Are We too Tough on Students Enrolled in AP Courses

A student of mine wrote an editorial to the school news paper about how hard her AP teachers were pushing the students.  The jist of her argument was that teachers should remember that they are still high school kids, with jobs, friends, and extracurricular activities.  Below was my rebuttal:

As an AP teacher, I feel that it is my responsibility to help my students prepare for college life, exposing them to the rigor and intensity of college level work.  I also believe that many students benefit from taking these classes in high school because they have such an enormous amount of support at this level.  I feel that students need to be taught some values at school.  Work ethic is an important skill that will eventually separate the students as they become adults.  When you look at our society, it is the accomplishment driven individuals that find the most success.  When a student leaves and successful people have strong goes to a college outside of their hometown, they loose their parents, guidance counselor, teachers, and friends.  High school teachers notoriously work very hard to ensure student success.  They communicate with parents, confer with students, and are available regularly for extra help.  Take the same course in college, and this support goes away.

I would love to have my students involved in extra curricular activities.  I know that the most successful students are the ones that are involved in their schools.  I also know that many students are overly involved in activities from an early age.  My own daughter was involved in so many activities, that at one point we had to scale back so that she could focus on her academics.  While colleges look at the extras for a well rounded student, they are viewed as just that, extras.  Most universities are more interested in the level of courses that a student takes and how well that student performs in the class.   The activities continue after high school, and I believe that senior year is a great time to learn how to maintain a balance in a healthy way. 

I am aware that not every student in my AP Calculus will pass the AP exam.  I am sure though, that they will benefit from this experience.  They learn to work together,  problem solve, budget time, and perservere.   Students who have scored a 1 or a 2 on my exam have not failed, just need more work on the subject.  It does not cancel out the year's work that they have put into it.  A study by Luce-Thompson indicates that low income students who take and fail an AP exam are 5% more likely to graduate from a university in 5 years than similar students who did not take AP courses.  This number jumps to 18% for African American students.  I find this evidence very relevant to RHS, where 50% of our population receives free and reduced lunch, and our racial proportions are changing dramatically.  

          It is my goal to have students experience AP courses, regardless of their score on such exams.  I feel that they are much better prepared for the experience.  I also hold my students in the highest esteem, and absolutely believe that RHS students are up to the challenge.