College Prep kids can keep their cool
As an Honors student…Wow, I already sound like a snob. I am constantly surrounded by endlessly devoted students in my classes, who all have a bright future ahead of them, but it was not until I enrolled in a College Prep class that I saw the dark side of Honors.
In the eyes of Honors students, College Prep students often hold the stereotype of being unmotivated and having questionable judgement. I have heard the phrase “CP kid” being used as an insult. Please do not shoot the messenger. Honors kids are just elitist. I will admit it, my respect for students in lower level classes has been compromised in the past, but recently I had a ground breaking epiphany: CP students probably live happier lives than most students in Honors classes.
When CP kids get anything lower than an A on a quiz or test, they do not have a mental breakdown- what a concept! To be completely honest, I cannot relate to that. If I get a C, my life is over. People should still care for their grades, but it should not mean life or death. Last year, I overheard an Honors student say that if she does not become a doctor or lawyer, she thinks she would not be able to support herself financially, which is ridiculous.
A common quality of an Honors student is holding his or herself to an impossibly high standard. It is the endless devotion and fear of inadequacy that blesses and curses us. It aids our success in academic classes, but it crosses a line in some cases, sometimes to the point where people need to seek help from a therapist.
Both Honors students and CP students have their own shortcomings. The primary flaw that Honors kids possess is the fact that a lot of them feel superior and overlook the positive qualities of CP students. Something about taking Advanced Placement classes and spending hours on homework everyday inflates many Honors students’ egos because they think their excessive amount of academic effort puts them above CP students. There is a stigma around CP classes being the easy way out.
Honestly, I had more fun in my CP math class last year than I did in any other Honors class I have been enrolled in, mainly because of my CP classmates. There was no looming atmosphere of stress, and it put me at ease. It was like I left a bubble of stress and was finally content with myself.
There is no time to relax in Honors classes. It is constant work, and students always have to be on their toes. In my case, I am surprised I have not gotten gray hairs. Since everyone in the room is stressed, it spreads throughout the classroom like an epidemic. I have become desensitized to the feeling, but it makes the lack of stress significantly noticeable in a CP classroom.
Sure, CP students do not always devote their life to academics, but at least they know their limits. Honors students need to learn from CP students, because newsflash, it is not necessary to put this much pressure on ourselves.
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