Advanced Placement or Appalling Pain?

Advance Placement (AP) courses are some of the biggest teases out there. Let’s begin with the history of AP courses. According to this article by McCammon, “The story of the AP program begins in the 1950s. In the midst of the Cold war, American policy makers began to fear that high school was not adequately preparing students for college and post-graduate school” (McCammon). As stated, AP courses were inputted with the intention of bettering ones education as preparation for life beyond high school. Don’t get me wrong, this idea is phenomenal, however, the way it actually works in today’s world is beyond ridiculous.

The Advance Placement program is run by CollegeBoard, no surprise as these are the same people who sponsor the SAT’s. AP courses as what I was told was, “Just like college courses.” However, this statement is not even remotely true. For starters, these courses are two semesters long. College courses are only one semester. So you take an AP course and must remember a year long of work and then apply it to just one test. College courses usually consist of multiple exams/papers, attendance, homework, the typical stuff. I mean AP courses have this for the most part, however, the test at the end decides if the course was worth the time, commitment, and pain. The whole course is not dependent on if you attend class everyday and pay attention or pass every test handed to you. None of that matters if you do not pass the only assignment that matters. And don’t get me started on the scoring guidelines. Based on a scale of 1-5 where basically a 5 is an A- or A and a 4 is a B-,B or B+ and a 3 is an C+ or a C. However, even when you pass, you fail. For most schools, threes are not accepted, yet even though I was told a 3 is a totally acceptable score. Yet most schools don’t even consider the number and don’t accept it as transfer credits. So you must be thinking a 4 and 5 are safe numbers, however, I received 4 on my AP psych exam and yet still didn’t receive credit. Only scores of 5 were accepted, which makes me question the point of AP testing? If I clearly display an understanding of the subject and clearly pass the test that quizzes my knowledge, why am I not rewarded?

I mean there are obviously positives outlooks of AP courses. For example, the GPA multiplier is so beneficial to a student, it is a rigorous and challenging course so it helps with time management, and if the test is passed and the college you are attending accepts your score, you can skip that course your freshman year and have those credits already in stock. Yea well that’s where all the positives end. I honestly believe AP have the right idea but are based around the wrong criteria. Maybe it should take into encounter how a student does throughout the course. Did they finish with an A in the course? Maybe if they weighed the letter grade of the course as 50% and the final test as 50%, instead of the test being completely 100% then it would better suite a student.

Just like with the PSAT and SAT, these tests must be paid for. Luckily for me I had a reduced cost on my exams, paying somewhere around $50 per test. Normally for students they cost around $100. Most students take around 3-5 AP courses so that’s around 300-500 dollars spent. And just like with the SAT, the score you get is the score you get and there are no refunds. There is the option of opting out of the test, however, then the course feels pointless because most people take it with the intention of passing the test and receiving credits. Also with AP courses, they are not offered everywhere. There are some schools who do not offer an AP courses at all, and some schools that do, don’t offer all of the available AP courses. I know for the STEM school near me, AP Psych isn’t an offered course so you would have to go back and forth with the public high school to take the course. Some schools don’t even offer AP Psych at all, or AP computer science, or AP Chinese. It gives schools that are offering these courses a major advantage, especially heading into college.

Many young students see AP courses as the ideal course as it prepares one for college and looks good on one’s application. This can lead kids to take more than 2 AP courses in a school year and lead to a lot of stress being built up. They have multiple exams to pay and to study for. Days end of homework and less time to socially interact which is not good for the mental health. According to an article, “Across the country, students are overloading themselves, thinking that taking 10 AP classes is the ticket to a selective school. This leads to stressed-out, burned-out students. Plus, taking AP courses doesn’t even guarantee admission into like Harvard and Stanford” (Edwards). In life nothing is guaranteed. Getting a 1500 on your SAT, a 4.0 GPA, and completing 8 AP courses does not guarantee someone a placement into an ivy league school. There are others factors that play into this like legacy, wealth, extracurriculars, etc..

There are many flawed ways about going with AP courses, and personally believe there are more downsides than upsides, yet it is all dependent on the person. If someone is majoring in biology for college and wants to complete AP bio, I believe that is perfectly logical and an understandable approach. If someone is talented enough to just take any AP course they want without the fear of failing, then go right on ahead and take as many as you please. AP’s serve the right purpose, however, can use some minor tweaks to make the system work better overall.

