35 thoughts on “Blog #121 – Final reflection on APUSH”

1. Kate Potocsky June 9, 2019 at 10:02 pm

   1. Out of every tool I utilized this year, my top two most helpful were google docs and Jocz Productions videos. The google docs are amazing because they condense key topics in the APUSH curriculum, and have most of the information you need to know for the tests. Jocz productions videos are my all time favorite because, like the google docs, they condense key points. They are very similar to the powerpoints we do in class, and are great test reviews. They help set things into stone in my memory. Another thing I liked were simply just our class discussions. I felt more connected to history when we could actually talk honestly, debate, and give input, without having to worry about a grade for it. My least favorite way to learn was portraits. While yes, they contain valuable information, they are not worth it. I can honestly say that they never helped me for tests, and I forgot everything I read after completing the assignments. I think they are great supplements to push learning above and beyond, but with so many of them, taking hours each, they were a little bit draining. They are the one thing I’m looking forward to never having to do again.
   2. I wish we spent more time learning about the Progressive Era. The only reason for this is because that’s what the DBQ on the AP test was on. I felt like we didn’t really go into depth, and it was super rushed, just so we could fit it in before the AP test. I think that it is very important to give every time period the same amount of emphasis and manage time throughout the year wisely, so students are prepared for every situation on exam day. Not considering the AP test though, I wish we spent more time on modern history. I know the topics actually covered on the AP test are definitely more helpful to earn a good score, but I think that knowing modern history is more beneficial for life. I know more about politicians and historical figures from a hundred years ago than I do about people today. I don’t feel like I have a place in political discussions regarding today, because I don’t feel educated enough to give input. I think knowing about recent history is so important so we can actually make a difference, and understand what’s going on around us.
   3. Some units I wish we hadn’t spent as much time on were the really early days of American history. I mean way back to the Mayans and civilizations, and information like that. I think it should definitely be covered, but I think there are more important topics (as mentioned in the previous question) that the short time we have together should be used for.
   4. I feel that my strengths as a student are writing and time management. On all the LEQs, DBQs, and portraits, I feel as if I wrote pretty well, and it showed in my grades. I think that I am a good historical writer. I’m not super creative, and can’t write stories, but I can definitely write a good essay. Another strength of mine is time management. I tried to get homework done as soon as possible after it was written on the board. For example, I would always do practice readings and portraits on the weekends, so I didn’t have to worry about them throughout the week, and could have more time for other homework. My weakness as a student is test taking. On APUSH tests, I never failed, but I did not do as well as I did in my other classes. I’ve had my fair share of Cs on the tests. I’m not great at interpreting information, which is the main skill, in my opinion, that the tests require. But, throughout my three trimesters as an APUSH students, I learned many new study skills, and my grades increased for the most part.
   5. America has many great qualities, but it is by no means perfect. We have a history of oppression, and while we have definitely improved, we still have a long way to go.
2. Kenny Pepper June 9, 2019 at 10:50 pm

   I think that the best way to learn were the PPTs. They were a good way to take notes and added a visually element while still allowing me to get key information that I needed. I appreciated when you tried to switch things up with some guided notes, but I found myself not reading them or just not retaining the information as well. Writing and taking notes kept me awake and alert, and since I am now a history geek, it was interesting hearing you talk about whatever we were covering. The google docs were a good review tool as well for reviewing just because they made you study things that would be on the test that you wouldn’t have even thought about without reading the docs. The models of your essays really helped me to visualize what I needed to do, along with other student examples. What didn’t really work or me were the group HIP things or the portraits. I know portraits are taking a lot of heat, but those things were hecking awful. Unless you are going to treat them like article quizzes, they are very pointless. On top of that, those group work times were we would work with a partner to analyze a document didn’t do much for me. I would rather do it as a class or with a partner.

   I would love more time on the Constitution/Declaration. Diving into what it took would have been cool just because it’s the glue that holds this country together. On top of that, spending more time on WW2 and looking at all sides of it would have been cool just because it is just such a monumental moment in world history. Finally, a little more time on the 50’s America would have been interesting because we were so prosperous, but I don’t’ really think any history got cheated out of time.

   Jesus Christ learning about the colonies was painful. Honestly everything leading up to the French-Indian war was so boring. I wish we would spend a little less time on it and prioritize what you think key information we need to know. Westward expansion was also a snoozefest for me, but the Oregon trail simulation saved the unit.

   A strength is that I was a hard worker. I did my assignments well and ontime and that helped keep my grade in a good spot. A weakness was just my habit of cutting corners. Sometimes I wouldn’t read the testbook, click through the practice reading, or even not study for tests. That hindered my ability to perform obviously on tests, but made me feel guilty because I know most people were doing things the right way. I bombed the mess out of that Vietnam test because I thought I had it in bag and I was on an APUSH test hot-streak…famous last words.

   I learned that America didn’t do things the right way a lot of time, but that everything that we have been through to get us to this point makes us great. We owe it to those who came before us to let us have freedom to protect it and not abuse it.
3. Joshua Wallington June 10, 2019 at 7:09 pm

   1.
   There was not a learning style in APush that I hated (except portraits). My favorite learning style was talking about American history, reflecting, and watching certain videos. Partaking in a class discussion, or even just listening, was interesting 95 percent of the time. It was effective for me because often the discussions led to us learning more information about the topic and how those decisions or policies shaped America today. Videos were also interesting because you got to visualize things, and information was presented in an engaging way with visual aids instead of just a white sheet of paper. Videos like reenactments of colonial times and videos that detailed the events and trends of the 1950s were interesting and correlated to what we were learning. My least favorite way to learn was probably the long powerpoints, even though I thought that most of that information was interesting, powerpoints took to long and got boring. I think it would be better to be more interactive and learn about history through videos. I wouldn’t suggest scrapping powerpoints totally, I would just suggest toning it down a bit. Games like the banking game we played during the first tri to help us learn about how the economy worked helped me learn more than a powerpoint.

   2.
   I wish we spent more time reviewing the colonies. I think this would be beneficial because that was a huge section on the test and I think we could have gone over it more in depth. I think we spent a good amount of time on everything, I think we should have tried to go back and incorporate some of that information in more. I also wish that we spent more time on the LEQ, in my opinion, we spent a ton of time on the DBQ and not a lot of time on the LEQ during the third tri. I also think we should have focused a bit more on the short answer. I think this would have helped students become more well rounded and remember more strategies about the LEQ and short answer question.

   3.
   I think that we spent a little to much time talking about the modern stuff when it wasn’t on the test. I know you said to keep in mind that it could be on the test for the incoming freshmen, but I still think that we spent a little to much time pertaining to modern information.

   4.
   I think I started off strong during the first and second trimester but I lost my drive toward the third trimester. I burned myself out and I started to stop caring as much about APush. I think I was strong with modern information and did really well on assessments pertaining to modern information. I think that I was weak when it came to information like the colonies and the revolution because I thought it was unintriguing. If I could go back again, I would focus on trying to memorize more things and understanding what they actually did and how the impacting America, and other counties, for the better or the worst.

