During the first two weeks of school, the hallways are dotted with students clinging to crinkled up sheets of yellow paper like they are the most important documents in their lives. They scurry between classrooms, trying to get signatures from teachers to add and drop courses. Their goal is to adjust their schedules in order to be in all of the classes that they want to be in, and make sure that they are placed in the correct levels of certain courses for the upcoming academic year. 

These first two weeks of classes at Parker are known as the “add-drop period.” It is a time where students can get a feel of the classes that they are enrolled in, and decide if they would like to adjust their courses. The reasons to add or drop a class can be varied, but often when students make a change to their schedule, it is to move up or down in a leveled course. 

At Parker, the humanities classes are not leveled, so there is no possibility of moving up or down in difficulty. The language classes are leveled, but students typically move through the levels incrementally each year throughout their years in high school. For example, Freshmen are placed in Spanish I or Spanish II then move into the next level as sophomores and then the next level as juniors, and so on. Students are only able to move among the different levels in math and science classes. 

In science classes and most math classes, there are only two levels that students are able to place themselves in. These are the regular level, and the advanced level. This usually works out fine for most people, but when it comes to the more difficult subjects, additional levels are necessary in order to accommodate all of the students. 

This year, I was faced with the decision to either stay in Advanced Physics – where I had been placed by my chemistry teacher – or drop down to the regular physics course. I had heard rumors about the Advanced Physics class being one of the hardest classes at Parker, and that kids stay up all night working on homework and studying for tests – only to do poorly in the class. Naturally, these rumors alarmed me. I like to sleep, and I like to get good grades. With Advanced Physics, I would get neither of those things. Why would I want to be in that class?

In my mind, moving down to the regular leveled class would mean an easier and lighter course load, and staying in the advanced level meant that I would be throwing away any chance at receiving the grade that I wanted. It also meant saying goodbye to getting eight hours of sleep every night for the rest of the year.

I thought that if I moved down, I would have a higher probability of getting the grade that I wanted. There would be less work, and I would be able to spend more of my valuable after-school hours worrying about my other classes. Moving down would, in theory, make my life as a junior much more enjoyable. It would allow me to manage the rest of my classes more efficiently by dividing my time more evenly every night as I do homework. 

On the other hand, there was one big incentive to staying in the class: taking such an advanced class is impressive on an application. The distinction of doing well in the advanced level of physics at Parker has its perks. I was told by countless students, teachers, and parents that colleges like to see that students are challenging themselves, and seeing that a student has performed strongly in Advanced Physics would be a great accomplishment and mark of excellence, given the rigor of the class. 

I found myself enthralled by the fact that I was in an advanced class, and I came under the false assumption that simply due to the fact that I was in the class, my grade would not matter. Once I got my head on straight again, I realized that I care more about maintaining my GPA than I do about taking a prestigious class and receiving a poor grade. I came to the conclusion that any added benefits of taking the class were minuscule, so I decided to move down to the regular level. 

After speaking to many seniors who were in the same position as I was, one thing became apparent: the advanced level was too hard for them, but the regular level was too easy, so they found themselves bored and inattentive in class. Many people said that they regret moving down, and wish that they had challenged themselves more. To this point, I think that someone’s individual circumstances can come into play. 

For example, I do not find myself particularly interested in physics, so I would not want to be spending a disproportionately large amount of time doing homework for that class each night. If, on the other hand, a student finds themself in the same position as me, but is fascinated by physics, I think that they should choose the advanced level because it is something that they will enjoy spending their time on. 

At the end of the day, I found the right class for me, and I think that I made the right decision to move down. If I was to give a piece of advice to any sophomores who will be taking physics next year, I would say this: don’t let anyone influence your decision about which class to take based on their experience. Everyone is different, and everyone handles their academics in their own way, so make your own decision. Ask yourself whether or not you are going to enjoy spending extra time each night on a class, and if you are okay with that, go ahead and take the advanced level. Don’t hesitate to move down because of losing the esteem of taking the more advanced class. If you are ready to put in the work and maybe sacrifice a few hours of sleep here and there, then stay in the class and stick it out. 

The bottom line is that I don’t think that this decision needs to be as hard for people as it was for me and others like me in the past. In years prior, there have been three levels of physics; those being regular Physics, Physics +, and Advanced Physics. I think that if this were still the case, I would have found my home in the Physics + class, in between the advanced and regular levels. Why can’t Physics + be reintroduced? Hopefully in the future students like me will have access to a third level, a level for students who find themselves caught in between.