It’s the start of a new six week grading period and 115 students made schedule request changes to drop either a pre-AP or AP class. But there can be a stigma behind this, and unfortunately, it’s generally negative, as dropping an AP class can be viewed as a bad thing and means a student can’t handle the course. However, this is not true as there can be several valid reasons for a student to drop a class.

The first dropping opportunity is at the end of the first six weeks for a reason. People often sign up for courses to see how well they do, and if they feel as if they could be doing better in on level, they have the option to drop.

It’s a good outlet to have the first dropping opportunity early in the year because it actually encourages students to challenge themselves and sign up for more pre-AP and AP classes while registering. If students weren’t allowed to drop until later, like say second semester, students may be less likely to branch out and try a more difficult course in fear of struggling for an entire semester.

There are many different aspects that come into play when a student is deciding to drop a course. Many students, especially upperclassmen, maintain a part-time job on top of school. An AP class or several AP classes may be too much for some people to balance while having a job as well.

While school should come before part-time work, sometimes a student must work to help their family, save for a car and/or college, etc. The same thing goes for those involved in extracurriculars outside of school, as sometimes people just don’t have time for the dedication and effort required for AP courses.

Another reason for dropping could be personal. At this age, stress is a major factor and consumes a lot of our lives. If the stress of a class is too great for someone to handle, dropping is in their best interest and that’s fine.

Students should do what is best for them. Maybe the class is too hard for them, so what? What some people seem to forget is that everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. For example, someone excellent in math would probably excel in an AP math course, but not everybody can do the same.

Students in high school are preparing themselves for college, being alone, and the real world. They should adjust their schedules if needed to provide themselves a learning environment that best works for them and allows them to learn most efficiently.