   5.
   Eye opening and beneficial. I would say that because I learned a lot of interesting things about American history that I wouldn’t have even known if I had taken the class. I think it was also beneficial because it helped me with my writing and critical thinking skills and will prepare me well for other AP classes. Lastly, the class was fun. Even though there were some times where I thought the assignments were trash and didn’t want to do them, I think you made the class fun and enjoyable.

   I’ll miss you too Mr. Wickersham, you’re the goat but, you need to tell us your DJ name.
4. Amelia Margolis June 10, 2019 at 7:58 pm

   1. My favorite style of learning was from powerpoints. This was effective because writing in my own information while a teacher is talking is helpful for my learning style. I like seeing pictures and maps and writing things in my own words. It was also more organized for me to read later on when studying. They were also super easy for me to organize in my binder later on when trying to find something. My least favorite way to learn was the note sheets. This is because I found when studying it just looked overwhelming. There were so many words crammed on a page and it made me not want to study. Also I felt that some of the information on those sheets was unnecessary and hard to learn from overall because the information was just thrown on a piece of paper.

   2. I wish we spent more time on the waves of immigration. After reading my book which was about this topic I really liked knowing specific stories of families. Going into more detail would have been super interesting. I also feel like most people’s families did not start in the US and it would have been cool to see where we all came from. In excel I know that they did an Ellis Island simulation that would have been really cool for us to do.Overall, I would have liked to go into more detail with this topic to really see how America developed into such a diverse nation.
   3. I wish we spent less time on the early American colonies. I feel like the information for that unit is very black and white. There isn’t a lot of detail that needs to be gone into. I feel like we spent to long on it and all the information started to confuse me. The information could have been given more concretely for that and we could have spent more time on other things. I also feel like any of the crash courses we watched could have been taken out. For me at least I felt that they showed more unnecessary information rather than helpful information.
   4. Some of my strengths were finding out information if I didn’t understand it. If I didn’t understand part of a topic I really took the time to make sure that I understood any material I was confused on. I also felt that I listened very well in class. I listened and took notes that were easy to understand for myself. One of my weaknesses was definitely time management. I procrastinated and often waited until the last minute to do things like portraits and practice questions. Sometimes this came back to me and I had to turn in the assignments late. I got better at this, but there is still way more improvement to be done.

   5. One thing I took away from APUSH is that I can see a lot of parallels between different time periods.I never realized before how much history repeated itself. A bunch of time periods are similar but the funny thing is people know what going to happen from mistakes in the past but the same mistakes are made.
5. Lily Koza June 10, 2019 at 8:49 pm

   Throughout this year i enjoyed having a variety of learning styles. Although i personally learned the best through talking about APUSH, and getting to ask questions as you went along. I liked this the best because i would get a better understanding of the topic while being able to follow along easily and ask questions. This tactic was also used the most in class, and i think that also had a sway in my decision for which one i liked the best. However, my least favorite was reading. Whenever we got a sheet to highlight, i personally never looked back at them while studying, and did not find that useful. At certain times, i can understand why we did this, but for the most part i found them unhelpful.
   I wish we spent more time on more recent topics, such as from the great depression to now, instead of spending most of the year on American settlement. Learning more modern history, kept me more interested, and a sense of connection to what i was learning. While learning about topics such as Christopher Columbus, i found myself not being as involved in my learning.
   One of the topics i wish we spent less time on was early American settlements. I believe that this was not as important compared to other topics, and we spent a lot of time on it. I’m not saying don’t teach it, because you probably have to, but maybe just shorten the depth of this time.
   This class for me took a long time to adjust to. The workload and the difference and depth of the multiple choice questions is what i struggled with. My main weakness was the amount of time in advance i would give myself to study. I would always procrastinate and push it aside until the very last second. This, most times, greatly affected my grade. Although my greatest strength was always being on top of my work. With this class having a lot of homework throughout the year, i would always try to finish these assignments before the night it was due. I did this a lot with the online questions, and almost every time was able to turn them in on time.
   My takeaway from this class, is America isn’t a perfect country, but instead has and is continuing to make poor decisions. Although, through its development and conflict, it has grown into the country it is today.
6. Veronica Szuma June 10, 2019 at 8:51 pm

   1. I really enjoyed the PowerPoints that we did in class. These helped me understand the material in multiple ways–the first being that it helped me better understand the reading. The reading was good, but once we went through the PowerPoint, I was better able to make connections, and I guess also having someone talk me through it was helpful because I’m a mix of a visual and audible learner, so the combination was great for me. Also, the PowerPoints gave me an opportunity to better engage with the material by asking questions and listening to my classmates do the same. This was nice because you can’t ask a textbook any questions, but with notes in class, those questions are easily answered. My least favorite way to learn was going through famous documents/speeches and highlighting important parts and writing in the margins. Although many of these documents are important to know for American history, and I definitely don’t think you should get rid of this part of class, it just wasn’t super helpful for me personally. I never tended to remember what we highlighted or wrote about in the margins of the sources, and I found myself looking at a summary of the document or something along those lines instead.

   2. This will depend on the year, as the AP test changes each year, but I wish we would have been able to spend more time on the Progressive Era. This is because the DBQ was on it this year, so it was an important topic to understand. I felt that it was the one section I lacked an understanding in going into the test, and I wish we could have spent just even another day or two talking about it. I know that there was little to be done, as it was the last section to learn and we were rushed, but maybe if we cut other thigs just a little short, we could have had more time. Another thing that I wish we had spent more time on was James Monroe and the Monroe Doctrine because I have no idea what that was or what went on during that time period. It didn’t really show up on the AP test, and I’m glad it didn’t but it still would have been nice to understand more. That probably falls under my responsibility, however, because I know we talked about it in class, I just couldn’t remember for my life what went on then.

   3. I wish we had studied less of pre-colonial times because almost none of that was on the AP test, and even though that was just this year, it seems to be a reoccurring theme that very little of that time period is on the AP test. I’m not saying skip it all together, but maybe spend a little less time on it. In addition, the very beginning of colonial times with the beginning of English colonies (like Jamestown) seemed to be pretty simple, and maybe didn’t need as much time spent on it. This also didn’t show up much on the AP test, so it wasn’t super helpful to know. Again, I’m not saying to skip it totally, but maybe spend a little less time on it.

   4. What I think is my biggest strength and my biggest weakness as a student kind of go together. I would say my biggest weakness as a student is my tendency to procrastinate (lots of people are surprised when they learn this about me, and I’m not sure why exactly), but my biggest strength is my ability to crank out quality work under pressure. For example, I saved basically every portrait until the night before it was due, but the pressure helped me to really focus my attention and deliver great and insightful responses to the questions that followed the portraits. Another strength that I possess is my willingness to ask questions. I don’t really worry about my questions being “stupid questions” because I know that I have to do what I have to do in order to help myself learn in the best way possible. In many of my classes, I would say that I asked the most questions out of almost everyone, but it helped me to really understand the material and do well. Another weakness that I have is I tend to dominate discussions, which can take away from other students and their learning experience, and that is definitely something that I have to work on.

