It’s a known fact that Choate students constantly strive to get the best grades in all of the best classes. Showing off is our forte. We are constantly trying to get into all the honors classes we can, even if doing so means taking classes that are harder than we can handle.
But after experiencing the difficulty of Choate classes and the workload that honors classes actually entail, I realized how hard high school actually is. I often hear upperclassmen say that Honors World History was possibly the toughest course they had ever encountered. They say that it was an intensive course that involved writing fact-filled essays, studying all night for tests, and memorizing loads of dense content. No one thought Honors World History was easy, or at least that’s what I’ve heard.
Knowing the perfectionist nature of many Choate students, this probably meant that many students went out of their way to be in Honors World History just to prove that they could succeed in a difficult course. Taking that course away, like Choate did last year, means that students no longer feel the need to overexert themselves as a matter of pride. A student can take regular World History and not think, “Oh, that other guy is in Honors. He’s so smart! I must be stupid.”
At the end of the day, there’s no need for an extra opportunity for competition and division on a campus that is achievement-oriented. It’s a good thing that Honors World History got removed because now we can all learn history in peace without comparing ourselves to one another and possibly irrationally doubting our intelligence.
In addition, the removal of the “honors” label makes taking World History inherently less stressful for a lot of students. I do not claim to be a history geek, but I still love learning about the important events of the past that have shaped our world into what it is today. The thing is, it’s easy for me to forget this and focus solely on getting good grades if I’m convinced that I must succeed in an “honors” course.
I am the kind of person who pushes herself to the edge, even when I know it may be an impossible feat. I have realized that I am in many classes that are out of my comfort zone because I want to be in “honors,” and that’s been a struggle. So you see, even though world history is awesome, Honors World History just adds another insignificant label to a course that doesn’t need it in order to be meaningful. In the end, the fact that Honors World History is not a course in the Choate curriculum anymore is a good thing, so gather up all those hours of lost sleep and tears and take a chill pill. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the fun-filled journey through regular World History.
