Students working in the AP seminar class.
I had walked into the first day of AP seminar with an open mind and an unknown goal. I looked around at the numerous unsure students and my mind wandered, thinking of what my year in this class may hold. Although I had chosen to take the course, I had no clue what I was doing.
The two AP seminar teachers Andrew Larson and Berleman feel that the class is unique because it is not content driven, rather students research things that interest them. The class currently is only offered to freshmen and PHS was hoping to start offering the class to students in other grades. The school was unable to put this in effect because there wasn't a high enough enrollment from students in other grades.
"I honestly had no idea what it would be like," PHS freshman Shea Leonard said.
Going into the class, students don't have an informed view on what the course will be like. There isn't enough information out to inform students and persuade them to take the course.
"It is more research based than any other classes I've taken," PHS freshman Adam Tomkins said.
The majority of students agree, they either had misconceptions of what the class would be like, or they had no idea what to expect. A lot of people thought that since it is a rigorous AP class, there will be a lot of work, yet there is little to no homework. Berleman and Larson feel that this work policy is another way in which the class is unique compared to other courses.
"AP seminar had unique perspectives and was more free flowed and open to discussion," PHS sophomore Krishna Tewari said.
After having time to reflect on what Tewari learned in AP seminar his freshman year, he's able to realize its uniqueness. It's not a class about a specific topic, rather one learns multiple skills to use later in life. The class is still new and therefore still unknown to students. Hopefully as the course progresses more students will become aware about its positive impacts and unique curriculum.