In their final year of middle school, eighth graders are asked by their counselors to choose their high school classes thoughtfully. With an uproar in colleges becoming more and more selective, it’s common for students to want the more rigorous courses to show their strengths to future college admissions. AP Human Geography is one of two advanced placement courses offered to freshmen at CKHS. AP Human Geography teacher Chris Kassler has structured his class to prepare his students for not only for the big AP test at the end of the school year, but also for any future AP classes.
“I kind of orient my class that way in general because it is the intro AP class,” Kassler said. “The reading assignments that I do, I try to introduce them to the reading that they’re going to have to do in other AP classes. I try to make them super targeted, so people don’t try to copy the whole book in their notes. I also try to make it interesting and fun.”
CKHS freshman Alyssa Thomas, is one of Kassler’s students to notice his liveliness during class. He teaches more than the rudimentary curriculum, ensuring that all of his students fully comprehend each unit.
“Mr. Kassler is a really good teacher, he’s very enthusiastic, very passionate about the topic,” Thomas said. “He goes into depth if you don’t understand it, he’ll walk you through it. He is very good because he loves the topic, you can tell by his teaching. The class gives you a lot of perspectives in different parts of the world, which is pretty important because you get a broader mindset of what other people think and what they believe and why they do the stuff they do.”
Another one of Kassler’s students, CKHS freshman Marley James, has made similar points to Thomas about his teaching style and commitment to the subject.
“I think he’s really good at explaining key topics in a way that students can understand and that’s one of the ways that I learn,” James said. “I have to internalize it and make it my own, and I think he’s really good at that. So, I’ve been able to retain information a lot quicker than I would with any other class.”
Despite being an AP teacher, Kassler doesn’t necessarily agree with College Board. He sees all of his student’s potential and understands the difficulty of learning college level courses in high school.
“I want to point out that I really don’t like the AP test,” Kassler said. “I don’t like that there needs to be an AP test. I feel like if students sit through a year of a college course and are able to do well, then they should just get the college credit rather than gamble on the AP test.”