   5. My takeaway from APUSH was that American History is much less black and white than many people will have you believe. To really understand America today, you have to be able to look at the past without rose-colored glasses, and take a look around.
7. halle June 11, 2019 at 9:08 am

   1. My favorite learning style this year was just lecture notes. I think it was really interesting (most of the time) and I liked how everyone asked questions and tied it back to today. I think thats helps the most because people ask questions that I never knew that I had. I understand it the most when the teacher is explaining it compared to when reading or watching a video. My least favorite learning style this year ws reading the documents in groups and hipping them. I didn’t like this because I felt like I didn’t learn anything. I understand reading them was to help with the DBQ but I think wasting a whole class on them was a waste of time.

   2. I think most of the things this year were spread out very well for me, but one of the things I would have wanted was to go back to the 1900s for a quick 2 day review before the AP test. I thinks we spent enough time on it in the beginning of the year, but I wish we had a review because I forgot that stuff.

   3. My least favorite thing we studied this year was the colonies. I think we spent a lot of time on it. I just thought it was extremely boring and kinda a lot of basic knowledge. I think we should have done something with all the colonies and wrote everything we needed to know about each of them and separated them into the three groups. I think this would have just helped my brain separate each colonie more which is what I feel like was on the AP test.

   4. Some of my weaknesses as a student are not speaking up with questions or answers and also not checking my work. Whether it be on a essay or on a test I am really bad about checking my work. I hate to read over my essays, which is why there are a lot of typos in them because half the time I don’t read over them at all. Same with my tests. I either don’t have time to checkover them or I am so over the test after I take it that I don’t even care at that point. Like 75% of the questions I get wrong I look back over and I realize what the answer is. I also am just a quiet person in school and I don’t really know why but never the less I should talk more and say my ideas.

   5. In history this year I learned history always repeats itself, and how everyone makes a mistake even the really famous historical figures.
8. Annika Paluda June 11, 2019 at 10:43 am

   1. Out of the many ways we learned this year, my favorite (or most effective at least) were the powerpoint notes. I think these always work for me because, at anytime, I can go back and look over any information I seemed to misunderstand or simply just review topics. For some reason, I really like having paper to hold and write on. It weirdly gives me a greater sense of control and understanding. My least favorite way (which it is in every class) is watching videos. I have a really hard time paying attention to the content and usually end up zoning out without even realizing it. Even if I take notes on the videos to help me pay attention, they usually go too fast and I end up with a bad attitude about learning the material. Also, if I miss a piece of information, it is very frustrating to have to rewind the video multiple times, especially if I’m with other people.
   2. We studied lots of things this year, but I understood some time periods better than others. I wish we had spent more time on the progressive era because I didn’t really seem to understand it. Keep in mind, we learned this right before the AP test, so at the same time I was mainly focusing on studying for that instead of grasping the new material. I was and still am interested in the reform movements that happened at that time in history and how they shaped society today. Hopefully in the future I will get the chance to study it further in depth with no distractions.
   3. Obviously, I enjoyed learning about some time periods more than others. The one time period I wish we spent less time on was the pre-colonization unit dealing with Columbus, conquistadors, the encomienda system, etc. I definitely agree that this is an important time period in history, but it was very boring to me and didn’t seem like it set the stage for English colonization that well.
   4. As a student, my strengths include knowing how I best learn (note taking), knowing which studying habits work for me (memorizing notes and using textbooks), and being diligent about my work. In all my classes, I think I am very good at doing what works for me. I never really care about what other people are doing. For example, I know a lot of students use YouTube videos to study. But since I know that I probably won’t end up paying attention to most of the videos, I stick to studying from notes because I know I will be successful that way. My weaknesses include time management and working with others. Even though I always get my work done I time, I often cram a lot the night before assignments are due and end up overwhelming myself. To a certain extent, this is inevitable; I am a busy student who has many after school activities and takes several other hard classes. Even though it’s unlikely my life will get any less busy in the next year, I would like to learn how to fit in homework where I can and move around my schedule (when possible) to make it work better for me. Secondly, I would like to become more collaborative and trusting when it comes to group work. I often end up doing all the work myself or letting someone who is more confident on the topic do all of it. This is something I have always struggled with, but I know that the more practice I have with it, the easier it will be.
   5. From my year of APUSH, I have gathered a takeaway: You can either love or hate America and have loads of evidence to support yourself with.
9. Nathalie Morgan June 11, 2019 at 3:54 pm

   1. My favorite learning style this year would have to be taking notes while watching videos, and doing simulations, like the Oregon trail. That one was my favorite, and although it didn’t really come up on the AP exam, it was very interesting to learn about and helped me understand things better. I like taking notes with videos because it helps me remember the content of the video while also keeping my mind active and not letting information go in one ear and out the other. My least favorite way to learn is Socratic seminars, because for someone who likes to observe more than contribute to the conversation a lot, it was hard for me to participate because the other people in my group were either super talkative and took control of the conversation, or they were like me and didn’t want to contribute. They also didn’t really help me learn anything that I couldn’t have also figured out from the reading.

   2. I wish that we had spent more time studying and talking about the 1860’s-1920’s, because although it was helpful to do at the end of the year, we needed more time to be able to fully understand what was happening, because it made up a big part of the AP test. Another reason we should have studied it more is because it wasn’t something that I at least learned in other history classes before. For a majority of the other topics, I had learned about them somewhat and understood the basics, but I didn’t remember ever really talking about that time period outside of WW1 starting.

   3. The topics that I don’t think we should have spent as much time on was probably the middle to late 1900s, because at least for me, I had covered a lot of that in other years and it was pretty easy for me to understand without having to go over it a bunch in class. Also I think that in the future we should spend less time writing the SEQ’s, because they were also easy enough to grasp outside of just dung them one or two times.

   4. One of my strengths as a student would be my drive. Even though it’s hard for me to pay attention, I kept myself alert when we did take notes that I thought were going slow, and I’m good at projects where I don’t have to speak, where I can let my creativity come out. I had a lot of weaknesses as a student. For one, I get distracted very easily and it’s hard for me to sit down and study, and taking tests stresses me out and makes my mind go blank because right when we take a test my mind wipes everything I learned and replaces it with thoughts about what i’m going to do after the test.

   5. What I truly learned from APUSH is that there are a lot of people with very different ideas, and how we treat those people and talk to them about it all depends on how far you want to be able to go. Throughout history, the U.S. has let hateful people take control and speak over others, and we need to change that; but it all starts with a calm conversation. So basically, listen to people before going on a witch hunt.
10. Faith Reeves June 11, 2019 at 5:38 pm

    1.The best way that I learned was just taking notes from the PowerPoints in class. This was effective for me because it meant I was always able to use them later when I was studying for tests. For me I did best by reading the Powerpoint and writing a summary in a separate notebook. This helped me a lot when I was studying for the AP test because I could go through each chapter and see the important pieces that I used for the tests in class and different facts that weren’t in the note packets but that I had deemed necessary to write down. My least favorite thing that we did this year was watching videos. Personally, I dont retain information as well when its being thrown at me super quickly so I never felt like I got anything from the videos we watched. I usually had to just try my best to, usually unsuccessfully, comprehend them and then wait for a better explanation after the fact.

