by Charley Johnson
News Editor
With the large variety of classes that are offered within Northern High School, and the opportunity for students to craft their own schedule, students take on complicated course loads to earn credits, stand out, and pursue personal interests. Northern High School students explain which classes are the hardest and how students manage the course.
Accelerated Physchem- Junior, Sophia Greene believed that accelerated physchem is the hardest class at Northern High School. Sophia claims that she just “couldn’t do it.” The class moved at a very rapid pace since the entirety of the curriculum was taught in just one semester. Sophia believes that the class would be more manageable if it was spread out over the entire year instead of just half. To manage the class Sophia and her fellow classmates created “Charlene’s fire students” group chat to help one another manage the difficult course load.
Junior, Samuel Richardson agreed with Sophia, stating that accelerated physchem is the most difficult class at Northern. Alongside Sophia Green, Samuel agrees that the speed at which the course was taught was the reason why the class was so difficult. Cramming the entire curriculum of a year in only one semester made it difficult for the students to absorb the information. However, although Samuel does agree that making the class longer would make it easier, he understands that the class is accelerated so the fast pace “is just how it is.” To manage the class “the group chat we had helped, and honestly doing the work and understanding/doing the homework was beneficial.”
AP Chemistry- Junior, Jettrin Feliciano believed that AP Chemistry is the most challenging class at Northern. Jettrin believes that the pace the class was taught at made it difficult. “The class would be more manageable by slowing down the curriculum and going more in depth with the topics.” To keep up with the fast-paced curriculum Jettrin suggests that students currently taking or considering enrolling in the class take lots of notes and look over packets before tests to fully understand the material.
AP Government- Junior, Connor Higgins claimed that AP Government is the hardest class he has taken at Northern. Connor believes that the class was difficult because of “the amount of studying we had to do in order to do well on the tests.” Connor admits that if he studied more, the class would have been more manageable. Some advice he would like to give students in the class is to “do your current event at the beginning of the week or the earliest you can. Do it immediately, don’t wait until the last minute. And even if you forget or don’t do it, try to put something together when you walk in the room before class starts.”
Financial Literacy- Senior, David Pickle stated that Financial Literacy is the hardest class at Northern High School. The class was challenging for him because “I make bad financial decisions, so the work was hard.” He believes that less work would have helped him and some other students that struggled passing the class. However, with the completion of Financial Literacy, David realized that just doing the assignments and paying attention is “all you have to do” to complete the class. David advises students that when they take the class to “just do the work.”
AP World History- Junior, Sadie Masters believed that the most challenging class at Northern is AP World History. Sadie believes that the class is difficult because of the fast-paced curriculum. “We move very quickly, and we take notes every day. Maybe if we did more group work or interactive work the class would be easier.” Although the addition of more collaborative assignments would be beneficial, the large sum of notes that they take during the class is good study material to look over before tests.
AP US History- Junior, Liliana Rossi claimed that class, AP US History, is the most difficult class at Northern High School. Liliana believes that the class was challenging because of the extensive amount of work they did throughout the year. As well as a fast-moving pace and very broad curriculum, learning hundreds of years of history, “the content was hard to understand.” Lilianna suggests to students taking the class to take lots of notes and pay attention during lessons.
Accelerated Algebra 2/Precalculus- Juniors, Sophia Hein and Blake Shaner agreed that Accelerated Algebra 2/Pre Calc is the hardest class Northern has to offer. Sophia believes that more teacher assistance during class and going more in-depth during lessons would benefit the students taking the class. However, to manage the class Sophia found it beneficial to get an out-of-school tutor. Sophia and Blake suggest that if you take Accelerated Algebra 2/ Precalculus “make sure you study for tests and understand the content or ask for help” (Blake) and “get an in school or out of school tutor if you are able to.” (Sophia)
These challenging classes are a few of the many that push students to strive to their best academic abilities; however, that won’t stop students from taking, managing, and succeeding in Northern High School’s hardest classes.