Sophomore Archer Ackerman and junior Waucoba Hunter engage in a passionate philosophical conference instead of working on the latest print edition of Expressions. Worth it. Photo courtesy of junior Sawyer Cram.

SLOHS students often take dual enrollment classes at Cuesta College in order to get college credits out of the way or to get out of certain high school classes. One of the most popular dual enrollment classes, History of Western Civilizations, replaces AP World History, making it a common choice for incoming or current sophomores. However, college classes are a huge leap from high school ones, leaving students intimidated and reluctant to enroll.

Junior Waucoba Hunter: Do you remember the name of your professor? 

Sophomore Archer Ackerman: Yeah, I had Highhouse.

Hunter: Yeah I had her too. I didn’t like her sporadic turn-in times. Sometimes it was due at midnight, sometimes at noon, and sometimes at like 8 am. I would always miss the due date and get a zero. She let me turn it in late a few times but after a while she got fed up. At the time I thought she was a bad professor but looking back on it, it was my fault for not reading the assignments well enough and failing to plan.

Ackerman: Yeah I know what you mean but that wasn’t my experience, I didn’t really have any problems with it. What I did feel was weird was that it didn’t cover any of the same stuff that AP World History covers at SLOHS. At least for the A section at Cuesta I remember it covering Mesopotamia, at most up to the Roman Empire, which is way older than most of the stuff in AP World. Also, trying to cram all of that into 6 weeks, you don’t really have time to learn all that stuff.

Hunter: Even the B section focused on Europe from the fall of Rome to WWII. It had nothing about Asian, African, or South American history like AP World did. They never mentioned historical events or figures that did not somehow involve Europe, but I guess that makes sense considering it is Western Civilizations rather than world history.

Ackerman: I think a huge part of it is based on what teacher you have. Sometimes I felt like my professor’s writing assignments were not particularly relevant to the unit we were currently in. The primary sources felt kind of random. For some you need to actually want to learn if you want to get anything out of the class.

Hunter:  Yeah I had McKiernan for the B section and I really liked him. Instead of a bunch of multiple choice questions that only tested memorization, his tests were a set of timed mini essays that asked for in-depth analysis of certain topics. They really forced you to think, which definitely made the class more educational and more fun. 

What is it? World History at Cuesta College, SLO

What is it worth, Waucoba? It’s worth an entire year of high school history plus college credit without having to worry about AP tests, not to mention it gives you something to do over the summer. It’s definitely worth it.

What is it worth, Archer? It’s worth it for the time saved, but not for the educational value.

Where is the information?:  SLOHS Counseling Department