    2.I wish we had spent more time on the 1970-80s. I feel like I never had a really strong understanding of this era so to go over it more would have been helpful. Thinking back on it, the major events are confusing and I think it would have been important to be able to recall that knowledge easily. Not only could it have potentially been on the AP test, but also it wasn’t that long ago and its important for us to know more recent history as well as the history from the very beginning of America.

    3.I think we spent too much time on the Revolutionary War. We all knew a lot about this already because we took American History in eighth grade and that was one of the biggest topics of the year. Most of the major events, such as the Boston Tea Party, Constitutional Convention, and the Boston Massacre were covered extensively for years of school, so there really wasn’t that much that we went over that was brand new information. Also, I think we spent too much time on the Great Depression. The first month or so of school was focused on it and that seemed too long to me and so when we were later in the year it seemed like we were rushed. If we hadn’t spent so long on the very beginning I think it would have felt less cramped.

    4.My strengths were that I knew how to work and how to study. I made schedules for reviewing material before finals and important tests so I was always prepared and went over all of the topics. Also, I didn’t just give up onward that was difficult or boring, like the Portraits, I still worked diligently to finish them on time and with my best effort. One of my main weaknesses was that I stressed myself out way too much. Especially leading up to the AP test, I went to almost every review session, studied pretty much everyday for weeks leading up, used the score calculator, and was still constantly focused on APUSH and convincing myself that I wasn’t going to do well. Looking back on that, I was being ridiculous because it didn’t help me to think like that so I think its something I should work on for next year and the AP classes I’m taking.

    5.I think the main thing I will take away from APUSH is the sheer amount that America has done. What this country has done hasn’t always been good, and in some cases has been truly horrendous, I think it’s important that students are taught about this to learn and change from history. However, I also think we’ve been able to learn a huge amount about the positive impacts that have been made in this country and around the world as a result of the work that Americans have done. Overall, I think I have been able to learn a combination of the important events and people, fun facts, and not only that but how to use these things to properly understand them through the work that I do.
11. Ethan Lulkin June 11, 2019 at 6:41 pm

    My favorite learning style we did this year was the class discussions and google docs. I thought this was my most effective learning style because I could get a better feel of the topic with input from other students plus help from you, Mr Wickersham. It allowed me to see many different perspectives on one issue and expand on what we learned in the powerpoints. On the other hand, the google docs were very specific and helped a lot for the tests. Unlike the open class discussion, it was one exact definition or answer which is important to know for the test and in discussions. My least favorite way to learn was the portraits. I feel like the portraits seemed to isolated on person and didn’t always help in the chapter. In some cases of presidents it was helpful, like with Truman, Washington, and Jackson, but in other cases I felt like they weren’t very useful.

    I wish we spent more time on the progressive era and could do more modern time period after the AP exam. I felt that we could have spent more time learning about the progressive era, especially because it was the DBQ. I felt we only glimpsed into it instead of full exploring the topic which would have helped for the AP exam. The other topic I would have liked to explore is more present time, like Obama and Trump administration. I would have found it very interesting to learn more about the time period we could remember and evaluate Trump’s latest political moves and try to compare them to the past, because I feel like that is the main part of history; learning the past so we can see how it affects the present.

    I think we spent a while on Chapter 1 and 2 when we didn’t necessarily need to. I think it was still pretty important to learn about the first settlers of America, but maybe not as much from before them with the Native American tribes.

    I felt like my strength, at least until the AP exam, was the DBQ. I felt like I figured out the scoring system pretty well and learned how to play it like a game. I could put down what I needed to insure me a solid score with potential for a very high score. I felt like that until the Progressive DBQ because I feel like I didn’t know the documents well. For my weakness, I would probably say your style of multiple choice tests. For some reason I couldn’t quite get the hang of reading the passage and applying it to what we learned in the multiple choice format. Normally I feel pretty confident with multiple choice but until the end of the year I couldn’t do amazing on the tests

    As I mentioned earlier I found this class extremely important for the future and just really interesting to learn. I think we learned that you can see trends in society, government, and economics that seems to repeat itself and that can help us in the future. It also showed me that we have the power to make change. Many if not every movement that changed American history have been started by common people and every voice does matter.
    I think these are the two biggest takeaways from the class and thanks for an amazing year!
12. Thomas Forberg June 11, 2019 at 7:30 pm

    1. The way i learned best this year was through action and videos. What i mean by actions are the things like the oregon trail, mr wickersham explaining his version of WW1 (which i will never forget by the way), or gambling our money away in the stock market. I also remember a lot about the videos we watched in class, westward expansion, late 1800’s monopolies, the boston massacre, and the growth of new york city. I feel like these were fun ways that kept me interested in not only the video, but the history itself. I also thoroughly enjoy when you also have real life experiences that you can share to give a more in depth perspective on stuff we would never understand ex. 9/11. The reason i liked these ways to learn were because they A. stuck in my head better and B. gave me more detail on the subject which made it more interesting. Detail makes things special, which makes things interesting, which helps me and possibly others, learn better. Something that did not help me learn as much as the other stuff was the google docs. There were usually parts missing from other students and it messed up studying if people put false or incorrect information into their question. I feel like it would be much more efficient of we had time to work on them in class, it would make it a more organized and powerful resource.
    2. I wish we would have spent more time on the wars, especially WW1 and WWII. i feel like lots of those battles are very important and although it may not be the main focus of the history but lots of those battles are very influential for example the battle at stalingrad. These influential battles had big impacts on america and created allies which were a huge part of america’s success in the war. I also find a lot of this topic very interesting and tend to retain it better.
    3. In my opinion i can’t really think of an instance where we spent too much time on a certain topic that was unnecessary .I feel like there were topics like the civil war and the Vietnam war that were time consuming and very long but yet again there was lots of stuff to cover because the wars were very influential on america. I also think we spent a lot of time on urbanization and industrialization but yet again those were big parts of american history. So in conclusion i don’t think we spent an unnecessary amount of time on anything.
    4. Some of my weaknesses as a student this year in APUSH have been the tests. I never performed extremely well and i think that’s because i just never figured out the right way to study. But when i took the AP test i read the whole review book and when i took that test i felt like i knew everything they were talking about. I feel like one of my strengths was being able to ask good questions in class. Now i’m not saying ALL of my questions were good but i feel like a majority of them contributed to the classes understanding. I think another one of my strengths was completing my assignments on time. I think there might have been only one or two homeworks where i was unable to complete it on time. I feel like this was one of the things that kept my grade at a consistent level and allowed for me to understand more in class.
    5 I take away two things, one being how i could look forward to curing my daily boredom in my apush class and two that i feel like i can confidently argue the causes and effects of major american war which happens to be one of my personal interests. If feel like i definitely retained lots of knowledge that i can use for the rest of my life.
13. Asia White June 11, 2019 at 7:46 pm

