the students who had been in it starting in sophomore year. I busted my butt to keep from failing that class senior year.

Also, I don't know if your high school does this, but mine gave you a bump up of a whole letter grade for honors/AP classes when calculating the GPA. So, if your son's school does this, even though the report card had the same letter grade, the honors class would result in a higher GPA.

 

[FreshTressa]

I was in the same situation as your son...

I went in the honors classes and did not do well. Not because it was hard, but because it was the first time I was ever 'challenged' at all, and I had such poor study/organization sklls that I was only getting B's.

I believe i would have been better off with a slower transition to high school.

 

[Hannathy]

I would go with honors you may find he relates better with the kids and the teachers and gets much better grades. My DD was bright but was so bored in reg. classes she just did ok but when she got with kids of her same ability and maturity and teachers used to dealing with these kids she excelled. You may find to that if he wants the AP classes later you almost have to be on the "right" track to get them into the schedule, that's how it is here if you take the wrong math track in 8th gr it is almost impossible to get calculus in without doubling up senior year. Good luck signing my DD up for highschool was more complicated than registering in college.

 

[Alice Sr.]

Very tough question and no one can really tell you what's best, but here are some random thoughts.

It's better to start in honors and then switch to a regular class the following semester if he isn't kicking it up enough to get by.
He may be ok in certain honors classes (if he likes the subject, it comes easy naturally or has a great teacher). So honors math might work where honors English won't. I think it is worth trying if his teachers recommend him.
The honors classes are really small schools inside a larger school. So if he bonds with the other honors students, there is incentive to do well enough to remain in that arena.
If he gets a B that will really be an A as far as the GPA goes so I think it is worth it.
The school my DD goes to has about 4000 kids but the honors kids are really an intimate group. They are smart, driven kids and it is really fun now to find out where they are all going (the top colleges in the country). My DD was never challenged before the honors classes straight A's without any real effort. The honors classes have really challenged her in many ways (she too has the lazy gene, probably came from her father ). I think I would have a face to face meeting with the teachers from middle school and a meeting with the counselor and your son at the high school and see what your gut reaction is. Good luck.

 

[CarolG]

I'd go with the honors classes and as many AP classes as he can handle. College admissions officers look not only at GPA, but also at the difficulty of the student's schedule. Plus, if he does well enough on the AP exams, he'll be able to get college credit for them. My son exempted a couple of college courses based on his AP exams. A friend's daughter took a lot of AP classes, did well on the exams, and started college 3 semester hours short of being a sophomore. She graduated in 3 years.

 

[mickeyboat]

I agree with everyone else.

I moved around a lot growing up. When I got to a new school they were reluctant to put me in the upper level classes because they didn't want to take a spot away from an established student, even though it was where I should have been.

The next year when I was recommended for the higher level class, I had trouble with the class because I had not learned all that the honors class had learned the year before. That haunted me all through high school and kept me out of A/P Calculus, and really left me feeing incapable when it came to math.

Start with the honors classes, and drop down if you have to.

Denae

 

[EthansMom]

I agree with the other posters. It is far easier to drop down into regular classes from the honors classes than it is to get into the honors classes later.

Also, it may be that your son could take the honors versions of some courses (like, Math and English) without taking honors versions of other courses (like, History or Social Studies).

In retrospect, I got much more of a "leg up" on my college academics by taking AP Calculus than I did from taking AP History. Because I had had Calculus in high school, in college I was able to skip a semester of college Calculus and take college Physics immediately (Calculus was a prerequisite). If I had passed the AP test for History (keeping track of names and dates has never been my strong point), I would have only gotten 1 semester of credit toward my college general education requirements (generally pretty easy courses). So, although I enjoyed taking AP History, I realize now that I should have skipped taking the test at a minimum and probably should have considered taking a regular-level history class instead of AP so that I could have had an easier courseload.

But, at my high school, you could only get into AP Calculus if you had started the honors Math classes in the 7th grade or had doubled up, taking two math classes in the same year (usually Geometry and Algebra 2).

Like you, I have a son who is lazy. My DS is only 4, but already will do only the minimum required of him. Personally, I've found that DS performs better when he is challenged more, not less.

Good Luck!

