Congratulations! You are finally deciding whether or not you want to challenge yourself for your senior year of high school. To AP or to not AP is the real question. We are going to delve into two of the core AP Courses you can take your Senior year: AP U.S Government & Politics and AP Literature & Composition. We will go into detail about what these courses have to offer for every individual. We are going to step into the classrooms of AP Lit teachers Mrs. Snell and Ms. Fowler, and the AP Government teachers Mr. Murphy and Mr. Smith and review these courses.
Before we get started, I asked the class of 2024 valedictorian Abigail Wotherspoon about the benefits she has reaped while being enrolled in both classes. She shares that AP Government is going to apply to her as an adult, and how what she is learning now will be “helpful to form [her] political ideologies and skills” in the future. Wotherspoon also shared that AP Literature has allowed her to delve into pieces of literature that she would not have otherwise read. So, let’s cover what these classes are about!
AP Literature & Composition is an introductory course, aimed to give a feel for a college-level literary analysis course. This AP course requires that students familiarize themselves with imaginative literature to deeply analyze it, to acquire the necessary writing skills to thoroughly understand a piece of literature. However, the importance of this course is exemplified by the coursework that Mrs. Snell and Ms. Fowler assign to their students. This quarter, we are reading the 1949 novel, “1984” by George Orwell. Both teachers on February 14th assigned a creative writing assignment. We had to construct a Shakespearean Sonnet for the main characters Winston and Julia, a love note if you will. While this class may demand a lot of writing analytical skills, these teachers broaden the definition of a typical “AP” class. There are many instances in which we used our creativity to connect what we were reading with narrative skills. AP Literature & Composition at AFHS is designed to engage students with enlightening coursework to prepare them for the final exam in May.
AP U.S. Government and Politics deepens our understanding of political concepts in America. Due to the confusing nature of American politics, it seems as though this system is built to confuse the American people. However, this class has only broadened my analytical abilities. Very similar to AP U.S. History and AP World, this class requires students to study real-life court cases and political structures that built the foundation of America. Mr. Smith’s class is like stepping into a college lecture hall, he is very direct with his students and doesn’t give them notes, but requires them to write their own. However, Mr. Murphy takes a different approach by visually and verbally presenting notes to his students. Both of these teachers keep us engaged by allowing us to act out real-court cases, present one another with presentations, and collaborate with fellow students.
These two classes have so much to offer for Agua Fria seniors. Classes like these are the foundation to build critical reading and thinking skills. I recommend that everyone take these classes once in their lifetime. At Agua Fria, we are in a special position because we have amazing and energetic teachers who put the entertainment in these classes. Truly, don’t think twice, take AP Literature & Composition and AP U.S. Government and Politics!