    Watching videos was my most favourite way of learning but i didn’t help as much as reading, and taking notes. Watching videos were just entertainment to me and sometimes I didn’t pay attention or so much wa happening that you couldn’t get all the information needed. Reading the book was time consuming but very effective, honestly I stopped reading the textbook in the middle of second trimester which was a mistake but it helps a lot. Even though reading the textbook was my least favorite it was the most effective for me.
    I wish we spent more time on the Civil rights movement because it felt like we just went over it but not in depth like other topics. There was a lot of stuff we could have talked about within that time period but it felt rushed and wanting to move to the next topic when we could’ve spent a little more time on it or talked about it a lot more and in depth.
    I think we should’ve spent less time on modern stuff because it was barely on the AP test but i think we spent too much time on it.
    My weaknesses were essays or just tests in general. The essays are really frustrating because there’s a time limit and you want to get everything in but you can’t then you mess up. Than after the class is over everything flows to you mind and you’re wishing to go back and add it. During tests and essays i just forget everything that we learned than after it’s over i remember everything. My strengths were the homework i got them turned in on time and they were sometimes hard but mostly easy.
    What I learned from APUSH was that there are a lot of people with very different ideas. And that history seems to keep repeating itself over and over again, it may not be the exact same each time but it’s very similar. Even with people taking history class they seem to repeat what they’ve learned.

    You will truly be missed Mr. Wickersham hopefully I will have you for future classes.
14. Sarah Luchenbill June 11, 2019 at 8:44 pm

    1. My favorite learning style was probably the power points. I am a visual learner so being able to see pictures to go along with the notes was very helpful as they helped me remember the information better. If I just read something I do not remember the information as well. My least favorite style was the portraits. This is just because they took a long time and only covered some of the material from the chapters. Although I did like how they were stories that showed different perspectives on different people and situations.

    2. I think we should have studied more of the early 1900s. I felt like we just crammed it in at the last minute before the exam. If we had spent more time on this era with the Great Depression and the world wars, I think it could have helped me more on some of the sections on the AP exam. It would also have given a more clear contextualization of other events.

    3. It is hard for me to say what we should have studied less or taken less time with because I was not here for the whole year. However, for me I learned about the Jacksonian era and the mid 1800s twice so I would say once was enough. For when I was here, I feel like there should not be anything that you need to cut out or shorten.

    4. I think some of my strengths would be managing my time and working hard. I always try to get my homework done in advance so everything does not get stacked up and all do at the same time. I would also say that I work pretty hard. My first AP class, as a sophomore, was AP World History. This was a hard class for me but I was able to learn good skills, such as working hard and doing everything in a timely manner which I used in this class. One of my weaknesses would be taking multiple choice tests. I always get myself confused when reading the passages and the answers. I often feel rushed during these and can get distracted easily, and it’s hard to make up time lost. So I had to learn different ways to just keep focusing.

    5. I learned that America is a good country, but has made mistakes. Many people only see the bad that America has done and others only see the good that America has accomplished, but to truly see the truth both sides must be seen. Not everything crystal clear, when looking at different things we must see all sides in order to understand and learn from the past.
15. Jake Chernow June 11, 2019 at 9:02 pm

    1. When APUSH first began back in September, I was having trouble finding a specific learning style that fit me. At the beginning of the first tri, my nieve self thought it was a brilliant idea to read the entire chapter in the textbook before each test. I soon found out that all this style left me with was a headache. So I began experimenting. Through my experiments, I found the one learning style that benefitted me the most, watching videos. Jocz Productions and Crash Course helped me gain an authentic understanding of the topic we were covering. I’m a visual learner, so all the great pictures and bullet points from each video allowed me to see the information while someone else reads. Additionally, with the Crash Courses, John Green’s thought bubble made animations that acted out the events Green was explaining. These animations made it unbelievably easy to understand the information. This method differs from the textbook because, with the bible, I’m reading the information to myself. Because I’m a visual learner, watching videos was most effective for me. On the other hand, the least effective method of study for me was just reading through the textbook. This method was least effective because when reading the textbook, it’s challenging to break lines and information due to the block formatting and the small text. This made it very difficult for me to study from the textbook because I couldn’t help but get lost in all of the words.

    2. I would have loved to cover battles in the various wars we studied. I know the AP test doesn’t care about battles, but I feel like they’re so exciting. Strangers from all over coming together to fight for something they believe in, what better than that? I’m sure along with the different battles and fights funny and intriguing stories were left behind by the soldiers and would trickle down into our class time. I think it would have been super cool to go into depth about the battles and be able to launch ourselves into the situation through our mind. With the help of Mr. Wickersham’s explanations of these battles, we would be able to almost see through the eyes of the soldiers.

    3. The one topic I wish we would have spent less time on was the Reagan unit. I know it’s a crucial period, but nothing crazy happens. In all the other units something really crazy or interesting took place. In the Reagan unit, pretty much all we talked about was economics. The most intriguing part of the whole unit was learning about Reagan’s “Star Wars,” and it didn’t even end up getting put together. All the talk about economics bored my socks off.

    4. As a student, I feel like my strengths outweigh my weaknesses. Some strengths could include test taking. After I figured out a set study routine that helped me grasp and understand information the best, it was effortless for me to go into class on test day and just knock out the test. Test after test, I gained more and more confidence, and it helped me substantially on the AP test. Another strength would probably be staying attentive in class. Although some of the topics we covered could get incredibly boring, I was able to stay focused and retain the information Mr. Wickersham presented to us. A weakness could be reading and answering questions (portraits). I found it really difficult just to sit down, read something so very dull, and then write three paragraphs answering the questions. Contrary to staying focused in class, I had a very hard time keeping focus while reading and answering questions.

    5. America has some really high peaks, but It also has some really low lows. Despite America’s fluctuating goods and bads, as Americans, we still live in the greatest country in the world.
16. Elle Layman June 11, 2019 at 9:34 pm

    My favorite way of studying was writing notes. The only way I could really learn something was to hand write it. I also used Adam Norris on youtube and you should really make a big deal out of him because you have limited class time but the kids can go home and watch these videos and that makes it easier on you. My least favorite way of studying was reading. I just couldn’t get the information to stick if I just read the information and that was all I did with it, the practice questions helped me apply the information and understand it fully.

    I wish we spent more time focusing on the korean war and vietnam war. I know wars aren’t important in the curriculum but I think that my knowledge lacks so much compared to everything else that we covered. I also wish we spent a little bit more time focusing on the names of the periods, they’re so important on the ap test and I think you need to just mention it over and over again until we get it. It would also be a really good review sheet to get. Just time periods with the name of the period/era.

    I think we spent a lot of time on the Great Depression, I get that it was the beginning of the year and we had to understand what we got ourselves into but it seems we went really deep into it and I think we could have focused on period 7 as a whole because that’s so important on the ap test. I also think that we could have spent less time around the 1600’s because that isn’t very important and you only need to know a few basic facts.

    I would say my strengths are that I like to learn and do not dread coming to school. I’m really good at writing and I think that helps me have an upperhand when learning all of the writing portions. I don’t like not understanding things so i’ll try and understand them on my own; however, I struggle with reaching out and asking questions to others and teachers. I think I am an easy student to have in class because I get along with students and teachers very well. I struggle with rising to the challenge and working harder when something gets really hard. I also talk a lot sometimes.

