<p>Ok,
I am freshman and I take one AP class which is Human Geography AP.
To go straight, my teacher is _ _ _ _ _ _ _.</p>
<p>She is very nice, but she does not teach us anything.
AP Human Geography is much about vocabulary and when we go to class
we do really random stuff. She does not teach ANYTHING related to textbook
but she just pull out random article about world events and just keep discussing for whole block. It can be interesting one or two times, but that's what she thaught for whole semester.</p>
<p>And her grading policy is so funny. She use point scale and it is like this.
Test/Quizes ---about 20%
HW/Classwork ---about 80%<br>
(No, she did not stated like this since she use point scale but if I calculate my grade, it really does like this.)</p>
<p>What really funny is for example, we have to make index card for vocabulary and she give us 17/17 if we make all index cards. And on the quiz if we miss 5 out of 17, we get 12/17. It is like making index cards and quizes counts as same.</p>
<p>Her classwork is REALLY non-related textbook materials. Like watching video and answering questions which is non-related video. And when we have test, she just show us a powerpoint for one class period which is ALSO almost not-so related textbook and her test is also random. And one time she gave almost unbelievable works in single block and literally nobody finished and I got like 67 and asked them if I can finish for hw she said no.</p>
<p>Does all AP teachers like this? I am very science person,,,I mean I will study biology in college. I just took AP hum geo for freshman just wanted to put a AP class in my first high school year. Or only history AP teachers like this?.. I am thinking,,never taking history AP again. </p>
<p>Haha I guess all AP classes are similar.
If so, I have to make myself to fit in…That’s why I have made the post to see if all humanity APs are similar to this.
Or my class is only exception.</p>
<p>AP English teacher: good but really only teaches us how to be better writers.</p>
<p>IB Euro History teacher: his lectures are extremely offensive and contain no useful information. Expects us to just learn from the book and his website (which his past students wrote…_</p>
<p>AP Bio: Goes extremely slow for the first 75% of a unit, then goes extremely fast for the rest and usually just skips entire chapters on the test. I can ace the tests based on what I remember from honors bio Sophomore year.</p>
<p>AP Calculus: Great teacher but tests are extremely easy. We took a practice AP Calc test and literally everyone failed it. However, even the dumb kids tend to get at least 80% on her own tests.</p>
<p>AP French IV: We literally learned nothing in French III (I mean nothing. I can’t tell you one word I picked up the entire year). And French IV is basically a review of what we learned in French I…</p>
<p>IB Theory of Knowledge: Teacher is eccentric and smart. The only class in which I really learn anything, even though I’m confused half the time.</p>
<p>AP Bio- we do nothing in class then take really long, difficult tests. Apparently we are supposed to be teaching ourselves. Also, nothing under 120% is considered an A.</p>
<p>IB Chemistry HL: Teacher barely teaches the concepts. Labs are ****ing insane.</p>
<p>Tests are crazy as hell.</p>
<p>IB Math HL: I could sleep, wake up on test day, and still keep a 100.</p>
<p>IB Computer Science SL: Easy 100, and he gets 6’s and 7’s on the IB exams.</p>
<p>IB English HL: Hate the course, love the teacher. I learn.</p>
<p>IB Spanish: I’ve been learning the preterit and the imperfect for 3 years now, nothing’s new.</p>
<p>AP US Gov’t: JOKE.</p>
<p>IB History HL: Such a joke. Teacher is my neighbor, knows I know my stuff. He teaches, gives insane amounts of work, but he teaches and is an easy-grader.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about AP Human Geo. I copied all the work every single day at lunch from a friend, used my phone on all the tests/quizzes, I didn’t study ever (including for the exam), I completely bombed one of the FRQs (It was a map on religion and I said the three mapped religions were Atheism, Judaism and Those People Who Come To Your House and Throw Bibles At You) and didn’t answer like 12 questions. I got a 4. </p>
<p>Obviously, this was before I developed any sort of work ethic.</p>
<p>My AP World History teacher is amazing. AP Bio is kind of a waste of time. It is really sad because I used to be interested and exited about science before I took this class. It seems like many AP teachers hardly care except for when it comes time for the AP tests in may.</p>
<p>So I guess I will just take sort of many AP classes and
just study myself, and do not expect from teachers.
So do you think I should take humanities extra APs like Euro AP??? Or just not take since I will study biology</p>
<p>It seems to me there are two possibilities. First, your teacher may be winging it from day to day. She may not like the book so she isn’t following it, but she doesn’t have a coherent plan for what she is trying to do. (This is not unusual for new teachers.) Second, she may be trying to get at something that adds to what is in the book, most likely she is trying to expand your awareness of what is going on in the world right now and trying to exercise your ability to discuss real-world issues as they arise.
So what do you do? First, learn the vocab. (Try memorizing terms while you are in bed just before you turn off the lights. 1. Memorizing vocab will put you to sleep faster than Sominex. 2. Your mind consolidates memory during sleep. 3. It works great on biology vocab as well. You’ll wake up, review the words once, and realize that you have them pretty much nailed.) I digress. So what else do you do? Read the book. You may find that some of the things the teacher is discussing actually do relate to the book. Even if they don’t, learning on your own is 90% of what happens in college. You will read LOTS that may or may not be discussed in class, but you will be responsible to know it either way. It’s also a great skill to have when you’re called upon to do reports and research papers. You may also find that you have a chance to refer to something in the book when your teacher is discussing whatever topic she has raised. That will get her attention and let her know that someone in class is trying to learn the material. Finally, take notes. It will help you concentrate, and you may find in reviewing the notes that there is actually some pattern in your teacher’s apparent free association. If there is, you may have a means to predict what sorts of things will appear on tests. Taking notes is also a good way to organize material from a disorganized teacher.</p>
<p>I re-read your first post and noticed a few things that apply more specifically to your situation. The first thing is that your teacher wants you to stay active in class. Her grading is weighted heavily on class participation and doing the vocab work. Without knowing what she says and what the vocab words are, I can’t say much more about that.</p>
<p>When you say the things she chooses to discuss are not related to the book and the questions she asks are not related to the videos she shows in class, I wonder whether they are really not related, or that you don’t see the relation. Have you just asked her what the relationship might be? It would be a good idea to try it. Don’t ask as part of a complaint or an accusation. Just tell her you are having trouble seeing the relation between X and Y and ask her to help you with it.
Finally, it’s possible she is a new teacher. The first year or so of teaching is really hard. She may not have that class planned as completely as another teacher who has been teaching the same class for two or three years. If she’s a nice person, as you say, cut her some slack. If you ask questions along the line of the one I suggested above, she’ll try to help you and she’ll get some feedback that will help her plan better for the rest of this class and for classes to come.</p>