It’s that time of year again, approaching the close of the first semester and entering the more grueling part of the school year. Along with tests, extracurricular activities, and the everyday stress, looms the task every student loathes–class registration. With the piles of class descriptions, and no idea what to take, registration can be daunting for many students.
AP African American Studies starts next year.
For the upcoming 2024-2025 school year registration, rumors are circulating that a new history class, Advanced Placement African American History, is going to be introduced next year to Shorewood. The class was originally believed to be introduced in the 2022 school year but unfortunately missed the registration period for Shorewood. Now finally being implemented, students who took AP World History their sophomore year, and AP United States History their junior year, now have an opportunity to continue their education in the history field by adding this class to their schedule for their senior year.
The Shoreline School District will be joining a total of 60 other schools nationwide, and offering the class as part of their curriculum. Although many school districts and states welcomed AP African American history with open arms, predominantly conservative states had a more negative reaction toward offering the class in schools.
Course has met with some controversy elsewhere.
When the college board first announced the introduction of the Advanced Placement class into schools nationwide, the idea was met with severe backlash, causing an unseen amount of controversy in some states. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, was one of the leading figures in the fight to stop the class from being taught in Florida schools. DeStantis banned the class from being held or even offered as a course option for interested students. The Governor in an interview with PBS stated that he believed all students should be taught Black History in Florida, but the Advanced Placement class has too much of a political agenda and amounted to “indoctrination.”
Teachers, students, and school boards throughout Florida fought for the implementation of the class but were eventually overruled by the DeSantis administration, losing the battle over the course. DeStantis continues his rampage towards public education in recent months with book banning, recently adding the dictionary to a list, along with a wapping total of 1,600 other books presumed to be on a ‘book banning list’.
The Governor has already made a name for himself in recent years with the support and passing of the “Don’t Say Gay Bill.” During his campaign for the Republican nominee, DeSantis made quite the splash, continuing his support for the culture war, and his anti-LGBTQ sentiment. On the 21st of January, DeSantis dropped out of the running for the presidential election, giving into the pressures he faced during his campaign, most of it aimed at his way of life and fashion decisions.
In Shoreline, without looming book bans and DeSantis out of sight and out of mind, Shoreline School District focuses on the implementation of Advanced Placement African American history. The class has been on track to be approved, but it is still pending District consideration in early January.
What will be taught?
Interested students should expect a survey class covering subjects such as the early African civilizations and more contemporary issues like the African diaspora. History buff students should know that the class not only covers African American history but also covers subjects like art, music, politics, gender, sexual orientation, and more modern history like the Black Lives Matter movement.
Class will be project-based.
Any students who have taken Advanced Placement English Composition and Seminar will be familiar with a more project-based class, much like you can expect from this one. The class will not only be centered around normal day-to-day school work but will also have a personal project each student will conduct and present. Unlike AP seminar, students will be able to choose any contemporary issue facing the black community to report on. This will allow students to get a larger perspective, and learn while taking the class.
More info coming soon.
The future of the class will be revealed as information continues to unfold. Although there has been no further information about who is teaching the class, it has been confirmed that the course will be taught in the history department. Unlike many of Shorewood’s history classes, AP African American studies will be offered as an elective, open to any interested students.