    This class has taught me a lot; you don’t always like what you hear and sometimes history is repeated without people even noticing.
17. Samuel Sundberg June 11, 2019 at 9:39 pm

    1. Throughout my school year Apush was definitely my hardest subject. Whether it was a test, DBQ or an LEQ I was always worried on what I would grade I would get on it. The best thing that probably helped throughout the year would have to be the google docs and the videos like Jocz productions. The google docs were effective for me because I was able to get easy points out of them and they helped me focus on one specific topic. While I was focussed on that one topic, the topic I was writing about came easily to me during the test. I would often read up on some of the other topics that were listed that weren’t mine so I could keep them in my mind too. The Jocz production videos were the most help out of everything. Before a test or essay, I’d watch his video on that section of APUSH. He would control all the main points into sections and briefly talk about that section and its key points. My least favorite way to learn was probably the portraits. I ended up not doing most of them in the beginning, but then started to do them more and more. They were just a waste of time because I had seemed to know enough about the topic already. Even though they were important readings to know, I don’t think we needed to answer questions about it.
    2. I wish we had spent more time on the time period of 1960 to 1980. I don’t know why, but at that time I didn’t seem to remember a whole lot about that time period. I wish we spent more time on the watergate scandal and on Reagan and Carter’s presidency. I always wanted to know more on their presidencies and I was always fascinated about the end of the cold war.
    3. I feel like we studied a little bit too much the time period right after the revolution. I don’t think that it was as important as some of the other time periods we learned. We spent about two whole months on it and it seemed to go by very fast because the same things were coming up in the text and I thought I was just doing the same unit over and over again.
    4. My strengths in this class would mostly have to be my participation and ability to contribute to the conversation. Along with having my homework done on time I was very active in the class discussions on many topics. Although I lacked on homework completion first tri, I made up for it in my second trimester. When third trimester came around I was on top of all my homework and got pretty much everything in on time. It was mainly just my procrastination that would get to me and I’d just have this feeling in my brain that the work was so boring. But once I got started with it, it all came to me and I was able to complete it with a snap of a finger.
    5. My takeaway from Apush would have to be that if you get your homework done and you begin to like what you’re learning, the class will get much easier for you. While America’s history is seen by many as very basic, there is much more to it than it seems.
18. Hannah Deighan June 11, 2019 at 9:44 pm

    1. My favorite way of learning was the games and activities we did. For example the Oregon Trail simulation helped me understand it much better than if I just learned about it on a powerpoint. Some of the movies we watched were also very helpful in explaining things and helped me remember them better because they were a story. Another big thing that helped me were the article quizzes. They forced me to know some really important information before we started learning, so that I could apply it to the big picture. My favorite tool to use to study at home was the Google Docs and crash course. I would print out the google docs and highlight the important information. Then I would watch the crash courses and write down anything else that applied that I did not already have. Then I would rewrite the Google Docs in my own words. Writing things down (not typing) and coming up with the wording of them helped me remember them a lot better.

    2. I wish we spent more time on the Progressive Era and more about the 1900s in general. They weren’t on the AP test as much as the other eras, but I still think it would have been beneficial to cover them in a little more depth, and leave a little more time to study them before the AP test. I also think we could have spent a little more time on short answers, a little closer to May, because we really didn’t do any except for first tri.

    3. We spent a long time on the Great Depression, New Deal stuff. It was our first unit, so I understand why we took so long. But there was one optional question on the short answer about it, and other than that it did not show up on the test that I can remember, and if it did, it was only one or two questions. That would have been a good thing to do at the very end of the year right before the AP test, because it’s not a very complex lesson, and a lot of it is still implicated today, so it’s not too much to remember.

    4. Some of my strengths were taking very detailed notes, but that being said sometimes they were too detailed. I would pay attention to the specific details that weren’t really significant instead of looking at the big picture. Sometimes I would be writing things down and not really be thinking about what I was writing. Another strength I had was DBQ’s. I was really good at taking information and contextualizing it and turning it into evidence for a claim. Another weakness I have is multiple choice tests. They are not my strength in general. I knew the answer but I would always second guess myself. One big weakness I had was giving myself enough time to study. I thought I knew how to study before, but this class really taught me how.I thought I knew everything, but I needed more time to process everything. Instead of taking it little by little each day, I would do it all in one day, which was not a good idea. I learned to study several nights in advance and do a little bit every day.

    5. Although history might not be my passion, this class taught me a lot, about more than just wars. History is more than a timeline and a single right answer multiple choice test. It is a pattern or a puzzle and it’s our job to put the pieces together.
19. Anders Povirk June 11, 2019 at 9:55 pm

    1: I found reading the google docs to be by far the most effective way to study for tests. However, I struggled when it came to reading the textbook as due to my short attention span I was prone to completely zoning out after just a few minutes of reading. If I was feeling burnt out or unfocused I found watching the Crash Course and Jocz Production videos to be the best way to start studying. Then later when I was more focused or at feeling more desperate due to the test beginning in a few hours I would read the google docs to understand the specific concepts you considered to be important. My least favorite way to learn was through writing as I did not learn from it so much as I was evaluated by it. This is why when studying for a test one does not write things. Though I am sure you’ve already heard this as the resentment if Portraits and writing, in general, is very apparent.

    2: I think that the Articles of Confederation and Constitution were quite underrepresented this year. Despite being the most important document in the United States history I don’t know any more about it now than I did after eighth grade. This became very apparent as I struggled through the immigration quiz and did not know how long a term for a senator was. However, assuming that this class is simply a mechanism for preparing for the AP exam the amount of time placed on each chapter and the order in which you taught the chapter was excellently planned.

    3: While I understand you spending a lot of time and going more in-depth into the first sections about the Great Depression and the start of World War two since that info was more likely to be forgotten as the year progressed I think that you went into too much detail. I think that rather than going into more detail about things like the effects of the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act you should ease the students in by giving them more time and an easier first test. This is because although I did well on the first test the resentment you harbored by giving many good students bad grades on their first test will help to foster a better relationship.

    4: My strengths as a student are my strong comprehension, writing, and test-taking abilities. My weaknesses all boil down to a lack of attention span and work ethic. I often zone out in class and when studying which can be problematic. I also have a hard time getting anything done before the last moment when desperation and fear kick in and suddenly give me incredible focus and work ethic for a few hours before a test. While this system is far, far from optimal the work and studying always seems to get done as long as I don’t completely forget it.

