The history curriculum at Benilde-St. Margaret’s has changed the order of classes that students take. The new sequence of classes has led to AP European History (AP Euro) having a mix of sophomore, junior, and senior students, which is unusual for a class to have a diverse age range.
Normally, BSM classes are divided by grade with the occasional mix of grades. This year for AP Euro, there are six sections each with a combination of the different grades because of the high demand due to the crossover. This will create a different dynamic because the seniors are coming from AP US History and the sophomores took AP Human Geography the previous year. The sophomores do not know the writing style utilized in AP European History, but the seniors do. AP European History teacher Jeffrey Cohen hopes that the seniors can step into a leadership role and help out the younger students. “Part of my plan is to have the seniors help and mentor the sophomores. I don’t think you can ever get enough of the review and practice and skill building,” Cohen said.
There is some criticism from the seniors because while they are willing to help out the younger students, they don’t want it to hinder their learning experience. It is a good opportunity for them to step up as leaders, but at the end of the day, they are learning new content too. “Those kids are rookies, and we’re veterans now so you know it’s [a] little different, but I mean a little refresher never hurts,” senior Carter Callan, who is currently in AP European history, said.
The sophomores in the class have had to adjust to the changes of an AP history, but are facing it like any other AP course. Despite not having taken AP United States History, the sophomore’s experience with AP Human Geography has laid the groundwork for them on how to do textbook readings and take notes, so they are able to apply those skills to this course. ‘It’s a fun class and definitely shows the range of students taking each class. It is definitely inclusive and very fun,” sophomore Madeline Yacoub said.
Overall this AP History course is currently going through a transition period as it is taking a new place in the curriculum and will eventually be a class only for sophomores. This transition has resulted in varying opinions regarding the class’s culture. “I think that we can just be leaders in the class, if anyone needs help with things that are confusing that we’ve done in the past, that can be really helpful to the students, and also, Mr. Cohen,” senior Claudia Williamson said.