Do you know what a choropleth is? If you’re curious, take Haldane’s new elective, AP Human Geography! This school year, Haldane is offering AP Human Geography for the first time. The class studies the relationships between groups of people, their cultures, and their environments.
Last year, US Government and Politics teacher Kaitlyn Secor wrote a proposal asking to teach this new class. “I felt like we didn’t have enough electives that are not AP, so I wanted to pilot the course as a regular elective,” she said. Students in the class are taught the AP curriculum, but they can choose whether to take the AP exam or not. The class doesn’t have as large a workload as other social studies electives like sociology or AP psychology, so it’s appealing for students who want to take as many APs as possible and students who just want a fun elective. Junior Clara Gelber commented, “it’s an AP, but I’m not overly stressed about it.”
Haldane offers many math and science electives, but not many social studies electives. Last year, there were five math electives, eight science electives, and only four social studies electives. The few that are available are social sciences, which leave a gap in the elective offerings for students who are interested in history. AP Human Geography fills that gap- it supplements what students learn in their core history classes. “I think if students have more recognition of places around the world and a deeper understanding of globalization, they’re going to be more successful in their other history courses,” said Secor. Jasmine Wallis, a senior in the class, said, “we look at social, political, economic, and environmental factors and how they impact certain areas. Learning about those themes would’ve helped me a lot with AP World History.”
Geography in particular is a popular interest among young people right now, as seen in the many geography-related video games that are thriving, like Geoguessr, Wheretaken, and Seterra quizzes. “I think in general our students already know a lot about the world, like they love to play Geoguessr,” said Secor. The new elective gives these students who are already curious about geography more resources to learn about it.
The addition of AP Human Geography means that Haldane now offers 14 of the 40 total AP courses. Because they culminate in a standardized test, AP courses have predetermined curricula set by the College Board. So, when an educator starts teaching a new AP class, they have to learn the College Board’s course-specific curriculum and how to prepare students for the exam. “The first thing I did was research appropriate texts that I could use,” said Secor, “and I’m reading the textbook before I teach any section of the course. I also went to a conference over the summer where they taught me the AP-specific curriculum.”
