By: Lauren Perrodin
Advanced Placement high school students will finally be learning about African American history because of the updated AP curriculum for 2023. “We hope it will broaden the invitation to Advanced Placement and inspire students with a fuller appreciation of the American story,” says Trevor Packer, senior vice president of AP and instruction at the College Board.
Being part of this piloted course on African American history could make a huge impact on your community. If you’re an educator that can’t wait to dive into this subject with your students, we’ll look at how to be a pioneer in the newest teaching opportunity by the College Board.
The Impact of AP African American History
The goal of offering this class, initially, was to help high school students advance academically if they wanted to pursue African American Studies within either a Humanities or Social Sciences major in college. After the launch in select schools, teachers found a huge interest in the class from African American students and people of color in general.
It’s a chance for these students to learn more about their history and broaden the horizons of all who take the course.
“AP African American Studies will introduce a new generation of students to the amazingly rich cultural, artistic, and political contributions of African Americans,” said Trevor Packer.
Filling in the Gaps
American history, as it’s taught in schools now, unfolds at a breakneck pace and leaves out a lot of the African American experience. The course is meant to offer a holistic and comprehensive storyline of African American history, and the integral impact it made on the world we live in today.
The course comes at a critical time when the Black Lives Matter movement and other civil rights campaigns are highlighting the Black experience throughout history and how it’s perpetuated today. The AP class aims to broaden a younger generation’s knowledge of that history.
The hope is not only to shed light on the full American history story, but also to enlighten students about the hardships people experience everyday — creating empathy through understanding.
Stepping Into Your Role
Every AP class is important, but being part of a grassroots movement is monumental. If you already teach AP classes, but want to brush up on the latest strategies with your fellow educators, you can take a course on it!
Our Advanced Placement Summer Institute (APSI) is a four-day learning experience where you can dive deeper into how to engage AP students while collaborating with fellow educators on the best strategies. The institute focuses on giving teachers the tools to help their students pass the AP exam, and introduce new instructional teaching and grading strategies.
Not only does the African American History AP course introduce critical concepts, it also has the potential of making a huge impact on the future of the Black experience. Getting caught up on the latest teaching strategies and methods can help ensure that you perform at your best for every student that signs up.