ranking my senior year classes.
So it's senior year. The year of university applications, grad events, new responsibilities, and feeling vaguely stressed about nothing and everything. I'm not going to lie, for a year that is supposed to be my gateway into adulthood--into the next chapter of my life--this is kind of meh. There's nothing particularly special about senior year for me, except for the occasional excitement of being accepted to universities and for scholarships. I suspect this feeling is likely because I'm a bit of a shut-in loser who doesn't have much of a life like other teenagers. Most of my life is here online, and I'm sure this will have zero negative effects on me whatsoever, haha.
Enough of that self-depreciating nonsense for now. As I await university to take me away from this place like a getaway car, I still have a few courses to complete. So, I suppose I should talk about them. Honestly, I'm really just writing this piece to vent (or rave) about my classes, and also as something to look back on when I'm 30, wrinkly, and haggard (no offence to any 30-and-above's out there; I'm sure you look great).
In order of my most favourite to least favourite, here are the senior courses I took/am taking, and my thoughts on them.
1. Spare block
RATING: 100/10
Now this technically isn’t a course, but since it’s on my timetable, I will be counting it as such. This is a block where I don’t have a class and can spend my time doing whatever I want, given that I remain on school grounds.
I imagine that my spare block is a divine, ethereal woman who has descended from the pearly gates of heaven to bestow upon me solace in these desperate, trying times. She cradles me in her arms and draws out the anguish and suffering from my mortal spirit. She pulls me to shore when my head is barely bobbing above the turbulent waters of senior year. She’s like the female Jesus Christ. I want to kiss her on the lips passionately.
In all seriousness though, this spare block grants me some much appreciated breathing room. I currently use this block to focus on Calculus 12, scholarship applications, my webdev endeavours, and homework from other classes. Plus, on certain days, I can use this block to sleep in at home. Everyday I wake up and thank the Lord and my school counsellors for giving me a spare for each semester.
2. Geography 12
RATING: 9/10
FINAL GRADE: 95
Honestly, I didn't even want to take Geography 12, I was only placed in it because my original choice (Asian Studies 12) was not available at the time. I took this in grade 11, but since it's technically a senior course I'm including it here.
Geography 12 encompasses several topics: mapping techniques, then atmospheric, earth, and biological sciences, and human geography. The vast majority of this content is really not my thing at all. I understand why it’s important to understand the mechanics of climate change, but I cannot force myself to care about the nitty-gritty details, like how to interpret pressure readings in weather reports. As a result of my disinterest, I hardly paid attention to the content of the lectures, and I relied purely on last-minute studying and bull-shitting to pull through the unit tests.
The only reason why this course ranks so highly is because of the teacher. This guy, Mr. Y, is a national treasure and I'm not even joking. Even if I didn't care about how to read a map or describe how hurricanes form, he somehow made his lessons engaging, understandable, and funny. Probably because of the non-stop sex jokes. Definitely because of the non-stop sex jokes. I'm surprised this guy hasn't been fired yet, and if they ever do I will riot against the school administration.
In all seriousness though, while I didn't particularly have any interest for the more physical geography side of things, I was very invested in human geography. It shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone that most of our issues are, at the root, a product of capitalism, but human geography with Mr. Y showed me why that was the case. My favourite part of this unit was learning how the many current armed conflicts of Africa came to be (TL;DR: Western colonialism and imperialism). So, Mr. Y, if you're reading this--I hope you know you're awesome, and I'm sorry you only get action from your wife every 2-5 months.
3. Physics 12
RATING: 8.5/10
FINAL GRADE: 98
I found Physics 12 to be remarkably easier compared to Physics 11, primarily because the first few units (kinematics, dynamics, and momentum) of this course are based on knowledge from Physics 11. As a result, the first few units are quite boring, until we get into electrostatics and electromagnetism. Still, I enjoyed it a lot.
