I've been a little angry lately, what can I say. Something has to be said for the enjoyability factor of ranting over research papers.
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Hello, Ms. Yu,
I am writing in regards to the Adavanced Placement Discussion- Town Hall. I would love to be at the meeting, but I will be at home tomorrow, working on one of my final ASFA projects: The Math/Science Senior Research Project. However, I would like to share my thoughts regarding making ASFA "AP-free." As a Senior at ASFA, I have gone through the program, and would like to support others in the student body feeling as I do about this potential change. Please share this letter, if it is alright. Thank you.
Before discussing the AP, I'd like to say thank you to ASFA's Administration and Parents and Students for coming together at this Town Hall meeting, and showing interest in the school. It is a good thing to know that the people who are Living ASFA and have Lived ASFA (shout out for the Alumni) have a say in the future of the place we are coming from. Thanks.
Let me make my viewpoint clear. As a student at ASFA, APs have enriched my experience at ASFA as a student and as a person. I believe that getting rid of the AP curriculum at ASFA would be a step in the wrong direction.
Arguments I have heard against AP, and my counters:
- Schools that do not have AP are teacher driven. ASFA Teachers ARE driven. Also, "p implies q" does not mean "q implies p". To say that just because schools without AP are teacher driven, does not mean that schools WITH AP are NOT teacher driven. This fundamental of logic is from what I have learned in my geometry class, as well as in my AP Stats/Discrete Math course. However, this is NOT part of the AP Curriculum. Our teachers are so dedicated, they teach above and beyond any curriculum, be it the one required by the state of Alabama, CollegeBoard, or even the curriculum of their own devising from years prior.
- The availability of AP courses makes students who do not take APs look bad to colleges. Students who want to move ahead in specific areas should not be held back. If a student shows magnificent talent in any area in academics or department, would we attempt to say, aha! No, you must progress at the pace of every other student! Would we? ASFA has a School Report that is sent with every transcript to a college, conservatory, or any other places ASFA students choose to pursue education and career goals. The school report clearly outlines what is available to students, how the school works. I have seen a copy of this report. Schools that put emphasis on academic prowess ask that you not take EVERY advanced or honors course in the history of the world, but that you take what challanges YOU, in the environment available. This is fair. What is not fair, is giving every single student the same type of education. We are all individuals with our specific interests, capabilities. We are all offered the same potential in education in our core, academic classes. To judge us on the same scale would yield a poor sampling of ASFA. We thrive in being ourselves, creative to the fullest.
- Our teachers are the Best. Our student body is the Best. Why not show this off? Just because we can excel (and DO excel!) in the Advanced Placement curriculum, does not mean that AP is ALL we know. (As I refer to subjects in this section, all are the AP offerings of ASFA, unless otherwise noted.) Many of the teachers who teach AP courses let students know upfront that while they will be prepared for the exams, they will not always be following strictly AP guidelines, such as in Economics, Physics, (from my friends who have taken it) Art History, etc. What I learned from US History was not just to pass the exam, because goodness knows history is NOT my strong suit, but to connect events and understand cause and effect. In Chemistry, each year, I would say it is a fair estimate to say HUNDREDS of labs are done. We seemed to do one or two a week. These are not part of AP. And each year they are DIFFERENT labs. I walk past this year's chem class, I'll pop my head in and ask, "Hey, which one is this?!?" Only about 50% of the time am I able to hear and reply, "YEAH! That one was so cool!", because the other half I go "Seriously? That sounds awesome, but we didn't do that one my year! Sad face." Biology had us probing every environment of ASFA and beyond to McWane and the Botanical Gardens. Because of this experience, many of us are prepared with lab experience, learning experience, thinking experience.
- This is about the Whole School. This opposition to removal of APs is not a Math/Science specific complaint. My core AP classes are filled with Arts students. All students benefit when they are taking an AP class and doing well. Colleges acknowledge this, and our students can be recognized on a standardized level. Personally, I believe that standardized tests are a necessary evil. They do not show the whole part of any student. However, the indication of doing well in an AP can be the platform from which a student can then leap to display their other abilities and dedication. There is some talk that Math/Science kids look better to certain colleges than Arts kids. I have heard this from adults, not so much in the student body. My response to this is thus: The ASFA mission statement makes it the goal to prepare all students to pursue not only educational goals, but be equipped with the tools to continue in an area related to their specialty. I would be sent out flat on my bum if I tried to apply to a Dance conservatory. But I am capable of pursuing my passion for Mathematics to become a signals interpreter at the NSA. One of my Math/Science friends is deeply set on going into Architecture. When she goes to an interview, she is always asked, "Why weren't you in the Visual Arts department, then?" It is fair then to ask an Arts student pursuing Music why they weren't in Music, or a Creative Writing student pursuing Med School why they were not in Math/Science. Again, this is about all our students.
- For more, visit this petition signed by students and alumni http://www.petitiononline.com/
ASFA_ap/petition.html .
Our current offering of programs, classes, departments, allows students a pretty wide range to pursue our passions. Can you ask us to do anything less?
A better question: How can We, the Students, do anything less?
Best,
Azalea Vo '09
Russell Math and Science Center,
Alabama School of Fine Arts
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Avo
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