    5: I learned that while America has a flawed and complex history that is ripe for controversy based on perspective. This class has given me perspective on a wide range of issues that I would have otherwise lacked.
20. Ateeyah AbdulWasi June 11, 2019 at 10:19 pm

    My favorite learning style was google slides, crash courses, and drunk histories. I enjoyed the powerpoints because we had a physical copy of the notes that I could mark up and look back at later. I also enjoyed the engaging and thought provoking discussions we would have when someone would ask a question (especially when Aaliyah did her goofy moves). It really helped me engage in what we were learning in class and think of questions I could write and ask. I enjoyed the crash courses even though they were a bit fast. It put a fun twist on what we were learning in class while providing us with a little bit more information after we went over the slides. This really helped me too because if I couldn’t remember something or I wasn’t there for class I would watch the ones you had attached in google classroom. I LOVED the drunk history videos because they were super funny and in a way, it put some of the battles and acts in “dummy terms” which would sometimes help me understand the topic and remember it more because it was so interesting. One thing that did not really help me learn were the portraits, it was always really hard for me to focus on the reading, I am not sure why but the portraits were just really boring to me and hard to understand.
    I really wish we spent more time learning about the Progressive Era. The only I say this is because that’s what the DBQ on the AP test was on. I know we don’t really have a solid way of knowing what the DBQ was on but in regards to The Progressive Era, I still don’t have a full understanding of it. I felt like we didn’t really go into depth, and it was a bit rushed, just so we could fit it in before the AP test. It is very important to give every time period the same amount of emphasis and manage time throughout the year wisely, so students are prepared for every situation on the day of the exam. Not considering the AP test though, I wish we spent more time on modern history. I know towards the end we are kind of running out of time but to me, this is the more interesting stuff. It’s stuff that happened less than 20 years ago which is crazy!
    A few units I wish we spent less time on was the more early civilization, I know it is important to talk about how this country came to be how it is today but it isn’t really covered on the AP test a lot so I feel like if we budget our time on the things that are on the majority of the test (without skipping the important early civilization things, obviously) then we will have a better understanding of the AP test and feel more prepared.
    I P R O C R A S T I N A T E!!!!!!!!!!!!! I learned that when I took this class more seriously I did better. I struggle with anxiety and I let it get the best of me at times but when I started budgeting my time out more and didn’t study just the knight before, I did a whole lot better. I mean look at me I went from a D- in the first trimester to a B! All thanks to you. A strength that I have is that I am a very active listener and will ask a lot of questions.
    We as American people have started out with taking the land of others, moving them, creating and abolishing slavery, discriminating other races, and oppressing people. But we have also helped each other out as citizens of the same country, we uplift each other and fight for other peoples rights even when it has nothing to do with us, which makes America a pretty cool place to live.

    It really breaks my heart to write this, I started out disliking this class a lot and not giving much effort to my work. You have helped me gain so much academic confidence and have been such a great teacher to me. You’re really amazing. Shoutout to you being an advocate for LGBTQ+ and Women’s Empowerment. You are such a great teacher and I can’t wait to see you next year in GWEC :)). By the way when are we going to learn your DJ name?.
21. Sophi Whitman June 11, 2019 at 10:37 pm

    1. My favorite learning style in this class was the videos we watched such as Drunk History, documentaries, and Jocz Production. They were the most effective way for things to be embedded into my brain. Seeing the visual form of history allowed it to stay in my head for a long time and enable me to remember things easier. The documentaries we watched this year helped me the most by far. They were very informative but also kept me interested while watching. When taking tests, I always referred back to the knowledge learned from the videos. I enjoyed doing the “question, facts, hashtags” note taking style, it helped me write my own interpretations of the video and comprehend any valuable knowledge shared. My least favorite learning style is notes. We frequently took notes in APUSH, however, I found them very boring and hard to focus throughout. It seemed to be similar to a lecture, where the teacher would talk for the entire class and never get student interaction. I understand that videos are not options everyday, but I did not enjoy notes. I always found myself forgetting the things explained when tests came around. While I appreciated the occasional breaks and student engagement, notes always seemed to bore me and never allowed me to fully understand what we were learning.
    2. I wish we would’ve spent more time in the 1900s, specifically 1950-1990. I greatly admire this time period and find it the most fascinating in American history. I enjoy how recent, yet far away this era was. Learning about the presidents, wars, and people of the 1900s is very cool and intriguing. I find this time the easiest for me to understand and comprehend. On the AP test, the short answer that was based in this time period was very easy for me. Although I understand that we needed to go through things quickly because of the lack of time, I still wished we could’ve gone back and dived deeper into the 1900s.
    3. The time period I wish we would’ve studied less of the 1800s when slavery was taking place. I understand that this is a crucial time in American history, for it was a turning point in racial equality and white superiority. This was a time of violence, disunity, and confusion, but I find it very sad and upsetting. It does not fit my interests and is too violent for my liking. I find the treatment of African Americans too gruesome to even comprehend, therefore, I enjoy not going as far in depth to avoid the horrific qualities of the time. I understand how important this era was, however, I found it very repetitive and hard for me to study.
    4. Some of my strengths are being very organized and able to time manage. I am very good at evaluating when things need to be done and worked on prior to when they are turned in. Also, being prepared and able to organize my papers, tests, and notes enabled me to turn things in on time and very neatly. I am very efficient and well ordered, these skills made APUSH much easier. Being in a class like this where Mr. Wickersham doesn’t give us homework, he just announces when things are due, time management is crucial. This was a great way for me to use my skills and reach my academic potential.
    5. This class has been amazing. Not only did it teach a lot about the future and AP classes, but a ton of things about American history. History used to be my least favorite class, but now it is my absolute favorite. The things we learned this year opened my mind to a new variety of things and ideas about life. Mr. Wickersham was a great teacher and showed me the inside and out of an AP class. I learned a lot about myself and my full potential. This class was challenging at times and I was able to show my resilience and ability to not give up. I am very happy that I took this class and grew as a person, student, and historian.
22. Sarah Johns June 11, 2019 at 10:40 pm

    1. This year my favorite learning style was the simulations. I feel like I learned a lot from those and they helped me better understand what was going on. They were also fun and engaging because it kept everyone involved versus us just being talked at. I also feel that they made me remember the information more. The events that happened in the simulations I remembered more because we played them out and we were basically involved so there was something to remember instead of just trying to remember what you put in your notes. My least favorite was when we did the power points. They were a good source of information they were just not fun. I didn’t retain a lot from these because I had no way to remember them and half the time I didn’t have enough time to write everything down so I would often be missing information.
    2. I wish that we spent more time on the World Wars and the more modern stuff. I find this stuff way more interesting because it is more relevant to us right now. I can relate more to this stuff and there are still people around who have lived through this stuff and you can talk to them about it. I find the topics more interesting when you have a connection with them. I like learning about the wars and the logistics about them as well.
    3. I wish we spent a little less time on the beginnings of America. It just seemed like we were learning the same information over and over again. I also found it really boring and I didn’t have any way of remembering what we learned about. I also feel like there were a lot of little details that were unnecessary and we talked about them once and they were never mentioned again.
    4. My strengths as a student are note taking and remembering what I am learning about. For most of the things that we were learning my notes were very detailed and helpful despite the fact that some of my notes were missing. Everything was easy to find and read. I also and good at remembering what we learned and finished learning. I am not so good at test taking. I contradict myself a lot and I am always changing answers because I think they sound too right to be right. I also am a slow test taker which makes it difficult when I am timed. I like to make sure I was correct on everything. I am good at remembering stuff until I get to the test and then I don’t remember anything.
    5. I learned that there are a lot of parallels in American history. I also learned that every event impacts every future event. I also learned how there are more than two sides to every story. Every argument has more the two positions. There are always more them one solution to everything no matter how weird that seems.
23. Aaliyah Winston June 12, 2019 at 10:49 am

    1. My favorite learning style this year was watching the movies. It allowed me to remember a certain concept and be able to visualize when and where I exactly learned that concept. Also, even though all of the power-points weren’t necessarily my favorite part of the class, some of the things we looked at helped me remember lots of information. For example, when I think all the way back to the Boston Massacre, I remember the way it was explained in the point-of-view of John Adams. Additionally, when learning about the Gilded Age, I clearly remember the bad-ass video we watched of America’s biggest money makers. Furthermore, my least favorite way of learning was when we read in class, when you read to us, it helped me put a location with the information but when we read together as a class or was given time in groups to read, I didn’t really grasp what I was reading.