Sources:

https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-5-worst-problems-with-college-board-ap-program
https://blog.prepscholar.com/history-of-ap-classes-exams

Category: Civic issue blog | 4 Comments

February 10

Back to Back

Last blog had finished off in Kansas, coincidentally, where are still stuck in this awry state. Last blog was centered around the Clutter family, Perry Smith, and Richard Hickcock. As mentioned before, the killer we are mentioning in today’s blog was once right next to Smith and Hickcock in their prison cells. If you haven’t guessed by now who I am talking about, none other than Lowell Lee Andrews. I know you’re probably like “who is that?”. Yea that’s what i said until i dove deeper into the origin if this ruthless human being. Lowell Lee Andrews was just your typical nerdy and intelligent college student. He was a zoology major and attended the university of Kansas. Lee Andrews was born in Wolcott, Kansas, with his father and mother, William and Opal Andrews, and his sister Jennie Marie. Lee Andrews was a seemingly innocent and sweet boy, so sweet he was redeemed as the “the nicest boy in Wolcott.”

However, there as always been a dark side of Andrews that no one was ever aware of. recorded within murderpedia, which is my go to website because they always have the most accurate information, is stated, “In reality, the 18-year-old entertained fantasies of poisoning his family and moving to Chicago, Illinois to become a gangster and professional hit person.” These are the dark and cruel thoughts that were circulating through Andrew’s mind and ultimately led to the despicable act he committed upon his family. Andrews has had this vivid dream of killing his family since he was a freshman in college. He was always thinking of strategic ways of murder without getting caught. He believed poison could be a possibility as they would die in a quick and painless death. He had derailed this possibility because he had seen the potential flaws within it so he just stuck to a basic solution. Just kill them all.

He went with what to him was the easiest and most logical solution. On November 28, 1958, approximately a year before the Clutter family murders had occurred, Andrews had set his devious plan in motion. Weirdly enough Andrews had prepped himself before brutally murdering his family. He had initially been reading a book named The Brothers Karamazov, finished the novel, shaved, then put on a suit. He then grabbed a rifle and revolver and proceeded to walk downstairs. Andrews graphically killed his sister by putting his rifle to her head and pulling the trigger. He then shot his mother six times and his father a total of seventeen times. He then left the house, got in his car, drove to a movie theatre, and returned home and reported the murder. When the police arrived, Andrews was sitting on the front steps and seemed unconcerned and uninterested in the death of his family.

He was obviously sentenced to death by hanging on November 30, 1962. Now the reason as to why this crime was committed in the first place is a simple mental illness, schizophrenia. However, Andrews has not really showed any signs of this illness in his life. Maybe the only exception is having a delusion of grandeur where Andrews would believe he was better than he actually was. However, most psychiatrists agreed that Andrews was not insane and had a clear idea on what he was doing. It was just an act that was committed by his own conscious and desires.

This is a story i have been dying to talk about as I believe it is one that doesn’t receive enough attention. Next blog will be based on a more known serial killer and honestly a personal favorite.

Sources

https://murderpedia.org/male.A/a/andrews-lowell-lee.htm
http://truecrimediscussions.blogspot.com/2017/09/lowell-lee-andrews.html

Category: Passion blog | 5 Comments

February 2

The Foundation of Disaster

These blogs are not intended for political purposes so I will be stating the problems with a certain criteria of school curriculums and better choices to fixing them.

Everyone can, for the part, agree SATs are not great predictors for success in college. The biggest concern with SATs is how heavily weighted they are for college admissions. SATs are more likely than not the number one accessibility looked at by college administrators. SATs are standardized test based around both literature and mathematics. This is a problem in its own as there are many students who do not specialize in neither literature or math. Maybe a student has a strong desire in biology or art and want to apply to the top school in their respected interest, however are not able to attend due to the want of high SAT scores. A better solution would be, fore-say art school, instead of submitting SAT and Act scores, Gpa should be a requirement but also pieces of one owns artwork. It is an art school after all. If someone who is extremely talented in art is accepted just based on their talent then it seems a lot more balanced and fair than someone being rejected for not being “smart enough”. This should also have little to no objection as the competitive nature is still there with other artists.

Not only do SAT not fit every student that takes it, but some people are just terrible test taker. Personally, I tend to stress a lot when I know I am taking a test that basically determines my future. There are students who have a major disabilities like ADHD or anxiety disorders who genuinely struggle with tests overall, and this can interfere with their chances of getting into some of their hopeful colleges. Not only do disabilities affect the chances of SAT scores, but also ethnicity. I know the graph is a little unclear so I will basically sum it up. Asians, followed, by whites, then, Mexican Americans, and lastly black earn the most family income based on SAT scores. These are outdated at this was recorded in 1995, however, this is just a reference point to show the racial differences in education between races. The graph on the right indicates average SAT scores among differences ethnicities. Ranking at the topper asians, white, hispanic, then blacks. This a continuous trend at any time stamp as asians are consistently in the top percentile and blacks ranking at the bottom 20%. The reasons for this is unclear. Is it bad teaching? Bad communities where the people are raised? Is it less ambition from blacks as opposed to asians or whites? unfair opportunities provided to “richer” people? or is the SAT measuring the wrong qualities in people.

