By: Anthony Nguyen
“Hey how many college classes are you taking over the summer?” “What time are you lining up at Mission tomorrow?” We have all been asked questions like this before, and the reality is, students are abusing community college classes in order to inflate their GPA’s. The system is flawed and MHS needs to refine the system in order to encourage students to take more classes at school.
After our final rally and the reveal of the coveted top ten, one common denominator sticks out: the excessive amounts of college classes each student has taken. By no means do I mean to downplay the hard work of each of the students amongst the top ten in the graduating class, but it is ridiculous to disqualify students from contention for top ten sheerly, because they are unwilling to take copious amounts of college courses.
At the end of the day, I believe that the race for top ten should be about quality over quantity. All students, even those who do not take extra college classes, should be able to compete for a place in the top ten. MHS should reward those who excel in classes at MHS, rather than those at college campuses.
Another issue with taking courses at college campuses is the fact that terms are so short. With classes such as English and Mathematics being year-long at MHS, it seems ridiculous that similar courses that are only two months are regarded as equal to the courses at MHS. With year-long classes at MHS lasting for nearly five times the length of a class at college campuses it is unfair to weigh the two as equals.
Furthermore, college classes are extremely limited, which means that students are not guaranteed places in summer courses at community colleges. Because of this, students who do not get into their desired summer courses set themselves back if they create their schedule under the impression that they will have completed the course over the summer. Counselors are already extremely stressed during the first few weeks of school, with the addition of having to fit students into classes they need to graduate will cause the first few weeks to be even more hectic.
Summer is short, and students should make the most of it. Instead of filling their summers with classes, students should take a break from school and do more meaningful activities. Although summer is a great opportunity to “get ahead” in academics, students should not cram their summers with meaningless summer courses sheerly for academic achievement, but rather take classes in school that they are passionate about so they can truly explore the subjects.