Items

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  2021

  APUSH Prospect Ridge Academy Student prompt

  Assignment prompt for APUSH (HS juniors) students of partner institution, Prospect Ridge Academy, taught by Kelly Feinstein-Johnson.
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  2021-05-06

  APUSH - Online Learning Edition

  The first time I saw over 75% of my 171 APUSH students in person was the morning of the test. One girl brought me a bouquet and said “I wanted to give you this today because it will probably be the only time I see you.” What a strange, strange year. The kids I teach are my life, I usually can tell you at least 10 specific weird things about each of them. I’m embarrassed to say I can’t this year - how do you REALLY get to know a kid over Zoom? Still, I am touched by the level of connection we were able to make. And I was amazed that out of 171 kids, 170 came before the test to say hi and pick up their goodie bag. After the test, they rushed back to see me and tell me how they felt. For that moment, it was like any other year. I truly feel I gave them the very best of me, I never “phoned it in” and even this week, in our last five days of school, we’re doing modern topics until the end. But I will always feel guilty. Because despite giving my best, I know it doesn’t live up to a normal in person year. Still, their happy faces and kind words show that despite my own internal disappointment, the kids are alright and it wasn’t a total loss for them. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to the fall, having my tables back and full classes five days a week. Yet, these kids who I shared a Zoom screen with for 180 days will always hold a special place in my heart. I may not know them at the level I usually do, but their perseverance and diligence in ever changing circumstances will also motivate me to continue to give the best of me.
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  2021-01-30

  High School Reflections on a Semester of Online Learning

  This is the assignment given to my high school juniors at GGHS in Southern California to reflect on their semester of quarantine. Assignments with the #gghsapush and #GGHS hashtags should be related to this assignment. GGHS serves approximately 2400 students, and has an approximate demographic breakdown of: 50% Latino, 39% Asian, 7% White, and 4% other. 66% of the student body is identified as socio-economically disadvantaged, and 23% are identified as English Learners. The school has been on Distance Learning since March 16, 2020.
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  2021-01-22

  New Found Art

  During quarantine I’ve had a lot of spare time, but wasn't completely sure how to spend it. Most of the time, when I’m not busy with school work, I’d watch Netflix, but that got pretty boring after a while. Recently, however, I’ve picked up a paint brush, a canvas, and some paint and have started painting. I’ve always loved art but constantly found myself making up excuses and never setting aside time to actually paint. These past months have helped me reflect on myself and realize there are more things to do than just sit around and be sad about the current situations in which I have no control over. It's important during these hard times to find something that makes you happy, even if you are not the best at it, so that life in quarantine is a little easier. Even if I would have never thought in a million years the majority of my junior year in high school would be spent inside my house I consider myself lucky as my family and I are healthy and safe. Despite not being able to see my extended family and celebrate holidays or birthdays with them there's always a way to make the most with the people you have. For my mom's birthday, since I couldn’t go out to buy her anything and don’t own a credit card to buy something online, I had to figure out how to give her a special gift during a pandemic. My new found happiness from painting was that special thing, and so I decided to paint my mom a scene from one of her favorite movies “The Karate Kid”. Finding something I enjoy really helped me cope with the instability and unexpected changes during this pandemic. It gave me both a hobby and goal, as I’m motivated to get better at painting.
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  2021-01-21

  Escape from Reality

  The item I chose that best illustrates the past six months in quarantine is a screenshot of my favorite videogame, Valorant. Although I could have chosen any other videogame, I decided to choose Valorant because it is the main game that has brought a lot of happiness to my friends and I when we play it everyday during this quarantine. During this unprecedented time because we must stay safe by isolating ourselves from each other, many people have been experiencing loneliness because they have not had an actual, social interaction in such a long time. Fortunately, through Valorant, I never felt any negative emotions because this game has always allowed my friends and I to play together and build a stronger relationship whenever we were done with our school work. The reason why Valorant connects to the pandemic is because it has been a great way for my friends and I to take a step back and escape from reality. Valorant best represents my current experience as a junior in highschool during a period of unrest in this country because as a junior with many AP classes, high school can feel really stressful and tiring at many times, however I have learned that it is important to focus on my mental health at all times. Thus, playing Valorant with my friends has really helped us relax and forget about all the problems in the world for a brief period of time. Furthermore, I see that a lot of students in highschool complain how this pandemic has stolen a lot of our time that could have been spent making memories, however, I have taken a different approach to this because I found that playing video games such as Valorant is the best way to make memories with friends and it has helped me realize that despite the hardships we face during this pandemic, my friends and I will always have each other’s backs.
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  2020-05-31

  Ease from AP's

  I'm currently a junior in high school and honestly, it might be ignorant to say but, I feel like this pandemic has brought numerous advantages to me academically. I'm currently taking 3 AP classes this year, and honestly, I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed this AP season. let's say I wasn't really looking forward to hours of grueling mental torture. Now AP tests breezed by, only taking up around 50 minutes of my time. Everything is easily available to search up online, and only a tiny portion of everything we've learned in class is included, and someone who didn't even study can get a good grade. For AP US history, there was only one DBQ with 5 short documents. One doesn't even need much historical backing in order to write a thesis and weave all the prepared documents into one coherent essay, which could easily get someone a passing grade. For AP language and composition, it was one rhetorical analysis essay, which again, is one of the easier types of writing since you're merely explaining what techniques the author uses to present their argument. For AP psychology, all of the terms could be easily found online.Of course I wouldn't want thousands of people dying just so I could get some AP credit, but since it's already happening, I might as well spread some minor positive vibes around here.
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  2020-03-16

  Daily Calendar for First Three Weeks of High School Closure

  Daily calendar for students, posted by their AP US History teacher. The calendar was supposed to cover the three weeks of school closure, with the assumption that school would resume on April 13, which did not happen.
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  2020-04-03

  New AP Test Rubric Tik Tok

  In March, the College Board announced all AP exams would be at home, online, 45 minute tests. April 3, they released the details of each exam. Attempting to present the redesigned rubric in a way more engaging than just explaining the new rubric, Kathryn Jue made a Tik Tok explaining the changes for her 11th grade AP US History students.
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  2020-04-19

  Distance Learning TikTok for AP US History

  TikTok made to remind AP US History students to not miss their Zoom, and to remind about the changes to the AP Exam due to COVID-19. Disseminated via Instagram to students.