Once again, VPM’s first semester is nearly coming to a close, which means that in keeping consistent with last year, it’s time to give my opinions on my classes. Unfortunately, all my fun electives are set for second semester this year, which means if you came to this article for some fun interest based class descriptions or easy-A suggestions for your Senior year, you may be flat out of luck. However, if you’re merely here for some class suggestions next year as a Junior, a forecast of your upperclassmen years as an underclassmen, or merely some commiseration as a fellow Senior, I’ve still got you covered. Take the ratings with a grain of salt– once again, these rankings are purely personal preference.

1st Hour – Physics: 2/5

Though graduation requirements for MMSD only mandate 3 credits of science, most colleges still impose their own requirements (or heavy suggestions) about how many years of science courses they want you to take for the sake of academic rigor— meaning most people will end up taking a science course senior year, whether they like science or not. For me, that course was Physics, the most basic and obvious choice for senior year science, and yet actually taking the class makes me wish I had combed more thoroughly through the course catalog last spring. Biology this is not— Physics is currently my lowest grade and least favorite class I’ve taken in all of high school, a non-AP class with a greater workload and difficulty of curriculum than any of my three AP courses, to the point that I can’t help but mourn the lives of all who took the class’s actual AP counterpart and be in awe at all who excel in the class. Dramatic declarations aside, it’s not the worst thing in the world; a lot of the difficulty of the class has been simply that I have had a busy senior year and have devoted my time and energy to subjects I’m much more passionate about rather than giving the proper effort needed to a subject I have zero interest in. If you think your senior year is going to be the same, I’d suggest talking to a counselor about your alternative options. However, if you feel like you can take some more academic rigor or you’re just actually interested in Physics, by all means, go for it.

2nd Hour – AP English Literature and Composition: 4/5

If you’re an avid reader, there’s few better classes for you than AP Lit, a class that is nearly entirely based around reading and analyzing books. If you’re not an avid reader, like me, it’s still a great choice for your 4th required English credit for graduation, and a great choice for an AP class, as the workload is almost entirely dedicated to reading, which means that, unlike other AP classes, you can kind of take it at your own pace. Obviously, there’s still deadlines as far as being prepared for discussions about the book and the final essay about the book, but having flexibility outside of just doing rote daily busywork like in other classes is a huge bonus. Even if you hate reading, media literacy is still a necessary skill to have, and this class teaches it in spades so long as you are willing to engage in some pieces of media that may seem unfamiliar or boring to you otherwise.

3rd Hour – Study Hall: N/A

It’s a study hall. You really just sit in a room and study, and chances are you probably don’t even study. Take that for what you will.

4th Hour – AP United States Government and Politics: 5/5

Of all the classes on this list, AP United States Government and Politics (or AP Gov, if you don’t feel like saying the full mouthful of a course title every time) is the one I’d say is an absolute must-take for every senior. Not only is it a fun class that involves numerous consistently engaging activities and opportunities for group collaboration (which are also mostly optional, if you’re not into that), but its subject matter is one that every single member of US society, no matter what your plans for the future may be, could serve to learn more in depth about. If you’re interested in politics, you’ll thrive in AP Gov, being able to put that interest to use for an AP credit by learning about the mechanics of the US political system and some of the foundational parts of our modern political landscape, and if you’re not so interested in it, AP Gov will teach you why you should be, showing how politics affects each and every person enormously regardless of whether you engage in politics or what you might think “politics” means. If there’s anything to glean from this article, it’s that you should absolutely take AP Gov before you graduate high school- you won’t regret it.

5th Hour – Class Assistant for Video 1: 4/5

I’m currently TA-ing for Video 1, and it’s making me regret not signing up to be a TA before senior year. Being a class assistant is essentially just spending a semester with a teacher you like, often helping out students in a subject you’ve ideally already taken and are experienced in, and otherwise just chilling and doing your own work in peace— only you get a quarter credit for doing it. I’ve spent my semester hanging with friends taking the class for the first time, helping them and others with their projects if needed all the whilst having no actual work to do myself in the class. It’s been a total win-win situation for me so far, and I couldn’t recommend it more. Be a TA, y’all! It’s certainly worth your time way more than a study hall.

6th Hour – Advanced Video Production: 5/5

You might as well copy and paste what I wrote last year. I retook Advanced Video as a full-year class this year after having a fun time my junior year and needing more time in the video room to work on Spartan News related things, and the class is just as enjoyable and engaging as it was the first time. As with any art elective, especially one that requires you to take a prerequisite class beforehand (Video 1, in this case) your mileage will vary based on how invested you are in the art form you’re learning about, but if you love editing and filming video, this is the class for you— it certainly has been for me.

7th Hour – AP Statistics: 3/5

It’s Statistics, but quicker. If you’re looking for an AP math class your senior year but you’re too burnt out for Calculus, this is for you. This time, I actually will copy and paste my description for non-AP Statistics from last year, because that’s mostly what my first semester has felt like so far: “If Math isn’t your strong suit or STEM isn’t your desired career path, there are much worse classes to take than Statistics. If you’re moderately confident in your math skills, you’ll probably find it to be a breeze, but as long as you do the homework and notes, you’ll do just fine, and you’ll probably learn some math with some tangible real world application. There’s not much to say otherwise— it’s Stats, the class you take if you don’t want to take Pre-Calc or AP Calc AB.”