Emily McGinnis – AP Spanish

How is your class staying on track?

First of all, one of the most important parts of preparing students for the ap exam is getting them ready for the format, and that’s something that no one really knows right now. I’ve just heard for my exam that it will be a 45-minute exam administered at home, but that’s not a whole lot of information. There’s a table that they give that says what the exam will cover, and they just picked units 1-4 assuming that everyone goes in numerical order, and then there’s a couple fields that just have asterisks, they’ll fill them in later. But right now, I’m just sharing with students that they can cancel with no financial penalty for a full refund if they don’t wanna take the exam. For some students, it might be a good choice. It can certainly alleviate stress and allow them to focus on learning for learning’s sake and not stress about an exam at home. In terms of staying on track, I think there is no track anymore. We’re trying to figure out what makes the most sense for students and teachers to continue learning and continue a positive relationship to school and learning while we’re separated. I think that’s something to figure out but there’s certainly plenty that we can do, both in stuff that we can do that isn’t directly related to the exam, and also the ap exam is a good exam to prepare for so students would still benefit from the language efficiency building.

What effect do you think this will have on the rest of the year?

I think that there’s no way to replicate school now that we’re not getting together on a daily basis, so I think I’m trying to center myself philosophically before marching forward with any goals of what we have to get done. Honestly, I believe that our AP spanish students are so strong that they would do well on the exam if they took it at any point in the year and I think we’re really just practicing the format and sharpening our skills. I don’t think anything will get in the way of them doing well if they want to.

What do you think could have been done to improve the current situation?

I think that the College Board could have canceled the exam and that would have made sense. At this point, the exam is going to be a part of what it would have been, and this just pulls everyone into another level of confusion and questioning. I think that it’s ok when there’s a major crisis to really make substantial changes, and say ‘there’s things that aren’t going to happen’, and I think a standardized test is something we could set aside and say is not going to be our priority right now. I am an ap teacher, but I’m a teacher first, and I think our priority should be students’ emotional and physical wellbeing and health. After that, we want students to be focused on learning and thinking in ways that help their mind grow as individuals. I’m not sure that these changes are going to support that or they’re gonna feel like they get in the way. The College Board said they don’t want to add an extra burden to teachers and students, but I think inevitably when we have to shift, when we’re already shifting in these other ways, it is a bit of a burden to figure that out for teachers and students. That said, like I said, we have really strong students who, in many ways, have been preparing for this since they first started high school. If they decide they want to take it, and they can take it with the technology that is required, I think they will be able to do well.