EDUCATION
Several years ago when I was growing up in Corning, in Northeast Arkansas, my parents encouraged me to take the most challenging high school classes, particularly in math.
Like any teenager I preferred the easiest courses, but as a junior and senior I took chemistry, advanced math, and advanced composition.
I sometimes struggled with the trigonometry and calculous, falling a few lessons behind those at the top of the class. I was mastering the content, but only after classmates had moved on to something else.
In the long run, however, I learned much more than if I had taken less-demanding math classes. And it paid off.
I tested out of taking some math and English in college, and a stronger ACT score brought in some scholarship money. In addition, in the fall of 1980 when my physical science professor at Ouachita Baptist University began going over chemical computations, I understood the math with no trouble at all.
In short, going through the difficult classes in high school was worth the struggle.
It is the time of year when high school students make plans about the coursework they will take for the next school year.
Would they benefit with challenging work the same way I and others have?
Research indicates that they would.
Tim R. Westerberg, educator and high school reformer, wrote in his book Becoming a Great High School that the most effective schools encourage students to get enrolled in demanding classes.
The most successful schools also convey a positive “we-expect-success attitude.”
When a student falls behind in high school, he or she may be required to take remedial coursework in college. And to make bad news even worse, some research shows that remedial classes are not always effective in making up the ground.
In fact, Ohio University professor Richard Vedder, quoted in a Bloomberg column in 2012, said college remediation courses are “a broken system.”
Clearly there is ample evidence that students are better served academically when they are challenged rather than coddled.
To get an easy A in a high school class looks good on the transcript, but to fight one’s way through a semester to get a C might provide benefits down the road.
It is easy to worry about grades, GPA, and class rank, but if one goes down a pathway that is more rigorous and more enriching, it can lead to more success later.
David Wilson, EdD, is a communications director and former high school principal. His book Learning Every Day is available on Amazon.com. You may email him at ledauthor@gmail.com.