2 kool 4 skool

It's that time of the year again: class registration.

It's the time counselors hate, students hate, and teachers hate. Counselors don't like those pesky students bothering them from doing whatever the heck it is they do. Students hate it because it means looking ahead to the future which is just completely asinine and why would we want to do that we have everything going just fine now can't we just do it later. Then teachers hate it because they have to take time out of teaching to explain the choices for next year, sign papers about which classes students are going to take, and somehow politely tell that one kid that he (or she) is stupid for the class they want to take. 

But it has to be done! So we toil through it year after year. 

And each year, we hear the same spiel each year. 

TAKE AP CLASSES 
  
And I would have no problem with that, except that they tell every student to do so.

I get it. You want to be the highest ranked in the state for AP classes taken. But you don't seem to understand what you're doing by encouraging even the dumber kids (no offense to any of you) to take these "advanced placement" classes. 

The same thing is currently happening with our colleges too. Overall, we're lowering our standards, in order to make numbers look better, make kids feel better about themselves because they can take "smart kid" classes, and make parents happy that their kid doesn't look dumb as shit. But what about those kids who are smart enough to take the supposedly college level courses in their high school years? 

Now, we're able to take actual college courses in our junior and senior years of high school. Middle schoolers are coming to the high school to take classes too. Wait, wait waitwaitwait. What the hell is the point of grades if you're just going to let kids skip around willy-nilly whenever they feel like? Why don't we all just do what they did in the movie "Accepted" and let kids create their own classes? Anyone feel like taking "daydreaming 101?" 

But honestly, by dropping the whole level of classes, you're lowering the standards and limiting the students who want to excel. We can see this in how it's practically required now to go to a college for four years, or else you won't get a job that isn't flipping burgers. Soon a PhD is going to be basic level. And is that really what we want? Do we want our children signing away eight years of their lives, just so they can support their family? People who went to college used to be considered the brilliant. Now, if you don't go to college, you might as well buy some wife beaters and invest in a trailer, because that's all anyone expects you to amount to. I'm  not saying that you will, but society will try its best to keep you there, flat on your ass in the dirt.

So what's my message? I guess it's this: Don't take AP classes. You're proud you made a GPA of 3.00 last term? Great, now how about you try taking some classes that are more appropriate for your level. By trying to equal out everyone, we're lowering so many brilliant minds who could go on to do great things. Don't let "excellence" become mediocre.