In the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, students will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of affinity classes in order to extend their knowledge of the world and the perspectives of different people around them.
AP Human Geography and AP African American Studies are two classes that will be added to the Acalanes Union High School District. Currently a semester class, Ethnic Studies will become a graduation requirement in the new school year. This will add to the unique perspectives that students can be exposed to.
Ethnic Studies was founded at San Francisco State University in the 1960s due to the student body’s demands for more representation of different identities at their school. In similar fashion, the AUHSD is adding more classes for similar needs.
“We’ve been thinking about it and discussing it as a department for a long time,” stated social studies teacher Ryan Boyd, future teacher of the AP African American studies class. “[We believe that] we should begin to have more courses that reflect the rest of the world.”
AP Human Geography is a class that will teach the impacts that geography has on the human race, particularly their economic development, religion and culture. The class will be offered to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, offering diverse perspectives from all grades.
“AP African American Studies has been developed by the College Board in the aftermath of everything that happened in 2020,” said Boyd. “All of the schools in the district decided that since it’s being ruled out nationally, they’re going to offer it.”
A class for upcoming juniors and seniors, students of AP African American Studies will start off by learning about Africa’s societies, cultures, empires, and connections between the continent and the rest of the world. The class will learn about African American history and experiences: such as the Slave Trade and the Middle Passage and go all the way to the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century.
When asked why he’s deciding to take the class, sophomore Daniel Wang said: “I feel like there are so many prominent black figures in the past, right now, and just in history- that I take inspiration from… I think it’s important because it’s valuable knowledge.” He believes that anyone can take away something from the class.
Students will be learning about the background of the resistance of slavery in the US and how it has evolved into a distinct culture blending both African and American elements.
When asked why he believes students should join the class, Boyd stated: “It’s an excellent way of adding to our knowledge of America… [and to] hear different voices that we haven’t heard in classes.”
