AP Psychology, AP Calculus, Dual Credit English 101. These classes and more presented themselves in front of cadets two weeks ago during the Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Credit (DC) Fair. This fair was meant to allow students to understand their options for the following years. What options? The option to enter a college-level class before leaving high school. The classes presented during the fair ranged from creative classes like AP Art to classes with a mountain of work like Dual Credit English 101. These classes help students earn college credits and save money if they pass the AP test near the end of the year. Students that are confident in their choice for their future careers can hear about the class from the teacher and their peers.

Purpose

The AP and Dual Credit classes offered by Marine Leadership Academy are meant to be used for students to get some idea of what college will be like. The next best way to understand the difficulty of an AP test is by hearing from current students. When asked about improvements for the fair, Mr. Roman, the teacher for AP Calculus AB, said “It means more when the students are like ‘yeah, Mr. Roman does a good job when explaining calculus. You just have to do the work.’ That means a lot more than a teacher saying ‘Hey, join the class.’”
The fair, however, did have some problems: the gym was filled to the brim with cadets, and loud enough that it was hard to hear what the presenters were talking about. But what fair/event doesn’t have some problems? It could be safe to say that this year’s fair was a great success.

Teacher Strategies

While there were many students that attended the fair, that is only half the battle. Teachers have to make their class sound desirable to students. These strategies and methods range from showing classwork to having student testimonials, as Mr. Roman put it. The more of a reason you give students to why a class is better for students, the more likely it is for them to join. One such example is Mr. Hermann who teaches Dual Credit English 101. Instead of telling cadets what the class is about, he hopes that “good word of mouth about the class from other students in it and motivated students who are interested in doing dual credit will sign up.”

One strategy that was used by teachers was showing examples of classwork. One such example is the artwork of the AP Art class. One piece used to attract students was “Dark Escape” by Cadet Major Zitlaly Zuniga Mena. The artwork features a decorated arm reaching out of a dark hole in the ground while being grabbed by dismembered hands. It was made to represent the feeling of being in a dark place even if they are a content person. Students who are interested in a career in art can see the results of the class in this artwork and can encourage them to pursue their dream careers.

Future Changes?

While there have been positive aspects of the fair, there is still room for improvement. There has been advice regarding when and how it should be held, and other ways students can learn about the classes. It could be useful for future fairs to take these pieces of advice into consideration.

Mr. Hermann had two changes that he wanted to make: the order students should come in and the letting students see the class and the way it’s taught. Firstly, it is an understatement to say that there were many people inside the gym. The gym was loud and chaotic, with some cadets leaving the gym to avoid the noise. A possible answer to the problem, also given by Mr. Hermann, is to designate each period for three of the grades. He put it best when he said “…like everyone came down during seventh period and then during eighth period it was not as clear if people should go back or be divided up. I think it would’ve been better to have 10th, 12th, 8th grade come down [during] seventh period and 7th, 9th, 11th come down for 8th period.” By having half the school for fifty minutes the fair could’ve been more coherent and organized, with students actually being able to hear the teachers and students talking.

Another change given by Mr. Hermann is to allow students to see the class in session. He mentioned that for students who want to attend university, they are offered the opportunity to see a class so that they can get an understanding of the way class is taught. It might be a good idea to maybe share recordings of the class so that interested students can get an idea of the difficulty of the class, the amount of work given, and the pace of the teacher.

Final Thoughts

The AP & DC Fair was helpful for cadets that want to attend college in the future. It did have a few weak points but was overall a success for teachers trying to find students that are interested in their class. Students were made aware of all the options that they have for their following years at MLA.