The Truth Behind APUSH

Experiencing hardships with others often brings people closer together, which helps them form strong connections with each other, fostering a positive and mutually beneficial community. This is the case with one of the most notoriously difficult courses offered at North Quincy High School: AP United States History. The course is taught by Ms. Kriz, an experienced educator who has been teaching this course for over fifteen years.

With this experience comes high expectations, as Ms. Kriz holds both herself and her students to an extremely high standard. This is shown through the immense amount of work that she gives, along with the effort that she herself puts in in order to help her students succeed.

In class, Ms. Kriz teaches the curriculum at a fast pace in order to ensure that she successfully covers any and all topics that could be on the exam. She assigns a total of 32 chapter outlines over the course of the school year. With an outline due every week, her class is a major source of stress for her students.

“I think outlining the textbook is essential towards helping students develop a basic understanding of the material,” Ms. Kriz stated, in response to various complaints from students.

Outlining is academically beneficial and teaches vital skills such as time management and being able to efficiently summarize information; however, it can, at times, be very stressful. As a result of this shared experience, Ms. Kriz is able to build a community among her students both in and outside of the classroom. In order to cope with their stress, her students learn to rely on each other, creating a sense of unity within the classroom.

“I like it because you create bonds with your classmates. Have you ever been on a sports team or a club? The class dynamic is similar,” Ms. Kriz stated in response to the question of why she enjoys teaching APUSH above any other course. She believes that this bond is a result of the extreme difficulty of class.

Although this more often than not happens naturally, Ms. Kriz takes certain measures in order to create a positive learning environment for her students.

“I try hard to make sure that everyone feels included, especially by picking on the quiet kids,” she stated. This allows them to express themselves in a way they feel most comfortable with, creating the strong class dynamic, which she holds to such esteem.

With every new assignment, students learn to become a better writer. She develops these skills within her students by assigning practice document based questions, long essay questions and short answers.

When asked about the tools she feels are necessary to pass the AP exam, she stated, “Strong writing skills.”

Although these assignments can be tedious, their overarching purpose is to help students build confidence in their abilities. Even though Ms. Kriz’s grading may be tough, it benefits her students in countless ways. It forces them to work harder, ultimately serving to strengthen the bond with their peers.

“My favorite part about APUSH is the class environment. Even though the workload can at times be stressful, Ms. Kriz and her humor make up for it,” according to current APUSH student Mollie Nelson.

This shows how Ms. Kriz is perceived by the NQHS community. She is someone who students can always seek in a time of need, someone who enjoys connecting with her students and watching them succeed.

A major way in which Ms. Kriz is able to maintain relationships with her students, both inside and outside of school, is the app Remind. This app allows her students to reach out to her if they have any questions. Additionally, she also uses Remind to inform her students about any updates or useful information regarding upcoming assessments, ensuring that her students are always prepared. This is a great example of the type of person Ms. Kriz is: someone who puts others' needs before her own. Her willingness to go the extra mile and lend a helping hand makes Ms. Kriz’s care for her students very apparent.

Ultimately, Ms. Kriz has proven herself to be an excellent teacher. The extent of her preparation has resulted in high scores for the majority of her students on the AP exam. Not only that, but the time management skills and valuable lessons that she teaches her students are arguably more important in the future. WIth that being said, she has a massive impact on all of her students, something that must not be overlooked. APUSH students share a bond that will last a lifetime, and they have Ms. Kriz to thank for this.