Have you ever felt that your classes are just too easy at times? It is not an easy thing to fathom for most, but I can honestly say I have felt that way a few times. A class was either too lenient with work or did not have enough work for me to really feel challenged.

Not many students really know that we have an Honors Program here at De Anza College. Its main appeal is to give an early registration date to those enrolled. At least that is what most people know about it.

Early registration is important for most students. With the load of full wait lists when it is time for you to register for the classes you need, an earlier registration date is a godsend.

But is that all the Honors program really is? If so, why aren’t as many people in it to take advantage of it?

Lydia Hearn Madden, who helps run the Honors Program, spoke about what it means.

“We’re here for students who want to take control of their education,” said Madden. “We don’t want to stress the early registration date or better transcripts. We want to encourage students to learn what they want to learn.”

Well, that sounds a lot different that just being an easier way to get needed classes. So, what’s all the stigma then? I believe it comes from high school level Honors classes. In high school, honors consisted of a class that was more or less the same as the non-honors variant, but with more busy work and a grading curve. It also looks impressive on your transcript.

That is all well and good, but when a student applies for enrollment at De Anza, there is no credit rewarded for the honors courses they took in high school. All that extra busy work for no real reward. I feel that the reward of nothing from the extra work done in high school honors classes carries this idea that the honors classes here will be the same: extra work for little or no reward.

Madden really wanted to stress that this was not the case for De Anza’s honors classes.

“The students and the De Anza Student Body Senate got together and asked ‘How can we make it not just busy work?’ recently,” said Madden. “They summed it up in three phrases: intellectual ownership, intellectual risk taking and creative exploration—learning or out of your book.”

Madden said this was all recent work. Even with budget cuts, the DASB and honors students have collaborated to make the Honors Program more than what it’s percieved to be. They worked to encourage students with more than just priority registration.

So, is the Honors Program for everybody? Of course not. But if you ever get the inkling that you’re breezing through your classes without really gaining anything, you may want to look into it.