Sometimes I wish that those kids who don’t care were allowed to be hit by teachers. I sat through an entire year of AP U.S. History next to a kid that didn’t read one chapter out of the 950 page book and scored better on every test than I did. Well, you can’t whack them on the head for getting lucky, so how do you put up with those rotten kids?! I’m an extremely impatient person myself and I also enjoy doing well on tests that I study hard for. I’ll give you a few types of kids that you’ll find in your AP classes and some tips on how to deal with them.
1. The Brown Nose: This kid laughs at all the teacher’s corny jokes (even if they aren’t funny), says that they’re two sections/chapters/books ahead than everyone else and you pretty much want to punch them for how far up the teacher’s you-know-what they crawl. How to deal with them? Ignorance is bliss, right? Tune them out when they laugh hysterically for the umpteenth time at a stupid joke and roll your eyes at them when they’re bragging about how fascinating the reading last night was. Chances are the teacher most likely sees through their act and probably doesn’t like them and they really didn’t read and you’re probably a better student than them anyway. Probably.
2. The Valedictorian: This kid is the smartest in the bunch. Cream of the crop. Way better and smarter than you could ever hope to be, right? Wrong. This kid has no street smart and is a lot like the brown nose. They finish the teacher’s sentences, which most likely (again) annoys said teacher. What sucks is they probably didn’t study (and most likely didn’t have to) as hard as you did for the AP exam and they STILL scored a four or five. How to deal? Like the brown nose, IGNORE them. They obviously aren’t going away and they can’t wait to make you look like a fat-rat’s-you-know-what, so don’t let them intrude on your little world. Study hard and be true to your self.
3. The Air Head/One-That-Doesn’t-Study: There were about forty-bazillion kids like this in my class. And just about all of them did better than me on the tests and most likely the AP exams. However, I personally liked these kids because sometimes, I got a chance to look smart. They would say something stupid about the Battle of Gettysburg, not knowing the real info because they didn't read and I would get called on and know exactly what my teacher was talking about. Feed off of these kids. They are a nice little pick me up after the brown nose and royal pain in the rear.
I’m not sure if I’ve covered all of annoying types of kids that lurk in an honor’s class, but those are the types that I’ve encountered so far in my AP career. A lot of kids are out to make others look stupid, but who can blame them? You gotta be the best or you won’t be getting any offers on colleges or grants. If you’re smart, people will be lining up to give you free money. So you stay classy, AP student.
