Benilde-St. Margaret’s offers a wide variety of classes ranging from regular to Advanced Placement (AP). As BSM prides itself on being a college preparatory school, many students choose to take the hardest classes in hopes of benefiting their educational skills. Many have different opinions on which class is the hardest.
AP Spanish is the highest level of Spanish at BSM. The workload is extensive and seems to pile up all at once. As some are not completely fluent, the level of difficulty exerts a new level of stress on many as no English is allowed. Luckily BSM has a phenomenal AP Spanish teacher Mary Murray. Murray is available before and after school and takes the time necessary to help the kids who are struggling. Although this class is challenging, students do get to have some fun. From celebrating the Day of The Dead, watching movies, and taking fun field trips, the difficult content makes it all worth it. Senior Gabby Lenzmeier falls into the unfluent category of AP Spanish. As she is a very hardworking and determined student this is the hardest class she has taken at BSM. “I feel like there’s weeks where we don’t really have a ton and then there’s the kind of pile all in one week which is frustrating,” Lenzmeier said.
AP Statistics is an available math class for seniors. AP Stats falls on the writing side of math which is both a blessing and a curse. In this class, tests come every 2 to 3 weeks and the material keeps on rolling. Every night students spend about an hour on homework on top of studying for upcoming tests. For senior Natalie Best, AP Stats take the top spot for the hardest class. As this is Best’s first year taking an AP math the pace was a whirlwind at first and a lot of extra work is put in outside the classroom for her. “There’s not a lot of hard math that you have to do. It’s more writing and explaining and I don’t like to do or I’m not the strongest when it comes to writing…my hand always feels like it is going to fall off,” Best said.
There’s not a lot of hard math that you have to do. It’s more writing and explaining and I don’t like to do or I’m not the strongest when it comes to writing…my hand always feels like it is going to fall off.”
— Natalie Best
Most students’ hardest classes tend to be at the AP level. As students have different strengths and weaknesses a wide variety of school subjects come up when asked what their hardest class is. “I knew what I signed up for, an AP is an AP, it just takes a lot of dedication,” Lenzmeier said.