I think I like Physics 12 the most out of all the other sciences because it's heavy on the calculations and real, tangible things. It's less abstract--I can visualise and understand a plane taking off or a ball thrown off a balcony. Unlike chemistry (more on that later) which is literally just made up, and biology which is all memorization of complicated terms--physics is quite straightforward, at least on a high school level.
I especially enjoyed the labs. My teacher ensured they were actually fun, engaging, and contributed to our learning of the physics concepts. My favourite lab was the electromagnetism unit where I shocked myself a few times with a DIY'd electromagnet, constructed from copper wire, an iron nail, a battery, and shitty duct tape. I also broke several rules, and tried to make a super-magnet by connecting three jumbo batteries together. Yeah, I shouldn't be trusted in the lab.
I'm not too sure if my Physics 12 teacher enjoyed it, though. She's a biology major, and she seemed to not enjoy marking all the math-heavy tests. Also I have a massive crush on her, which gave me a lot of motivation to do especially well. I was very embarrassed when a classmate of mine yelled it out loud while she was in the room, and I struggled to look her in the eye for the next few days. I'm sorry Ms. T, if you're reading this. Hopefully I'll be graduating by the time you stumble across my blog.
4. Chemistry 12
RATING: 8.5/10
This is another one of those courses that wouldn’t rank so highly if it weren’t for the teacher. Said teacher, another Ms. T, is someone who I’ve noticed is absolutely insane. I came to this conclusion last year during Chemistry 11, where she called me "demented", a "son of a bitch", an "actual spaz" and repeatedly threatened to stab me with a comically long sword she keeps in the classroom. I think the only thing she takes seriously in this course is the lab safety, and even that is sometimes a little dubious. And you know what, I respect that a lot.
Despite all of that, I do believe she does like me. She's had my back so many times over the two years I've known her, even when it's ethically-dubious for her to do so. I owe her a lot. Sometimes I think she is basically the older version of me, albeit smarter and slightly more well-adjusted (which is quite a low bar). We’re constantly on the same wave length--something I rarely encounter in my life. I treasure her greatly, and honestly I aspire to be like her when I’m an adult. When I told her this last year she gave me a funny look, an expression that I wasn't sure how to interpret.
I have a high-90s average right now and that’s spectacular, though I do expect this to change since acid-base equilibrium is supposedly a killer unit. I actually just finished the second unit: dynamic equilibrium today and aced my test. I was freaking out about it all week since I screwed up on the quiz, but it turns out, like most things, I blew it way out of proportion. Chemistry 12 definitely feels a lot steeper compared to Chemistry 11, especially since all of these concepts are new.
I think chem in general has always been a bit more difficult for me compared to physics. As I mentioned before, a lot of this chemistry shit is honestly just made up. Some guy from the 1800s was like “oh hey there’s actually exactly 6.022 x 10^23 constituent particles in a mole” and we all just decided to trust him. I try not to think about it too deeply. I try not to think at all--it's easier for everyone that way.
5. English First Peoples 12
RATING: 7.5/10
In Canada, or at least in my province, all high school students must successfully complete at least 4 credits (a full course) in an Indigenous-related topic to graduate. This can be any humanities, language, or English course that focuses on Indigenous matters. I decided to go the English route and take English First Peoples 12.
This is like a typical English class. It involves essay-writing, text analysis, text composition, etc. but with a specific focus on Indigenous history and work. Instead of analyzing say, Frankenstein or something, we would read Five Little Indians (by Michelle Good, go read the book).
There's not much I can really say about this course. My teacher is quite kind, generous with marking, and lenient on deadlines, which is appreciated. I find the content interesting enough, and I've historically excelled in English class, but there's not anything special about it. In my province, since elementary school, we are taught in-depth about Indigenous history on Turtle Island, and now the lessons feel a bit repetitive. Of course, we're only a unit or so into the course, so my opinion is not totally complete or informed.
