Why AP Human Geography Is Criminally Underrated

Photo courtesy of Cooper Kelley

Photo courtesy of Cooper Kelley

Cooper Kelley

Timberlane students in search of a class beyond the accelerated level or those who are in hopes of pursuing college credits should look no further than AP Human Geography. Timberlane offers 19 distinguished courses that are sure to challenge all students in a multitude of  ways.

Of those 19 courses’ there are certainly ones that shine brighter than the others in popularity. AP Statistics, AP Lang, and AP Bio are highly distinguished courses that are both well known in the Timberlane High school community, but they also have high enrollment numbers. Of the 19 classes offered, there is one in particular that tends to be swept under the rug because of the other heavy hitters mentioned. 

AP Human Geography is a class that you may look at and question what the content includes or whether or not it is even worth taking. This year-long course dives deep into varying topics including, but not limited to map analyzation, measuring population density, describing cultural landscapes, and defining various types of migration. These considerably daunting topics seem challenging and possibly impractical in the real world but that is far from the truth. As someone who is currently enrolled in the course I have been able to apply various topics into everyday questions that I may have and the skills that I am developing are going to be extremely useful in my future professional career. 

Sam Szczapa, who was a late enrollment into the course, has been a great addition to the class atmosphere and has picked up on the content with relative ease. When asked how he feels he will use the content he is learning in the real world he responded with, “The content in this class is beyond engaging and I am on the edge of my seat each and every class ready to learn what is next, I am excited to be able to spread my knowledge of geography and the interaction is has with others. I hope to one day be able to spread awareness on a variety of topics such as ones regarding the lack of sanitation and health care in Sub Saharan African Countries. I would not have learned about these modern problems if it were not for AP Human Geography, this class is more than just maps you actually learn about the real world.” The next question Sam received was regarding the instructor of the course he was asked how he feels Mrs. Lefebvre has impacted his educational career and he responded with “Mrs. Lefebvre has kept me engaged through fun an exciting powerpoints with memes and videos to mix it up here and there, this is quite impressive considering she is still providing the content that is required to be taught in an AP Level class, She has single handedly made my 2A period fun and engaging. Mrs. Levbevre deserves more credit for her work. I am extremely grateful for the positive influence she has had on me.”

AP Human Geography deserves more recognition and In my opinion if people gave it a shot I feel as though they would really enjoy it. Mrs. Lefebvre has done a great job teaching this course so far and I am excited about what the future holds for the class. A great teacher along with great content is always a recipe for success, success that AP Human Geography is very deserving of.