AP Seminar Stimulus Day Engages Students With Guest Speakers
March 19. 2024
On Wednesday, February 28, tenth grade students enrolled in A.P. Seminar took part in a Stimulus Day at the high school library. The all-day event featured guest instructors who helped the students prepare for their upcoming A.P. exam on May 7.
A.P. Seminar is a two-year course that, according to College Board, “encourages students to demonstrate critical thinking, collaboration, and academic research skills on topics of the students' choosing.”
The students have already completed Performance Task 1, a team presentation and individual review of literature paper. For the second performance task for A.P. Seminar, College Board provides a collection of stimulus materials ranging from photography to scholarly studies to memoir.
The goal of Stimulus Day is for students to not only gain a deeper understanding of each text but to explore deeper connections between texts and how they “converse” with each other. The theme of this year’s day was courage. More specifically, the courage to stand for justice. The deep discussion uncovered a myriad of topics, issues, and controversies that sparked potential research focus for students. The end result will be a 2000-word scholarly level argument paper and a six-minute presentation with oral defense.
The guest speakers throughout the day were high school teachers and outside experts who came to speak to the classes. High school teacher Jennifer Berotti from the Art Department shared her expertise about Jacob Lawrence’s Confrontation on the Bridge, while Steve Aronsen from the Social Studies Department provided a deeper understanding of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s inaugural address.
Former professional boxer Mr. Boyd Melson spoke to the class about his experiences with challenges, his path of resilience and his experiences as an athlete. He specifically connected to the piece “Thompson: Simone Biles and the most human meaning of courage,” which detailed Biles’ decision to put her mental health at the forefront of her life.
Finally, Lacy Donlon, a social worker at Sachem Schools came to speak to the class about the topic of PTSD, specifically the article “Predator-induced fear causes PTSD-like changes in the brains and behaviour of animals.”
Teachers and organizers Tracey Trentowski and Jennifer Sohl said that students really rose to the occasion. They stretched their mind muscles and engaged with each other in meaningful ways.