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I teach Honors English at the 12th grade level. I can tell you that when we have kids who did not take honors in grade 11 (there is a teacher from Pakistan that a lot of kids can't stand) they are struggling to get back up to honors level--especially in writing, where I expect them to know what they are doing. The kids who skip her class always have trouble--not that the kids who have her class are perfect, but that's another story (she doesn't "believe" in research papers, novels, or teaching outlines).
My DD#1 is going into HS and got into Honors English. In our system they determine your math class before 7th grade (if you get into prealgebra in 7th grade you are on the honors track). You can't get into honors science without honors math. So she is lucky to be in it, as IMHO the grades are inflated here and the kids in honors classes get a GPA boost. I figure with the GPA boost she can get a B in English and it will be the same as an A in her other classes, and may balance out any C she may get (she struggles in science).
Robin M.

 

[Galahad]

DS is a sophomore in honors and AP classes. It's a lot of hard work for him. I'd much rather he get a B in an AP class than an A in a "regular" class. A little stretch is good, IMO.

 

[janette]

My 14yo is starting HS next year. Her HS is very competitive, the only way to be in the upper part of the class is to be in honors classes. Sadly there is no ease into HS, my DD has good grades but sometimes does poorly due to homework not turned in etc. We've had talks about how in HS even one semester with a low grade can really hurt. Everything they take in HS can make a difference in what college they get into. If your DS has plans for college and wants to have better options on where to attend it all starts in 9th grade. Here Honors classes are pretty much a requirement for a college bound student.

 

[Brittney85111]

In high school I took some honors level and some regular level classes and I think it is actually easier to do better in honors (assuming that you have the intelligence to do a little better work)

This is mostly in part because the other kids in the honors class will be less distracting, they will do their work and won't talk as much in class which could help your DS to focus better if the kids around him aren't goofing off. Also there is so much time spent on reviewing and going over things that might bore a more intelligent kid. I feel like I learned so much more and am much better prepared for college, but it really wasn't that much harder.

 

[redshoes]

In my opinion, I would rather have my child challenged a bit than to skate through classes. When I was in high school, my AP English teacher told us that if we were going to attend college we might as well get use to a "tough" workload because once you hit that level all of your classes would be considered AP. If he is intelligent enough to handle honors classes and he is willing to at least try, than do it. Sometimes the only way we grow is to challenge ourselves.

 

[Lynn CC]

Better to have a challenge than to be bored. Maybe if he sees others that are smart like him and serious about learning, he will want to do well too.

My DS who is in college took honors and then as many AP courses that he could while in High School. It taught him discipline and it has carried over into college. He's double majoring in Law and Asian Studies, and loves it.
I think honors classes are probably smaller than regular level too, so tha't a plus. In DS's AP Calculus class in HS there were only 4, (he tutors calc. in college).
Not only does it prepare them, he got full merit scholarship and invited into the honors program during Freshman year in college.
Tell your DS to get serious, it's very comptetative out there, and colleges are extremely competetive in the application process!!
Good Luck

 

[Bob Slydell]

I guess I'll be the dissenting opinion. I don't see how someone who is lazy and not doing his work is just suddenly going to turn into an honors student simply by giving him more work and tougher material.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

If he is elligible for the honors courses he should take them. They really help when it comes to applying for colleges. In my HS you had to take honors courses to be able to take the AP courses. The honors courses were a year ahead. So in other words in 8th grade I took 9th grade science and math. The 8th grade science and math were very basic classes and the honors courses were specific classes. So once in HS I was a year ahead in those subjects allowing me to easily take two AP courses (and some relaxing electives).

I am the same as your son. I am lazy when it comes to homework. I hated it, felt no need for it, sometimes I would do it during other classes. I am a procrastinator. But my honors classes had a slight air of competitiveness about them. So it kept me in check. Also when my HS calculated gpa's they added in an extra point for every honors class you took and I believe 2 points for every AP class you took. Now onto my college story. My dream college was a stretch for me. They wanted much higher SAT scores than I had. I was accepted into that college because of my honors classes and my AP classes. These classes show that you are willing to put the effort in and try the harder classes. Colleges look for stuff like that. Also if you do well on the AP exams you might get some college credit making it much easier on yourself. I had to take some 20 credit semesters in an engineering college. I blame it all on senioritis!

Tell him it seems like more work now but it will all work out in the end.