6. Calculus 12
RATING: 6.5/10
After dropping AP Calculus AB (more on that below), I decided to take regular Calculus 12 through an online school, since it isn't offered at my main school.
This course is pretty chill, at least compared to AP Calculus. Being online, I can take things at my own pace. There are times in physical classes where I can speed through work much more quickly than my peers, and then I just have to sit there and wait for them. There are also times where I'm banging my head against the desk and desperately need more time and assistance to understand the content. Online courses give me that flexibility to do things on my own terms. It's very nice.
The only catch is that more than half of what I learned in Pre-Calculus 12 has escaped me. So now, I basically have to re-learn all of the important concepts from last year for Calculus 12. I'm also simply not very good at math. As a future engineer, this should definitely be a concern for society now that I think about it.
My mark at the moment isn't bad at all, around the low-mid 90s. I was doing very well with the first unit, limits and continuity, but differentiation humbled me. I vividly remember completely losing the plot during the test. I was making up my own derivative rules, hoping that they would miraculously turn out the correct answer.
7. Peer-Tutoring 12
RATING: 6/10
FINAL GRADE: 99
Peer-tutoring is a special elective course where a senior student can be a teacher's assistant to almost any junior class of their choice. This is a flexible hybrid course; reflection assignments are done online while the actual peer-tutoring is done in-person during school hours. It's meant to help develop your communication, leadership, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills.
However, I honestly only chose this course because I had a crush on Ms. T, my Physics 12 teacher, and wanted to gain her favour by peer-tutoring her Science 10 class. I think this should go without saying but, please don't choose a course just because you're infatuated by the teacher. Listen to what's in your head, not what's in your pants.
My God, peer-tutoring really did make me lose what little faith I had in future generations. I know, I sound like an old, creaky-jointed boomer yelling about the kids and their phones—but it really is the kids and their phones. I could not get these kids to stay off their phones for more than 5 minutes during the lessons. Many of them fail to show up to class on time. Most do not complete their homework, and then later complain that they performed poorly on the exam.
I acknowledge that not every person is interested in pursuing the sciences further, but all I'm expecting for them is to put in the bare minimum, and several of them fail to even do that. It makes me frustrated, though a part of me can't blame them for not caring about a course they are forced to complete.
When they didn't have me stressing, there were rare moments where I felt genuinely connected to the students. Over time, they warmed up to me and I really did enjoy the conversations we shared. Many of them did look up to me and seek my advice for school and typical teenager matters (e.g. dating, anxiety, etc.), and it gave me a warm feeling to lend a helping hand to the juniors. I definitely agree that this course improved my interpersonal, communication, and teaching skills.
8. AP Calculus AB
RATING: -infinity/10 (= -0)
Excuse my crude language, but taking this class felt like being fucked from behind at breakneck speed and clinging to the bedsheets for dear life because you forgot the safe word.
This teacher is a notoriously difficult nut to crack. I did not find her teaching style to be effective at all, if I could even call it teaching. No offence to my teacher though--she's great outside of the classroom, it's just that I personally cannot learn under those conditions. Her teaching methods involve showing us slideshows on a projector and moving so quickly you barely have time to jot down any notes. She didn't allow us to access the notes online, like many teachers and even professors would do, for no apparent reason.
I dropped this class after receiving back my first quiz and seeing that I got a 59% on it. That was a humbling experience; definitely the lowest grade I have ever received in my entire academic career. Foolishly, I thought taking AP Calculus would make me feel like Oppenheimer, but instead it made be feel like Floppenheimer.
I was caught in this dilemma: by dropping AP Calculus AB, I likely would not be as prepared for the rigour of first-year engineering calculus. At the same time, if I stayed in that class, my overall GPA would tank and that would lower my chance of admission into universities. But you know what, fuck it. Even if I do garbage in Calculus 1, at least I'll still be in the university--and I'm not going to take any chances on my future.
And so now I’m in Calculus 12 as aforementioned, and having a much better time. Thank the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that I’m out of that wretched place.