There are many classes offered at Gig Harbor High School. Some have a lighter workload than others, and some are generally more complicated and taxing on the students taking them. Unsurprisingly, AP classes can be challenging and are designed for high school students aiming for higher education. These courses generally include more rigorous work than regular classes, requiring students to work on complex tasks to learn strong skills that help them for life after high school. Additionally, our school offers classes from the University of Washington, which are generally more difficult as well.
Within the English department, one of the most difficult classes at GHHS this year is AP Literature, an advanced English class taught by Mrs. Houston. In this class, students have to read and annotate their copies of books constantly and come to class prepared. According to George Will (11), “You have to analyze whole books after you read them at a quick pace and then write essays about them.”
In the math department, UW Precalc is a complicated college-level math course that emphasizes multi-step problem solving, but when compared to regular math classes, the students have to use logic to solve problems rather than the pre-written formulas that can assist them. Similarly, AP Physics 1 is another demanding course, with an intense workload, accelerated pace, and an extremely difficult AP exam. According to Holden Deaton (11), “AP Physics 1 was the hardest class I’ve ever taken due to Mr. Wolgemuth’s unique teaching and persistence to prepare students for the AP exam.”
Lastly, Chemistry Honors, taught by Ms. Swan, is an advanced course that explains the principles of chemistry in further detail than students might understand in regular Chemistry-Physics. Students in this class are expected to work on extensive labs, utilize their critical thinking, and use their problem-solving skills. Connor Pavlik-Brindl (10) says, “Honors Chem is difficult because you have to memorize a lot of equations and you have to deal with work that is constantly due.”
Ultimately, while these challenging classes can put a lot of strain and pressure on students, they can push them to their limits and provide invaluable skills that will help prepare them for higher education and future careers. Both of these courses require students to adapt to the demands of these difficult classes, preparing them for the arduous classes awaiting them in college and helping them to further their current education.