Most students hear of seniors who take four to five Advanced Placement (AP) classes and the stress endured as a side effect. One AP class alone is a challenge, but the high school lets students in good academic standing pick if they want that challenge. Sophomore students don’t get that liberty because AP Seminar is the mandatory second-year English class.
AP Seminar is a venture into the heavy workload coming with AP classes. AP Seminar teaches students how to research independently, present their findings and have discussions about real-world problems. On paper, it makes sense why this course is mandatory.
For most students, this will be their first encounter with a course that is fast-paced, independent and perhaps more than they can handle. I think AP Seminar could be a helpful class, but it shouldn’t be forced upon high school sophomores.
For college-aspiring students, Seminar is a great class to take before the junior and senior options of AP Language, Literature and Research. For non-college aspiring students, however, AP Seminar is an advanced class that they don’t need for their career path.
A lot of students have and will succeed in this course, but just as many aren’t ready for the challenge of an advanced placement class. AP Seminar and English 11 and 12 teacher Alex Hower acknowledges this problem.
“I had a mixed range of emotions last year about AP Seminar. I really enjoy the mission of it, the idea that students can freely look at things that they are interested in,” Hower said. “I think that the skills that they learn are phenomenal. I see my students become better researchers every single day and it’s really cool to see that. Sometimes, [however,] I do feel we sacrifice a bit of students’ mental health in pursuit of academics in AP Seminar.”
Everybody knows how it feels to work on a group project with someone who isn’t pulling their weight, now multiply that by a thousand. That’s how it can feel in AP Seminar. I have seen so many of my peers unbelievably frustrated about the quality of their personal work and grade being brought down by the people with whom they were partnered. Sophomore Aubrey Braisted has seen similar behavior in her own AP Seminar class.
“There are definitely groups of people who choose not to do anything,” Braisted said. “They could do something, but they choose not to and instead they just talk. So there’s maybe half the class that does [work] and is doing well.”
As a person who took AP Seminar, I know for certain it taught valuable knowledge, but I don’t think it should be required for students who aren’t ready for that challenge because it impacts so much of that school year. I’ve always struggled with math and I know if I was forced to take an AP math class, I would get overwhelmed and even more discouraged with the subject. Senior Jeremiah Robinson who is taking AP Research, the optional counterpart to Seminar, has seen firsthand how the course affects future academics.
“Some kids are more up in English and have that background, that energy and the time to actually do the class efficiently,” Robinson said “And some kids just don’t and just aren’t capable of doing it, and that’s okay. I just feel like it shouldn’t be pushed on them because if they’re failing the class, then they feel bad.”
If we made third graders take sixth-grade courses, some parents and a lot of students would be upset. They would be forced to take on a challenge that they aren’t able to complete. It’s pushing different kids into the pool and seeing if they sink or swim, when some haven’t even taken swim lessons and won’t need to use that skill again.
“I do think it’s a tough undertaking, making every student do AP Seminar. But, I do worry about mental health and how students feel [about] themselves because we still want them at the end of this course to see themselves as academics and learners,” Hower said.
AP Seminar can be a beneficial class, but detrimental to some students. Because of this, it shouldn’t be mandatory. Giving students the choice, or having their counselors help them with class selections, is what I think would be best for everyone. It is the responsibility of guidance counselors to make the best decisions with their students, keeping in mind their academic abilities, to set them up for success.
