Teaching Advanced Placement European History in a Multi-Ethnic Urban Setting

Abstract

IT'S A CHILLY MORNING, the thermometer inside my classroom reading forty-nine degrees. A glance around reveals signs of aging and crude repairs that are typical of an inner-city public school facility. The thirty-three students bundled up at their desks strikingly reflect much of the cosmopolitan ethnic mosaic of the community. This, I gather, is not a usual setting or student population for what an Advanced Placement European history class used to be. Historically, an AP European history course was taught in one or two small sections with a largely Anglo student population in a suburban environment. My situation at Long Beach Polytechnic is quite different. I teach five sections of AP European history to over one hundred and sixty students with my sixth class being AP history of art. Of these only about half are of European descent. Their economic conditions vary considerably; close to a quarter of them qualify for College Board fee waivers, while a number are quite well off. Although a few have actually traveled to Europe, there are some who start the class unable to find the continent on a map. Almost all of these students will take the AP exam in May, and nearly all of those who take it will pass with a 3 or better. We have found success in an unusual setting with an even more unusual clientele, for this course anyway. We have proven that an AP European