Continuing onto sophomore year, we have another student with an interesting view of high school. Having freshman year in online learning and having experienced transitioning back to a new campus, they say “It’s been an interesting transition back to normal schooling because you know, we were online for a year and a half. (which is a while)... we have to wear masks, social distance, you can’t eat in class. I wouldn’t say that it is so different [that] it's awful”. They have been on campus before due to their sibling being a part of the football team, and describe the campus as a new experience while it is somewhat familiar.
Their school has experienced a covid case in the first week of active on-campus learning, after which they made stricter protocols and enforcing rules on mask-wearing. “Honestly, I don’t know what else they really could do. I think they could do better in sanitizing tables and chairs and stuff, other than that there isn’t much that they could do”, answering the problem of safety protocols for the students. Though social distancing isn’t as enforced, students have unspoken respect towards social distancing after returning to campus.
Sophomores have recently gotten the ability to take the PSAT, SAT, ACT tests, which compare the student’s knowledge for college work and are recommended to take at least twice. On that, our sophomore recommends taking on work that you believe you will enjoy, not what is being pressured onto you, which includes AP classes. Having a job and needing to take care of their family, they strongly advise you to “[Not] feel pressured to take AP classes, you don’t need them to graduate, colleges will look at you just the same as long as you have lots of extracurricular activities”. They describe having a lot of work from assignments and personal workload, also stating that “a school like here is an AP class somewhere else”.
For any incoming sophomores, or any students going into high school really, they emphasize the idea to enjoy the school lifestyle instead of overworking yourself for the college appeal. Recommending to take an extracurricular activity instead of a pressured AP class, “Anything you like can be extracurricular, it can be an art class… you are in high school for 4 years, and I think you might as well have a good time while you are here. I don’t believe in overworking yourself”.
Sources:
Interview with sophomore
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