Are your school counselors just as frustrating?
I can’t believe how useless my school counselor is. This year, they’ve changed the rules for PE waivers and made everything way stricter. Previously, juniors and seniors could just say they could skip PE because they’re involved in a sport or concentration. Now, we have to jump through hoops and provide tons of documentation about college requirements just to not take PE.
First of all, I really dislike how much pressure they’re putting on students to plan for college when we have no idea what we want to study yet. Secondly, my school has a ton of great electives, but now we have to sacrifice those for PE. And lastly, the counseling team had a meeting where they said they’d try to enroll students in classes they actually want to take. Apparently, my counselor missed that memo because she insisted on putting me into PE instead of my top choice, aquaponics. I pushed back, suggesting that aquaponics should be my first choice and PE my backup. She did not budge.
It’s especially frustrating because a friend of mine with more elective options and a better counselor didn’t get forced into PE. On top of that, my counselor thought I didn’t have a computer science credit, even though I’m currently in a CS class! She then placed me in another class I didn’t want instead of aquaponics. I sent her my credit record to clarify the situation, and she still hasn’t fixed it.
As we head into senior year, this feels really unfair. We also have college planning meetings lined up (which I think is unnecessary since not everyone plans to attend college or knows what they want to do), and I fear she might mess with my major too.
I understand she’s dealing with a lot of stress from managing schedules for so many students, but come on! It would have been so much easier for everyone if she’d just enrolled me in the classes I wanted in the first place instead of causing all this hassle.
And seriously, do I look like I want to change in front of freshmen and sophomores to go to PE? Nope! I don’t want to feel all sweaty while I’m juggling 4 AP classes. Who wants to lift weights surrounded by guys who think they’re tough? Plus, I’m kind of wary of PE teachers after hearing about inappropriate incidents. It’s just too much!
I know I’m not the only one dealing with this. My best friend, who’s in the music concentration, tried to take a music class instead of PE and got denied. Another girl I know wanted to take AP French but was also forced into PE. What is going on?!
Meanwhile, this one obnoxious boy who had no solid reason to avoid PE managed to escape it. Sounds a bit suspicious, doesn’t it? Are we looking at some unfair treatment here?
So, yeah, it looks like I’ll be skipping a lot of PE classes next year!
It sounds like you’re really going through a lot with your school’s counseling system, and I can totally understand your frustration! It seems incredibly unfair that your counselor isn’t taking your preferences and needs seriously, especially when you’re managing so many AP classes already. It’s not just about the classes; it’s about doing what feels right for your academic journey and interests.
The binding nature of college preparation can be overwhelming, and it feels like there should be more flexibility, especially for students who have demonstrated their commitment and passion through other avenues like electives. It’s concerning when students are forced into classes like PE instead of pursuing their interests. It’s also not cool that it seems like there are inconsistencies with how different students are being treated.
I can totally relate to the stress of making decisions about the future when, honestly, so much is still up in the air. And having to change for PE in front of others? Yeah, that sounds like a definite no for me too!
If possible, it might be a good idea to follow up with your counselor again or even reach out to another faculty member or administrator who can advocate for you. You deserve a class schedule that reflects your interests, especially as you prepare for your senior year! Good luck with everything, and I hope you find a way to get into aquaponics or whatever else inspires you!