Some more minute details that make the SAT far worse than it seems are intangibles like the fee of the test, SAT scores are not the best predictors for how someone will succeed or fail in college, it is weighed far more heavily than GPA, extracurriculars, essays, etc. SAT tests, depended on scenarios, can cause around $55 dollars per person. This around the same cost of AP tests, however most people take the SAT multiple times so they are spending around 150-200 dollars. That is also not including the PSAT, which costs around 30 on its own. The biggest problem with paying for these tests is if you receive a score you are not necessarily proud of, nothing can be done. If someone’s dream school is NYU, who accept SAT scores primarily 1370+, and the student earns a 1200, not stating they have no chance, but definitely a slimmer chance. The only solution is primarily tutoring which go for outrageous amounts in itself. The Princeton review, which is the suggested tutoring service, charges $1,750 for a “guaranteed” 1400+ score. However, these scores are not guaranteed as its not like they are taking the test for you. Surely they will help you study and better grasp ideas, but at the end of the day the test is taken by the student and they are the deciding factor on if the $1,750 was even worth the spend.

The other huge problems with SATs are they take away from other seemingly important factors when applying for college admissions. Things like recommendations, essays, extracurriculars are basically all neglected, which we as high school students, we’re all told were some of the most important things that colleges look at. Soon enough we began to realize that SAT and GPA are the only two important factors to college administrators. Being captain of the football team, president of your class, or even partaking in 5+ clubs, have little to no relevance. Having a prestigious teacher complement your style of learning and interaction has no meaning. An essay about what makes a certain school interesting or the struggles you’ve endured up to this point in your life are all irrelevant.

The last main problem with the SAT is that they are widely known as “entrance” exams for college. That the higher someone receives on the SAT, the better the college they should attend, which theoretically means they should do better than someone who received a lower score. This is by no means accurate as they are many confounding variables that play into these situations. Someone who is a bad test taker could have a higher IQ than someone who is particularly better at tests. So who’s smarter? Or maybe someone is not as motivated as another student to study the SAT and does not put in the same effort to try and receive the highest grade. There are also kids who can afford to take the SAT multiple times and afford tutors while others can only rely on themselves. The SAT is not an indicator of a kids potential and intelligence and should be removed. How? yea well that is a hard question to answer. I do believe the SAT has the right idea but should be more advanced. Maybe instead of just narrowing it down to just verbal and math, maybe science can be introduced or something I have no idea. Or maybe just reducing the amount of importance the test carries on admission decisions.

Photo links

https://mishtalk.com/economics/college-entrance-exam-sat-score-racial-profiling-964-1223
http://theunsilencedscience.blogspot.com/2013/10/black-suits-gowns-skin-sat-scores-by.html

Category: Civic issue blog | 4 Comments

January 26

Oh Kansas…

First blog entry will be about two notorious killers I am very familiar with and I believe I have mentioned once before in my fall semester blogs. Richard Hickcock and Perry Smith are the two men responsible for the death of Herb, Bonny, Kenyon, and Nancy Clutter in their home of Holcomb Kansas on November 15, 1959. As someone who has read the phenomenal book of In Cold Blood, I have first insight on these two criminals, ranging from their birth dates to the the day there were executed.

Hickcock was born on June 6, 1931 and Smith on October 27, 1928 (Blanco.) Hickock and Smith were two young males who have spent most of their time and in and out of prison at a rather young age. This is also where they had first met each other. Hickock was born to his two farm owner parents, was an athlete and very popular throughout high school, and had his whole life ahead of him. That was until he endured a motorcycle accident in 1950 which left his face very much so disfigured.

Perry’s life was the exact opposite. His parents split up when he was still at a young aged ti his father abusing his mother and siblings. Him and his three other siblings were forced to live with his alcoholic mother, until one day she died of choking on her own vomit. Two of Smith’s siblings also committed suicide, and the last, Barbara, severed any communication the two had. Perry was forced to live within an orphanage where he was supposedly abused, both physically and emotionally.

The Clutter family murder had taken place November 14, 1959. This murder was so extraneous because the Clutter family was beloved by everyone in the community. They had two healthy and popular children in Nancy and Kenyon, a rather successful husband and father in Herbert and a, in some minds less than ideal wife and mother in Bonnie. This murder had every on the edge of their seats because if this beloved family isn’t safe, then is anyone? This whole murder began when Hickcock was informed by a fellow inmate that the clutter family had a safe full of lifetime savings stashed away in their house. This immediately sparked a match in both Smith and Hickcock as their true motive was to just gag the family and keep them locked up until they acquired the treasure they desired so badly. This obviously did not go as planned and led to one of the most infamous cases in history.

