*2009
--------------------- —
■
All students should be given AP options
J ennifer S itton
Staff Reporter
For students who put great
emphasis on their education
and being admitted to a
good college, junior year is a
nightmare. Between juggling
school, sports, clubs and
Advanced Placement classes,
many students don't have
time for anything else, and
that isn't right. Teenagers
need to have the time to be
teenagers. It isn't fair that
everything should be piled on
during the third year of high
school; what about freshman
and sophomore year? While
there are advantages to
only offering the majority
of honors and AP classes
to upperclassmen, I think
the disadvantages greatly
outweigh them. These higher
level classes need to be offered
to all students of all ages
in order to spread out the
workload and give kids their
lives back.
For many students,
freshman year is a piece of
cake as far as homework load
and level of difficulty goes.
Almost all classes are pre-
TL ^loaded into their schedule
and students usually are not
allowed to take any honors
or AP classes. Sophomore
year is the same, with a bit
more leeway. Sophomores
are offered numerous honors
classes and one AP class: AP
U.S. History. Junior year is
when everything changes.
When it comes time to
forecast for your third year
of high school, you suddenly
have a multitude of options
and available classes. Students
are given the choice as to
whether they want to pursue
a more rigorous class schedule
or continue with regular
classes. According to Megan
science classes if that is the
appropriate placement. The
majority of AP classes are
only offered to upperclassmen
because they come later in
the sequence of courses and
Runyon, guidance counselor,
AP and honors classes are
usually only available to
juniors and seniors because
they are college level courses
Holly Ashby, Gregory W hite and M ackenzie Laughlin, sophom ores, study for the Advanced Placement
exam in their AP U.S. H istory class. The class is the first AP class available in high school, and is usually
Photo by Alison Fieldhouse
taken by sophom ores.
and students tend to be more
ready for the rigor in their
junior and senior years.
I agree that many students
aren't ready for the difficulty
of class and amount of
homework that AP classes
include during their first few
years of high school, but some
are. If students are able to
prove that they will be able to
juggle their schedules and still
keep up in an AP class, why
not let them take them?
The only AP class that
sophomores are generally
allowed to take is the
aforementioned history.
According to Runyon,
sophomores are also allowed
to take higher level math and
P
students need prerequisites to
qualify for these classes.
Obviously a freshman
or sophomore who hasn't
taken chemistry shouldn't be
allowed to take AP Chemistry
and someone shouldn't
be allowed to jump from
geometry to AP Calculus,
but what about social studies
classes such as AP Economics
and AP Psychology? The only
pre-requisite AP Economics
has is Advanced Algebra and
many students take this as
freshmen. There is no pre
requisite for AP Psychology.
If students meet the
who have the ability to
move beyond the required
curriculum. This is known as
Plan Two. A Plan Two, which
students can apply for in
the fall, requires students to
write an extensive four year
plan proposal, along with an
explanation as to why they are
requesting to waive a required
course. The proposal is then
submitted to a Plan Two
committee (people outside of
WLHS) that decides whether
or not it is approved.
"Currently I'd say we have
25 students involved—that is
a rough estimate. Plan Two
is advertised during Options
Evening in the fall," Runyon
said.
While I applaud the
counselors and administration
for coming up with this
innovative solution to our
needs, how many people
actually know about plan
Two? WLHS has roughly
1550 students and only 25
are involved in Plan Two.
How many students would
have loved to have had the
opportunity to create their
own academic plan, but didn't
know how to? Or didn't even
know it was an option? Most
students have no troubles
with the required classes
during their freshman and
sophomore years, but then
they begin planning the next
two years and find that they
can't fit everything into their
schedules. If those students
had known about Plan Two
from the beginning, they
might have saved themselves
a lot of stress.
I understand why most of
the AP classes are available
only to upperclassmen and
that students can apply for
a Plan Two to customize
their high school experience,
but WLHS should offer at
least some AP classes for
underclassmen so come junior
year, students aren't pulling
their hair out and wondering
why everything had to happen
at once. Just like the old
saying goes, when it rains,
it pours. It's just beginning
to sprinkle during freshman
and sophomore year and then
suddenly the thunder strikes
and the sky opens up. Come
on WLHS, don't let your
juniors drown.
Prom should be an option for all
no matter how much money you have
C arly H alverson
Staff Reporter
West Linn High School, 5464 West A Street, West Linn, OR 97068
(503) 673-7843 »fax: (503)657-8710 •
wlhs-amplifier@wlhs.wlwv.kl2.or.us
The Amplifier is published approximately every four weeks by the West
Linn High School Advanced Journalism class. Opinions expressed in
commentaries and editorials represent only those of the writer, and are
not necessarily the opinions of West Linn High School, its administration,
faculty, staff, or student body.
Editors-in-Chief:
Adam Holmes
Calley Lathrop
Managing Editor: Zack Mueller
Business Editors:
Mary Wood
Mark Poppert
Section Editors:
News: Jennifer Sitton
Forum: Calley Lathrop
Features: Lexi Welp
Sports: Max Hays
Entertainment: Adam Holmes
Photo Editor: Hannah Zaayer
Staff Reporters: Jessica Broberg,
Mark Chipperfield, Ty Clarke,
requirements and have proven
themselves to be responsible,
why can't they take them?
The administration and
counselors do offer another
option for these students
Patrick D'Arcy, Haley Epperly,
Alison Fieldhouse, Carly Halver
son, Morgan Joscelyn, Shoshana
Koon, Patricia Palczewska, Sean
Pebler, Brittany Peterson, Eta
Santoro, Ashley Sheron, Riley
Swanson, Nico Varela, Gunnar
Wolfe
Photographers: Patrick D'Arcy,
Haley Epperly, Alison Field-
house, Shoshana Koon, Zack
Mueller, Mark Poppert, Ashley
Sheron, Jennifer Sitton, Nico
Varela, Hannah Zaayer
Adviser: Ann Breyne
I
Couples and friends arrive
dressed in glamorous attire for
one of their most memorable
nights of high school. Prom
is an often eagerly awaited
event for juniors and seniors—
except for those who can’t
afford it. Prom has morphed
into something so extravagant
that most people don't realize
there are alternatives to
spending large sums of money
to attend.
Prom is something
everyone should be able to
experience if they want to. It
is one of the last times before
the school year ends when
students can be with their
classmates before some go off
to college, or wherever life
Andrew Riesen, junior, Natalie Smith, sophom ore, Alec Carrier and
Sydney N elson, juniors, load onto a short school bus which they
rented w ith others on prom night. The group used the bus as a way
to save m oney with each couple paying only $10 each.
Photo submitted by Kristin Bushnell
might take them after high
school ends.
In order to attend prom
with a date, it is a given that
you have to spend $60 on
tickets.
fmm overpriced_____________ ■
continued on page 6