APs: They Make You or They Break You

As course planning begins to wind down, the familiar echo of Juniors frantically asking friends and classmates how many APs they're taking begins to quiet down as well. Still, the forms are being finalized as they make their way through the final stages to be turned in.  There is little doubt in anyone's mind that there is a major discrepancy between the faculty and the students when it comes to Advance Placement courses for senior year.  While many teachers advice students to lessen their course load for senior year and think more practically, it's hard to accept this information when college decisions are lurking around the corner. 

It is commonly said by siblings, parents, and counselors that taking AP courses helps the start of your college life immensely. There is no denying this. It is also commonly said by teachers and advisors not to overdo it, it will kill your senior year. There is also no denying this. Hearing both these sides so frequently leaves students in the middle as good as we were before hearing anything at all although, it does cause us to think a bit more then just checking the boxes and filling in the numbers.  

While I was sitting in the car on the way to school the other morning, I noticed that the familiar murmurs of my mother's morning dose of WBEZ had actually sparked my interest.  The topic this morning had been AP courses and the AP tests in particular, how... fortuitous. I had been having at least one talk daily about the AP choices in the past few weeks, why not listen into this one as well? What caught my attention in particular was that Illinois had received the highest AP test scores in the country.  

It is one thing to take into account a school such as New Trier's averages alone but it is a another thing to take into account a whole state. It is obvious that the students at New Trier are very hardworking and are up for the AP challenge but it is also obvious that taking APs is highly encouraged and nearly expected be parents. As just one school in the state, what sort of effect could New Trier have made on the average scores of Illinois? 

Where are these test scores coming from? We are constantly being encouraged not to overload our schedules but is it really doing anything in the decisions we end up making? Was the fact that we were being advised to lessen our AP course load somehow affecting the way students enter these courses? 

The Olympic Wars

The Olympic Games started thursday with a bang; an intriguing, cultural opening ceremony, eye catching figure skating, and skiing off such high jumps and around such sharp turns it made me sit on the edge of my couch. 

Every 4 years the games are thrilling and entertaining to watch but what I didn't know was what sort of security goes into it all. From several different articles I have read, there have been several different threats targeted towards the Sochi winter Olympic Games. One of the precautions to these threats that particularly caught my attention was the "toothpaste bomb threat". The united states airlines banned any toiletries being taken on flights to Russia. Rather than the under 3.4 ounce in a plastic bag rule, flyers cannot take any toiletries. 

In addition to this toothpaste bomb threat, there has also been a Turkish Hijacking. The plane ended up landing in Istanbul rather than Sochi because of this and is now being searched for explosives. From the hijacking to the toothpaste bomb threat and all the other threats in between I couldn't figure out why people are going to such extremes to attack the games. Whether the threat is towards Russia or towards all the countries being represented there. The games are the only time that all the countries can really come together and agree but yet, that cannot be true of there are people trying to attack the games. 

Not only are there the threats to the games going on but just on the edge of the Olympic games is a real war zone. It is "a simmering, murky battle between increasingly radicalized militants who operate in the shadows of society and a security force that can be brutal, even when lethally effective." It is one of the longest running conflicts in the world and yet, the games are still being held right on the edge of it all. It is the first time in history that the games are being held in such proximity to a war zone, and while Russia has spent much of their money into enforcing security, should the games be taking place here? Is it safe?

President Obama has been in "constant communication" with the russians about keeping everyone safe and from a USA Today article, it is clear the he and Putin are on the same page about the security of the olympics. It is also clear that they are confident in the security of the games. According to DW article, Russia has gone to the extent of "deploying over 100,000 police officers, soldiers and secret agents" to protect the Sochi games. In addition the Russian authorities have nearly set up the defense of a war zone. The defense to a fortress with surveillance everywhere and rocket launchers prepared all over. 

It is clear that proper safety precautions have been taken to protect the games from any terrorist actions but even so, should the games be taking place on the edge of a war zone under so many threats?