The day of the murder, both Perry and Hickcock waited until all the lights within the house were turned off and the family had gone to sleep. They proceeded to sneak into the house, cut the phone line, and capture Herb for interrogation. Plot twist is there never was a safe full of money. Angered by the fact Herb constantly denied knowing of a safe full of money, Smith and Hickock awoke everyone and tied the girls upstairs and led the men to the basement. After finding no safe and hardly any money, Smith took it into his own hands and proceeded to murder each member of the Clutter family.

After around a month, Smith and Hickcock were found in Las Vegas and taken into custody. Both of these killers were taken into court and given psychological testings. Conclusions founded that they both indeed suffered from psychological problems. Perry from schizophrenia and Richard from antisocial personality disorder. Throughout the story there are many clear indications that Perry exhibits clear signs of schizophrenia. Often times he would have delusion of persuasion as he would often feel the world is against him and often his misplaced emotions. Had no emotions to his siblings deaths or any sentiment towards using racial slurs against colored people. Hickcock would have the sinister temptation of touching younger women. He even went as far as touching Nancy before Perry ultimately stepped in.

This is still kind of rough as I’m working on how to specifically approach every killer so next weeks blog should be better. Next week’s blog will also be about someone convicted for the murder of his family around the same period the Clutter murder had taken place.

Sources

https://murderpedia.org/male.H/h/hickock-richard.htm
https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/smith-perry.htm

Category: Passion blog | 4 Comments

January 20

“This I Believe” Rough Draft

From the dawn of time, humans were implanted with this belief that there will always be someone by your side holding your handlebars as you pedaled through life. As you age you begin to realize that beliefs can turn to myths very quickly. As you get older you begin to realize that the world is cruel and horrid and that sometimes you must enter the world knowing how to ride a bike with no form of help. I grew up in this accursed world of loneliness. I grew up in the world of pedaling through dark alleyways, shady figures lurking around every corner and a life of distorted meaning. However, all of this darkness and hatred has led me to an area full of light. I once believed I was stuck in a bottomless pit with no escape, until one day someone stuck out their hand to me and said, “your safe now.” Growing up without parents has taught me no one could ever measure how talented you could possibly be or how successful you might become. The only person who could determine this, is yourself. It is when people start to depend on others that to begin to fail in the world. It starts when they fall prey to the idea that everyone in their life is there to help them grow, that they will never reach their true potential. It seems as to acquire success, a guideline must be followed. Lose everything in order to gain everything. A mother who was supposed to love me with all her heart and a father to show me the ways around being a man in this world were lacking in my life. So I became my own parent and feel as though I’m in the best spot possible. I learned how to see b0th sides of the playing field. Both male and female and that has allowed me to gather certain insight on certain situations. For instance, when learning to grow up with failing grades, I would tell myself, “You’re doing this for yourself and no one else.” often because that is truly who was there for me. When you fall, there is always at least one person to help pick you up. Yourself. Your own self-esteem and self-conscious are the only self-assured things that will never leave you. I believe people are not shaped or defined by traumatic events, I believe people have to live through failure in order to succeed, I believe that nobody determines your future except the person living it.

Category: RCL | 2 Comments

January 19

Final Selection

My civic issue blog will be based around school, however very specifically testing in the school curriculum. Using statistics and graphs to compare how students fair with/without SAT scores, if there has been any improvements in students since standardized testing has been implemented, and do AP/IB courses really prepare you for college.

Category: Civic issue blog | LEAVE A COMMENT

January 19

Final Result

My passion blog will be based around serial killers and the psychological trauma and motive behind their heinous crimes. And as someone pointed out, I will be evaluating every crime and criminal through primary sources and hard data as to opposed to my opinion as I am not a licensed psychiatrist so will be sticking to the professionals. This would prevent false information from being provided and avoid speculation. I will dive into a brief history of the killer(s), the crime(s) committed, possible motive, and the psychological reasoning, if any, as to why the crime was committed.

Category: Passion blog | LEAVE A COMMENT

January 11

Blog Ideas

For the “This I Believe” podcast, two ideas are writing about the hardships of life as you grow older or to focus on the positives over the negatives.

For my passion blog, I have a few keen ideas that I want to heavily pursue. Some are the basis of serial killers like their thinking or the reasoning behind their actions. The other three ideas are based around the same basis but one is based on the critique of certain poetry, another critiquing movies and t.v. shows I have watched and another critiquing hot takes and unpopular opinions.

Civic Issue blog will be based around rights like gender rights and equal pay rights. Another idea could be based around the education system and how it incorrectly functions.

Category: RCL | 4 Comments

January 11