Year Taken: Sophomore Year (2020-2021)
Reflection: In this course, we not only covered the necessary information needed to understand world history in itself, but how it all connects. World history is so interconnected. I realized that when I sat down to write my AP exam in May of that year and understood that I could explain every time period by connecting it back to one thing, whether that be the Mongols, the Song Dynasty, or something else. While the content was of great interest to me and I can still recall it in great detail two years later, what truly stuck with me were the skills in analyzing point of view, connecting and determining causation, and spotting continuity which is heavily prevalent throughout history. These skills helped me to better understand global news and how it can sometimes be a new version of the past. They also forced me (in a positive sense) to analyze why the world is so incredibly interconnected, how long it has been that way, and the way in which this codependency creates many positive mutualistic relationships but can also be the downfall of a country, especially in terms of a foreign allyship or mutual agreement between developed and developing countries.
I often ask my parents what they remember of high school and they reply with the time they blew up the chemistry lab or the time they got the secretaries office supplies stuck on the roof of the school. When I clarify that I meant academically, they both often recall not the specific information they learned, while that has helped lay the foundation to understand life and the world around them, but what most stuck with them was the skills and strategies they learned. For example, school is not just learning a bunch of random stuff, but laying a foundation and learning “how to learn”. This class taught me “how to learn” history and understand current events. In fact, it really prepared me for my other classes that followed, where I put my annotation, causation and connection strategies to good use.