2024-25 School Year Charts a New AP Class for Sophomores
AP World History comes to Pioneer, offering a broader curriculum parallel to that of AP European History.
By Em Sandis
AP World History comes to Pioneer, offering a broader curriculum parallel to that of AP European History.
By Em Sandis
With class scheduling for the 2024-25 school year quickly approaching, new courses and class options are being offered to students, with one being the addition of AP World History.
This new AP class will be for incoming sophomores only and will be offered in addition to AP European History, currently taught by social studies department chair Michael Burrell. The class will offer a macrohistory perspective of the time between the 1000s CE to the present day, allowing for a broader learning experience without solely relying on the eurocentric perspective.
While the AP World class is new to Pioneer, it is not new to the San José Unified School District, who has been offering this course at other high schools. World history teacher Darlene Dueck pushed for this course to become a part of the school’s curriculum specifically so students could have the opportunity to learn world history on a larger scale.
“I have always wanted to teach the full story. I’ve really really enjoyed the full perspective of what world history does, creating a lens,” said Dueck. “I started researching schools in our district. Most of the high schools have AP World. So I think it’s time we create that space for students to take it here as well.”
The new AP World course is a class that diverges from AP Euro in terms of curriculum, but not in the workload. For Burrell, he understands the potential downsizing of the Euro class sizes.
“My assumption is Euro will definitely lose one section, but there is the possibility of not having Euro if no one signs up for it,” said Burrell.
AP World chooses to focus on six main themes that students will continue to follow through the nine major units of the year. Dueck feels these themes are relatively congruent between all history classes and the shift between the two sophomore APs relies on the scale it is taught.
“You’re taking a look at the macro level of themes of culture movements, religion, language, people groups, even technology advancements and how that affected every continent,” said Dueck. “The themes are humans and the environment, cultural developments and interactions, government, economy or economic systems, social interactions and technology innovation.”
Current campus sophomores were unfortunately not able to have the chance to choose between the two classes and CJ Bettencourt, 10, prefers the idea of taking an AP World class rather than the AP Euro class.
“Honestly if I were to have AP World history as an option I would rather do AP World rather than AP Euro because I would like to learn about the whole world. Not just one part of the world and the effect they had,” said Bettencourt.
Leyla Bikul, 11, appreciates the challenge AP Euro prepared her for in terms of advancing to higher grade levels and encourages current freshman to sign up for an AP class.
“I definitely think that taking an AP sophomore year helped prepare me for junior year. It brought to light the time commitment and energy necessary for me to be successful in honors classes and improved my prioritization skills,” said Bikul.
Those who are now going into sophomore year will now have the choice to choose between the two APs, and the decision to learn about a specific continent or the entire globe.
“Taking AP Euro as a sophomore has always been my plan, and I think the way the course focuses on a European viewpoint of history allows for a more intensive dive into different time periods. However, focusing on this singular viewpoint of history can lead to a slightly whitewashed image of history,” said Keira Moore, 9.
AP World ultimately remains a new way for younger students on campus to gain a new perspective in terms of the history they will be learning, while it could prove a challenge as all APs, the class should be a consideration for incoming sophomores.
“AP World could be a great option to understand more about the relations between countries and the rich history of the world, reaching further than other history APs. I appreciate that there’s a more diverse option for students to study now,” said Bikul.
This new AP class will be for incoming sophomores only and will be offered in addition to AP European History, currently taught by social studies department chair Michael Burrell. The class will offer a macrohistory perspective of the time between the 1000s CE to the present day, allowing for a broader learning experience without solely relying on the eurocentric perspective.
While the AP World class is new to Pioneer, it is not new to the San José Unified School District, who has been offering this course at other high schools. World history teacher Darlene Dueck pushed for this course to become a part of the school’s curriculum specifically so students could have the opportunity to learn world history on a larger scale.
“I have always wanted to teach the full story. I’ve really really enjoyed the full perspective of what world history does, creating a lens,” said Dueck. “I started researching schools in our district. Most of the high schools have AP World. So I think it’s time we create that space for students to take it here as well.”
The new AP World course is a class that diverges from AP Euro in terms of curriculum, but not in the workload. For Burrell, he understands the potential downsizing of the Euro class sizes.
“My assumption is Euro will definitely lose one section, but there is the possibility of not having Euro if no one signs up for it,” said Burrell.
AP World chooses to focus on six main themes that students will continue to follow through the nine major units of the year. Dueck feels these themes are relatively congruent between all history classes and the shift between the two sophomore APs relies on the scale it is taught.
“You’re taking a look at the macro level of themes of culture movements, religion, language, people groups, even technology advancements and how that affected every continent,” said Dueck. “The themes are humans and the environment, cultural developments and interactions, government, economy or economic systems, social interactions and technology innovation.”
Current campus sophomores were unfortunately not able to have the chance to choose between the two classes and CJ Bettencourt, 10, prefers the idea of taking an AP World class rather than the AP Euro class.
“Honestly if I were to have AP World history as an option I would rather do AP World rather than AP Euro because I would like to learn about the whole world. Not just one part of the world and the effect they had,” said Bettencourt.
Leyla Bikul, 11, appreciates the challenge AP Euro prepared her for in terms of advancing to higher grade levels and encourages current freshman to sign up for an AP class.
“I definitely think that taking an AP sophomore year helped prepare me for junior year. It brought to light the time commitment and energy necessary for me to be successful in honors classes and improved my prioritization skills,” said Bikul.
Those who are now going into sophomore year will now have the choice to choose between the two APs, and the decision to learn about a specific continent or the entire globe.
“Taking AP Euro as a sophomore has always been my plan, and I think the way the course focuses on a European viewpoint of history allows for a more intensive dive into different time periods. However, focusing on this singular viewpoint of history can lead to a slightly whitewashed image of history,” said Keira Moore, 9.
AP World ultimately remains a new way for younger students on campus to gain a new perspective in terms of the history they will be learning, while it could prove a challenge as all APs, the class should be a consideration for incoming sophomores.
“AP World could be a great option to understand more about the relations between countries and the rich history of the world, reaching further than other history APs. I appreciate that there’s a more diverse option for students to study now,” said Bikul.