美国教育工作者正在讨论从大学预修课程中删掉数千年内容的计划

US Educators Debate Proposal to Cut Thousands of Years from AP Class

American high school students might have a big change in their world history education next year.

The College Board announced in May that it plans to limit the amount of material covered in its Advanced Placement (AP) World History exam. It wants the exam to test students on their knowledge of the past 560 years or so -- from the year 1450 to the present.

This means students would not be tested on people, places and events before that period. They would not need to know about the Roman Empire, ancient Egyptian and Chinese history, or the Incan and Aztec civilizations before the arrival of European explorers.

The College Board’s proposal has received strong criticism from teachers across the United States. Some feel the move would increase the influence of Western Europe in AP World History classes. They say this also would reduce the amount of time they spend teaching about other cultures.

A disservice to teaching history

The College Board is an independent organization that supports the growth of U.S. higher education. The not-for-profit group directs the AP program and AP exams in U.S. high schools.

Schools pay the College Board to use its AP teaching program and tests. The material chosen for the exams influences what subjects are included in the classes.

Jaslee Carayol, a spokesperson for the College Board, said its leadership proposed the changes because the AP World History class covers too much information. The College Board suggests spreading the material over two classes, as many U.S. colleges do.

Carayol said “Our intention in spreading the content of AP World History over two courses is to ensure that such important content is given the time it deserves. In doing this, we are following the same model that colleges use, and that we have used for most other AP courses, whether in science, English, mathematics, world languages, or the arts, providing students with a foundational year of content prior to the AP year.”

Trevor Packer, the head of College Board’s AP program, told The New York Times the plan was based, in part, on comments from history teachers. He noted¹ that some said they struggled to teach almost 100 centuries of material in just one year.

Criticism of the College Board plan

However, many teachers and educators have sharply² criticized the proposal.

Sara Hannan, a former history teacher, said that she was “heartbroken” by the proposal, and that it does a disservice to teaching history.

Hannan lives in Juneau, the capital of Alaska. “I think 1450 really focuses it onto a European dominated³ story… it throws us back to that arrogance⁴ of western civilization as the focus of history,” she added.

Peter Stearns, a professor at George Mason University in Virginia, agrees. Stearns noted that many events taking place before 1450 are important. He said they provide students a foundation to learn about more recent history.

Stearns added that while he understands the need for organizing a curriculum⁵, so that students can understand history better, it is clear that 1450 is not the right date to start with. It is important, he said, to include material about the history of non-Western societies and cultures before the time of globalization.

Stearns was one of several professors who signed a letter to the College Board’s Trevor Packer. The letter warned that if the class were to begin at 1450, the signers would urge their universities to stop accepting AP World History for college credit.

In June, at a meeting with Packer in Utah, many teachers protested the idea, in sometimes tense discussions.

Teacher Amanda DoAmaral explained that schools would not have the money to pay for two AP World History classes. “They don’t have the money for pencils, dude,” she said. “How are they going to teach that class?”

Politico reported that a new pre-AP world history class would cost anywhere from $600 to $6,500, depending on the size of the school and the number of pre-AP courses being offered.

High school students have entered the debate.

Dylan Black, a student from New Jersey⁶, is leading a campaign on the website Change.org. He is calling on Packer to cancel his proposal. The campaign has 11,000 signatures, well above an earlier goal of 5,000.

Open to change

It appears that the College Board is listening to the criticism from American educators.

In an e-mail to VOA, Jaslee Carayol said the College Board was moved by the concerns about how the changes to AP World History could affect students.

“We recognize how important it is for students to study non-European cultures and civilizations prior to 1450. We will address such principled concerns in a revised approach we will share soon,” she said.

Last month, Packer wrote that he still believes one year is not enough time to teach all of the material currently⁷ taught in an AP World History Class. He said it is important for students to learn about historical events taking place before 1450. And he promised to look for a solution that is more agreeable⁸ to educators.

In response, Stearns wrote on his blog that while some educators will still be disappointed, College Board’s openness is a good sign.

Stearns also said that if one of the issues is how colleges organize their history classes, then maybe professors should discuss among themselves the best way for structuring their own curriculum.

I’m Phil Dierking.

And I'm Lucija Millonig.

Words in This Story

advanced - adj. beyond the basic level?

deserve - v. used to say that someone or something should or should not have or be given something?

intention - n. the thing that you plan to do or achieve?

foundation - n. something, such as an idea, a principle, or a fact, that provides support for something?

focus - v. to cause (something, such as attention) to be directed at something specific?

dude - n. a man — used especially by young people?

arrogance - n. an insulting way of thinking or behaving that comes from believing that you are better, smarter, or more important than other people?

globalization - n. when something covers, involves, or affects the entire world?

revise - v. to make changes especially to correct or improve (something)?

address - v. to give attention to (something)

1 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

2 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

3 dominated   

受控的 -tive

参考例句：

• As a child he was dominated by his father. 他小时候由父亲主宰一切。
• His personality dominated over the other members of the committee. 他的人格影响委员会的其他成员。

4 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

5 curriculum   

n.课程，（学校等的）全部课程

参考例句：

• Is German on your school's curriculum?你们学校有德语课吗？
• The English curriculum should stress both composition and reading.英语课程对作文和阅读应同样重视。

6 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

7 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

8 agreeable   

adj.符合的，一致的，欣然同意的，令人愉快的

参考例句：

• He was quite agreeable to accepting the plan.他乐意接受这项计划。
• I enjoyed an agreeable holiday this summer.今年夏天我度过了一个愉快的假期。