I watched in awe as my friend, who goes to a different school, nailed every question on the French Revolution and the rise of nationalism in our trivia game. When I asked her how she knew so much, she casually replied, “Oh, I’m taking AP European History at my school and took AP World History last year. What history class are you taking?”
I froze for a second — I’d never even realized these were options. Despite hearing about almost every STEM AP imaginable at our school, I suddenly realized at that moment how much Paly lacks in advanced history and social sciences classes.
Other than AP United States History, Paly doesn’t offer any other AP history classes, limiting students’ opportunities to engage with history at a more advanced level. While regular history courses build skills like analyzing the context of historical sources and understanding the effects of the past on the present, AP classes offer a faster-paced environment where students explore these topics more thoroughly, gaining a deeper understanding. These are skills that are valued among colleges and universities, and are useful in a wide range of careers as well.
Not only are these skills valued, but without taking the classes at an AP level, some students may be seen as less competitive applicants to the universities they apply to. Taking advanced courses in high school shows colleges a student is academically motivated and can handle rigorous coursework. Additionally, these courses can give students credits they can use to skip basic courses at colleges to learn at an accelerated pace that matches their interest in the subject.
According to members of the social studies department, Paly may not offer AP World History and US Government because of concerns that introducing these classes freshman and sophomore year may cause underclassmen to feel pressured to take them, causing unnecessary stress.
However, our school only allows freshmen and sophomores to take one or two AP classes in a year — computer science, art history or foreign languages. The rest of the schedule is filled by graduation requirements, such as PE. When students become juniors and seniors, dozens of APs open up to them, resulting in students taking as many as six or seven APs in a school year.
If Paly offered more APs earlier, such as AP World History and US Government, in freshman or sophomore year, students would feel less pressured to overload their schedule with APs in junior and senior year in an effort to catch up with students from other schools.
It also seems unfair students interested in humanities aren’t given the same opportunities offered to students interested in STEM. Many Paly students who are passionate about history are left with no choice but to self-study for AP history classes, which takes up a lot of extra time and effort compared to taking an AP class on-campus. Humanities offer a deeper understanding of our culture, human behavior and the events that have shaped our world, and many students want the chance to explore these subjects in greater depth and with more rigor throughout high school. Our school already offers the basic course for freshmen and sophomores, so why can’t we provide the option to take the AP class as well?
When students self-study, they resort to looking at online videos and resources, which lacks the structure and support that is usually provided in a classroom. Also, students who self-study often have to pay hundreds of dollars to enroll in online AP courses to access the content and obtain a transcript, which not all students can afford.
Gunn High School already offers classes such as AP Human Geography to juniors and seniors, so offering similar AP history classes to freshman and sophomores at Paly would help standardize the options available between the two high schools. This would provide earlier opportunities for students to explore their interests and ensure all students, regardless of the school they attend, have access to the same opportunities.
Students passionate about history and social sciences deserve the same opportunity as their peers interested in STEM subjects to explore their area of interest with depth and rigor. Humanities provide a different skill set that is just as vital in a student’s life — critical thinking, analytic reasoning and an understanding of cultural and societal issues. As one of the best high schools in the country, Paly should offer more social studies APs earlier on. This would ensure a more well-rounded education and curriculum for all our students. And with more AP history options, maybe, just maybe, I’ll finally be able to beat my friend in trivia!