BY JODI MILLER

For juniors and seniors taking on AP classes, summer does not have the same meaning it once had. What used to be ten weeks of unlimited freedom and no responsibility has now become an extended period of time to complete a significant amount of work.

While nobody enjoys the extra assignments, it is necessary that teachers keep students occupied while at the beach or camp. As much as the population loves starting school after Labor Day, this late entrance into the school year puts AP students behind those taking the same courses in the South and West. Students in Texas, for example, start school in the middle of August, and because the AP dates don’t change, they have about three extra weeks to prepare. Thus, in classes like AP Biology, Chemistry, American History, Physics and Calculus, it is imperative that students cover some material on their own in the summer or run the risk of not finishing the curriculum in time for the May exams.

While the hefty packets and textbooks fall into unhappy hands, students must remember that enrollment in the class was their choice. The three, four, or five AP classes overloading senior schedules were not forcefully thrust there by guidance counselors, but carefully chosen by the individuals themselves. Thus, the students should acknowledge that significant workloads accompany college courses.

In addition, members of such classes must recognize the high expectations for them. Fortunately, unlike during the upcoming school year, they will have more time to complete the dreaded summer assignments. A chapter that would usually take a week or two in school can be spread out over three weeks to a month. Undeniably, the work is unpleasant but it is given for the sake of the students in hopes that they will study now and stress less before the AP.

Just as the blackboards are rid of chalk and the whiteboards cleaned, the brains of all students become clear after the final bell rings in June. All of the accumulated information begins to undergo the slow, two-month long process of disappearing. The once sharp and refined calculus skills lose their edge as students jet off to foreign countries to do community service, commence work or leave for camp. In order to salvage what knowledge is left before September, teachers disseminate summer assignments. The hope is that the packets will restore the old materials that had leaked out. Especially for AP students, this is essential because the school year is too short to review basic concepts.

There is not one person who enjoys spending their summer vacation studying, but it is necessary if the school hopes to have prepared students for the most productive school year.