By: Isabella Langner and Sam Gruetter
Public Relations Manager and Sports Editor
It is an indisputable fact that the concept of AP classes, especially for first-timers, can seem daunting and worrisome. What will the workload look like, how hard will the tests be, and how do I navigate the College Board Website are all common questions that prospective students may have. Well we propose a solution to these qualms: an introductory AP class for sophomores that familiarize them with the structure of an advanced class while building a community of like-minded peers. Sophomores at LGHS are lucky enough to be given this opportunity in their AP European history class, which we think all schools should offer as a history course for sophomores.
Some of the many benefits of AP Euro are that it sets up students for future AP classes and gives them the necessary skills to be prepared for whatever challenges taking an advanced class has in store for them. Junior and previous AP Euro student Sydney Fried describes how AP Euro helped her with her current AP classes, saying, “It teaches you how to write AP essays and the workload sets you up for Junior year.”
While many people argue that offering an AP class to sophomores may have a high failure rate and be too much for students to handle, many students have experiences that disprove this opinion. Sophomore Kaley Do describes her positive experience with the class, saying, “AP Euro is definitely one of the hardest classes I’ve taken but I like the fact that it challenges me in ways other classes don’t.” Other students enrolled in World History express remorse for not following the advanced path due to their intimidation of the workload. Additionally, sophomore Megan Saul describes her remorse by saying, “Honestly, I regret not taking AP Euro because regular history does not push me academically. I have also heard from a lot of my friends that the class is very interesting and will prepare them for future AP classes.”
AP Euro also fosters the camaraderie of students with similar motivations and interests, overall enriching the classroom environment, especially because it is a discussion based class. Mrs. Pearson, one of the AP Euro teachers at LGHS, shares that “[it’s] something special because we all have to suffer through it, [so] it brings us together as a family.”
Another benefit of the class is its real world applications, an extremely important aspect of the curriculum considering the plague of misinformation surrounding political and social issues. Not only does it help students stay informed on current events based on past ones, but it also lays a supportive foundation for future history related majors. AP Euro teacher Mr. Hughes shares, “European history helps students understand different governments and also helps them understand a lot of current events and why they happened because of European actions in the past.” Due to its multitude of benefits for students and teachers alike we think that all sophomores at schools across the country deserve the opportunity to take AP Euro.