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fascinated:

A discussion about the AP courses offered in most high schools around the US.

I took AP English Literature and Calculus AB.

In the literature course, Mr. Cocchiarelli was a man whose authority in the subject was further reinforced by his unusual character.  He was so demanding and strict, but yet so encouraging, that I finally realized how to find beauty, insight, elegance and more in literature.  This happened after a few short paper assignments that left me scrambling to figure out what he was asking us to discuss (In later assignments the scrambling shifted to actually discussing the topic). There was an incredible ‘Aha!’ moment in that process, in some ways similar to learning to swim while being thrown into the deep end.

Before that, I was repeatedly bored to tears with analyses of plots, group projects amounting to slightly more than reading comprehension.

Same went for the Calculus course - in that case, the strict and demanding professor made sure we were impeccably prepared for the exam while digesting the material.

All that rocked.  These were some of the toughest high school classes I’ve ever had, but also ones where I’ve learned the most.  Imagine that.

I took 8 AP classes in high school (could have done Spanish, too, but was rather burnt out on it and decided I needed to mix in an easier class) and can directly attribute my scores to two things: quality of teachers and size of class.

Calculus, for example, was my forte due to an energetic and engaged teacher (he wasn’t going to let us fail) and an 8 person class — this in sharp contrast to pre-calc which I had struggled through (grade-wise) the year before (largely because I never did my homework).

Chemistry, on the other hand, had a teacher who spent his time making PowerPoint slides to click through in every single (20+ person) class instead of focusing on how best to connect with us. Before the AP, he actually recommended that I not take it because he didn’t think I would pass and he’s never had a student fail. My response was, of course, why on earth wouldn’t I take it? What do I have to lose even if I do fail? (I took it and passed pretty easily, but the average score from our class declined from years before he had used PowerPoint)

I would argue that the AP system is a great challenge and reward system, but like any other academic program, the biggest factors are the teachers and their ability to connect the material with the students.

fascinated:

Comprehensive!

Comprehensive, yes, but man that past tense usage to describe everything is a bit depressing.

whatevernevermind:

I think Topspin is the first to do an iTunes LP project outside of Apple. This is the kind of thing that makes me proud to be working at this company. So fucking rad!

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