Ap Seminar is an English class exclusive to sophomores at Greeley West. Not only is it significantly different from other English classes, it also differs as an AP class. When freshmen register for AP Seminar they often don’t know what to expect, and neither do parents.
AP Teacher Mr. Moises Gonzales said, “AP Seminar is different from other English classes because it doesn’t focus on literary analysis. Instead, it develops students’ research, communication, and critical thinking skills.”
Sophomore Jane Swisher said that, “AP Seminar has larger workloads, and there is a lot more collaboration than regular English class. We get multiple opportunities to practice our communication and presentation skills. For example our Socratic Seminar was very different from anything in a normal English or even AP class.”
Students are currently preparing to lead their classmates in a 30 minute long seminar analyzing a source provided by AP. They need to provide a deep understanding of what the source is arguing and also explain how it ties into an overarching theme; which this year is memory.
For this reason, the class places a large amount of emphasis on who you choose as you teammates. Students spend the first two weeks of class deciding what makes someone a good teammate and evaluating each other on how good of teammate they are. Then they decide who they want to spend the entire first semester of the class working with.
Sophomore student Ancha Jolvin said, “The collaborative piece is really important because you share your AP grade with your group, so who you choose to partner with is really important. Don’t join if you aren’t willing to commit.”
That being said, you don’t need to be an amazing English student to join the class. Gonzales said, “One important thing for students and parents to know is that this class is open to all students, regardless of their English skills. You don’t have to be an advanced writer to succeed—what matters is a willingness to try, learn, and improve. I’ve seen incredible growth in my students this year—not just in their writing, reading, and speaking abilities, but also in their confidence.”
Even if you took no AP class your freshman year, you can still succeed in Seminar. Sophomore student Ivan Jaime Figueroa said, “The class is tedious and challenging, and includes lots of chances to present. This is my first AP class and the workload is challenging but manageable. As for the collaborative element, I think that in general people who choose to take AP classes are better suited so even if you don’t get the exact group you want you can still get a 5 on your AP exam.”
