OK- here's the email I sent to advocate for my child to take AP World history as either a freshman or to take it as a sophmore without taking World Geography as a prerequisite.
Of note is that other suburban school districts allow this.
My letter did not work and they will not allow her to take the class as I have requested. Any advice on how to proceed from here?
Mr. XXXXXX,
I do not agree that it is in the best interest of all students to take the Honors Geography class prior to the AP World History class. In fact, the XXXX Program of Studies indicates that for an honors diploma, it is necessary to take either Honors Geography or World History- not both. Since she is planning on being a medical doctor, I do not see the need for her to do both. She needs to concentrate on taking math and science AP courses as an upper classman and I do not feel it would be beneficial to take social studies AP courses concurrently with these higher level classes. I believe it would be more difficult for her to take multiple AP classes after being a freshman than it would be to take one AP class as a freshman, get accustomed to the work load, and then take more later in high school.
…I believe it is redundant for someone interested in pursuing a math/ science career to take both World Geography and World History courses if they are capable of succeeding in the higher level course on its own. Research concerning teaching gifted children supports the view that redundancy is not necessary for these children. In fact, it can have harmful consequences because these children get used to not having to study and then have difficulty later when faced with challenges. Currently, my daughter does not have to study to maintain her “A” average in all higher ability classes. She has a 99% in social studies and a 100% in language arts. I would really like to see her challenged and have to work hard as I feel this will prepare her for a rigorous course of study in college.
…she has also demonstrated proficiency in language arts and writing skills through multiple test results. She has exceptional writing skills and has achieved a perfect score on the written portion of the ISTEP test in the past. More recently, she scored a 27 when she took the ACT as a 7th grader; this indicates that she scored higher than 80% of college-bound high school seniors.
… She dances 15-25 hours per week...and is the Soloist State Champion; I would like her to be able to continue this activity at this level and believe that taking multiple AP classes at one time after her freshman year might interfere with this goal. So again- this is yet another reason to request that she be given the opportunity to pursue a more balanced schedule by taking one AP class as a freshman- thereby lightening her load for later years of high school and freeing-up time to pursue other academic interests. Of note is that other school districts do allow freshman to take AP World History- and other gifted students have achieved success with this.
…However, I do need to concede that there might be practical scheduling problems that would interfere with a freshman taking AP World History due to the block scheduling that is currently being utilized by Avon High School. I am sure that this has some effect on the ability of Avon students to take advantage of the electives and course choices throughout the grade levels. I am also aware that the choice to convert to block schedules was well researched by Avon Administration and appears to be of academic benefit to the students. Given these circumstances, it seems that one alternative that could be considered would be to allow my daughter to take AP World History as a sophomore as other students do. Although taking the 9th grade Geography class as a freshman would be helpful, I do not think that it would be necessary for her due to her skill set which shows a high likelihood of success without this redundancy.
…Please also note that she is very disappointed that she will not be able to take Principles of Biomedical Science (this course explores human medicine and biomedical research). She has expressed an interest in taking the AP World History class as a sophomore and then substituting the Biomedical Science course for the Geography course her freshman year since the Program of Studies indicate that only one World History/ World Geography course is necessary to obtain an honors diploma. I have explained to her that the AP World History class will be very challenging. ..Taking AP World History without taking the Geography class would require the department chair approval…
…My sincere hope is that XXX would be able to meet each individual student’s needs and prepare them for the best possible academic future. Making exceptions based on an individual’s situation does fulfill this goal and results in maximizing each and every student’s potential….
I would appreciate and advice on this matter since the schedules will be finalized by the end of April.
Thanks!!!
