Honors Policy too Harsh

Students' Stamp on GHS -- First Quarter

Students' Stamp on GHS

Honors Policy too Harsh...Or Is It?

Policy Too Harsh
by Bethany VanHoesen, '11

As honors students, keeping up with what's going on in classes can be challenging. There's always the usual, and expected tasks -- homework, our class work, and lots of studying (multiplied by five academic classes). Many of us are also involved with sports, theater rehearsals, tutoring programs, club meetings and activities, work, babysitting, etc.

One would think all this is normal for a teenager to take on in high school. That may be the case. But for others, all of these usual tasks that a normal student could complain about can easily be escalated by one word in front of the name of the class they're taking -- Honors.

It's a whole new world for some students. Not only do these students have the normal responsibilities but these students are working at a whole new level. To choose to place yourself in Honors, doesn't mean just reading a few more pages in an English book every night, or studying those history notes for half an hour more. As a student in the Honors program, you're supposed to be 'setting an example' for the rest of the school.

Apparently now though, that means you need to struggle a little more and work even harder for the same grade you've already been trying to achieve. The new Honors program states that being in these Honors classes means no student can let their grade slip lower than a B-. Not only do these students who are taking on all this extra work have to worry about getting all the work done, but now the bar is being set even higher. If students end up slipping, they have new consequences.

The first time you mess up, you get a meeting. Students have five weeks to get their grades back up. For some, with this pressure it's challenging. A teacher can recommend a student stay in the program, but a lot of times, this could lead to a teacher's personal opinion on a student getting in the way of what they might really deserve. Sadly, not every teacher is always as fair as possible.

This new policy means that even though these students in Honors are working hard to pass the class and excel in it, they can't even slip to a C. This is because of some of the "slackers" in the program. It's understandable to set a limit for Honors kids, but the kind of limit being set is unreasonable. It would make a lot more sense to set the grade at a half way mark -- a C-, because that's in the middle of excelling and failing. This leaves students a little more room to catch up if something happens.

Being in Honors means taking on the extra responsibilities. Most students go into that program knowing that, and if they care about being in a higher level class, there's a good chance they already have their own standards set to not slip below a C-. Pushing that mark to a B- is just stressing students out more, and they can't work to their potential. Many students would be relieved to have this policy changed back to what it was.

So, from here on, hard working Honors students will continue to stress, and struggle, and possibly have to be dropped from the honors program.

Policy Is A Good Idea
by Allison Stegeland, '11

This year, Gloversville High School implemented a new honors policy. Under this policy, anyone in an Honors course must maintain an average of at least 80 in that specific course. If a student has a grade below an 80, that student and their parents are told at five weeks. The student then has the rest of the quarter to bring up his or her grades. If they cannot do so, they are removed from the program.

I have been in advanced and honors classes since the sixth grade, so I believe that I therefore have a good perspective on these new guidelines. I feel that this new policy is an excellent addition to our curriculum.

The Honors program is for students who are particularly good learners and for those who are willing to put extra effort into their studies. Some of the students in these courses do not put in the effort that an Honors student should. Many times these students distract from the class. If half the students in an Honors class are in that program because they want to learn, and the other half are there just goofing off during class, the purpose of the Honors program is defeated. If a student does not care about challenging his or herself in Honors, they have no place being in that course.

It is very frustrating for students who want to get as much as they can out of an Honors class if the students around them are distracting. Other times, students want to be in Honors classes, but cannot make the grade. This can slow a class down, so no real benefits are provided from the honors course. It is not fair to students who care about excelling in the honors program if they are not challenged enough due to a class that doesn’t care or a class that cannot handle the material. By removing the students that do not belong from an honors course, the experience is improved for the other students.

This Honors policy was set in place to help all students, including the ones it removes from the program. Honors courses are at a higher level of difficulty than average classes in order to challenge the students. If a student cannot get good grades in an Honors course, it does not mean that they are stupid. It may be that they just need extra help, or have too busy of a schedule to study. Whatever the case may be, these students are just hurting themselves by staying in an honors program. Why stay in a class that you cannot handle when you could switch to a different class and get better grades? By switching into a class with fewer challenges, that student will raise their grades and they will not have the stress of not succeeding in a more difficult class.

This new Honors policy is a great idea that is beneficial to everyone. It will raise the quality of our Honors courses, as well as the grades of students who are not succeeding in the program. Although some people may not be happy about the new policy, all in all it serves to help everybody involved. This policy has so many benefits to it that I feel it should have been put into our district years ago.