Honors Program = Magic

By Fern Whyte

A wave of disappointment washed over me when I got my paper back. I had gotten used to getting A’s and was totally unprepared for this latest grade of A-minus. I couldn't wait for class to end so that I could approach the professor about this tragedy. A-Minus, I just hate them.

As my classmates rushed to exit the lecture room, I gingerly made my way between rows of chairs to speak with the professor who was still packing her stuff. “I don’t understand how I got an A-, this is an A paper,” I whined. Totally disregarding the fact that blatantly ignored the professor’s recommendation for changes to an earlier draft, I still thought this was A-work. We argued about the grade for a few minutes, she was kind, but firm “no grade change.” As I turned away in a disappointment, she said, “you know what, it’s great that you are so ambitious. Keep it up. It’s a good thing.”

Outside the room, curious classmates, who I thought were long gone, were waiting to see what the fuss was all about. “What happened, did you get a C? I was incredulous! “A ‘C,’ are you crazy? I got an A-minus! “The four girls looked at each other and started laughing. One girl wanted to know if I was crazy. “Can you believe her, she got and A-minus and she’s complaining, another derided” “I wish that was me,” one chirped. “A-minus!” someone chimed, as they turned and laughingly walked away.” I wasn't going to get any sympathy today, I was upset.

Fast forward two semesters; and I have been invited by the Honor Program to be a Presidential Honors Scholar for the 2012/2013 academic year. As an honors student, we have access to courses dipped in magical potions called all-honors classes. I’m in love. All honors classes are filled with students who are even more ambitious than I am. Therefore, instead of feeling like I am some geeky freak, I now have to bring my A-game to keep up. Honors classes are a meeting of minds, great minds that keep ‘whirring’ even five minutes after classes should have ended – and it is a beautiful thing!

 Before honors classes, I had a feeling that I was just going with the flow. But these classes forced me to challenge myself, encouraged me to think independently, question concepts and come to exciting conclusion. Last semester I took the plunge and signed up for two all-honors classes, for a third class I signed an honors contract with the Professor. I ended up with an A+ (love those), an A, and an A-minus (yes the dreaded A-).