    2. I wish we spent more time on slavery and the oppression of blacks leading up into the climax of the Civil Rights Movement. This may be a little biased but I feel that we didn’t speak on big leaders in the black community long enough. I understand that we were preparing for the AP exam, which may not have focused on that primarily, but since there is already a lack in the black history that we learn, I wish we could’ve maybe watched a video or a short movie to make it seem more important. To be a little less bias, I also think the Progressive Era should’ve been explained a little more. Personally, I only grasped a small piece of the time period and it came back to bite me in the butt during the AP test.

    3. Everything this year was really balanced, so I don’t really have a topic we studied too much. If I had to pick, though, I would probably choose either the Cold War or one of the World Wars. I’m not sure which one we spent the most time on, but I think the back to back wars caused a lot of confusion for me. I understand that we had to talk about the Cold War because it sparked so much fear in the American people, and it laid the foundation of our mistrust of the government, but I feel like we probably spent more time than needed on it. I don’t really remember a lot about the Vietnam War, but that seemed to be on a timely manner.

    4. My strengths list as an AP student is EXTREMELY thin. I honestly don’t know one thing I did good this year. My studying at the beginning of the year was good, but as I kept failing test, bomb after bomb, after bomb, I stopped caring about studying all together. I could only mention how even though I wanted to give up, I never did…so I guess…my mental perseverance? And I kinda asked good questions I guess. My weaknesses list, nevertheless, runs longer than the Mississippi River. I was the worst test taker in this class only, I despised studying and doing homework even though I knew I had to. The list goes on and on. Kinda hard to pin-point one thing, I was just the worst APUSH student EVER.

    5. America is 100% way worse than I ever imagined. I don’t trust the government and for now on it’s every man for himself.
24. Lily Abraam June 12, 2019 at 12:48 pm

    1. My favorite learning style this year was talking about American History. In this way, I was able to hear questions that other people had and to think about them myself. Also, I would be able to learn more from other peoples knowledge, for example, someone would make a comment and I would take that into consideration. This was by far my favorite way of learning because I was able to process information this way the fastest and learn more about history this way. My least favorite way of learning history was watching videos. Although this is the most entertaining way of learning history, I feel as if it didn’t help me learn as much as I would if we had learned a different way.
    2. Something I wish we spent more time on was learning about the Progressive time period. Since this time period was put all together and learned very fast before the AP Test, I feel like we didn’t spend enough time on it for me to fully understand it. I think we should have talked more about that and had a test specifically on that before the test.
    3. Something that I wish we had studied less of was the time of the Great Depression. Since we learned this by ourselves for the summer reading, I feel as if there wasn’t a need to go as in depth as we did. The Great Depression is also a very talked about subject and I feel that without learning it as much as we did in class, we would have still succeeded in that area. I think that this subject was good being talked about at the beginning of the year because we were able to get a feel of how the rest of the year was going to be taught.
    4. My strengths as a student were being able to figure out information on my own. For example, if we went over something in class and I started to study for the test and realized that I didn’t fully understand the topic, I would be able to go home and teach myself that topic to succeed well. A weakness that I had was studying on time for the tests. Most of the time, I would get caught up in other subjects and forget to study for APUSH until a couple of nights before.
    5. The main thing that I truly learned about American History is how we have formed together. Americans have been in rough situations like slavery, riots, and massacres, and many more, but we always seem to come together in horrible times.
25. Kaitlin Capinjola June 12, 2019 at 1:24 pm

    1. My favorite learning style this year was taking notes in class and making flashcards at home. Even though powerpoint notes were a lot of work, the pictures that went along with them helped me visualize history. Writing down everything you hear can be stressful, but it helped me remember specific dates and events. I also liked how we had a discussion going in class because it took a lot of pressure off of note taking and we got to express our own opinions. Personally, notes are how I learn best because when I write things down, I am more likely to remember it. That also goes along with flashcards, I made a lot of flashcards at home because it helped me remember things. I also liked the reflection part of apush. This allowed me to take a step back and look at history from a different point of view. Although watching videos wasn’t my favorite learning style, it actually grew on me this year. I especially remember the video we watched on the 2000 election, the pictures and information in the video helped me elaborate on my thinking. My least favorite way of learning this was doing group work when we read documents. I work best when I’m alone, and when we worked in groups not everyone read the document or did the assignment so it was kind of like we were missing out on information. Also, the class was more relaxed and talkative when we did group assignments so I could never focus. I also didn’t like reading long documents or the textbook, because if I don’t take notes nothing stays in my brain. Reading textbook pages, sometimes 20 at a time, I wouldn’t be able to absorb the information and it wasn’t very helpful.

    2. I wish we had spent more time on current day events that were happening in the world. We studied Bush and a little bit of Obama, but I wish present day events were part of the curriculum. One thing that I gained from APUSH was the confidence to talk to my parents about history because I had learned it in class. But, I wish I could say the same for current events. I think I would have been more aware of what was currently going on if we just took some time every day to watch the news. I also wish I had learned more about the economy throughout history. I have learned that there is a lot of revolving around money and banks so I wish we went more in-depth into the economics of history.

    3. I wish we spent less time on the earlier American years like the colonies and Native Americans. Most of these concepts were relatively easy to understand, and I think we took too long learning them. Almost nothing about Native Americans and the creation of the colonies was on the AP Test. Learning about the different settlements was simple and I don’t think it required a lot of time reviewing in class. It’s also very hard to make a DBQ or long essay on Native Americans or American colonies, on the AP test it was about eras and slavery. I think it’s still important to learn, but not as much as modern concepts.

    4. My strengths as a student were remembering certain dates, and important events that helped me on the test. When I took notes I was able to remember every little detail of the chapters we learned. But, soon into the class, I learned that this class wasn’t about memorizing dates or every detail of history, it was more about the concept as a whole and also skills. I struggled with writing DBQs because I could never figure out how to group the documents or hippo them without giving a parade of documents. I’m stronger at developing my own ideas as we wrote long essays. But even then I struggled with getting my words on the page and my points across because I never had enough time to fully think about what I was writing. Another one of my strengths was analyzing political cartoons mostly because I found them really interesting and was always determined to figure out what they symbolized.

    5. From this class, I truly learned that American history is about learning from past mistakes and creating new ideas to make a better world. I noticed that American history has parallels, but I also observed that we have learned from our mistakes.
26. Roni Blank June 12, 2019 at 1:39 pm

    1. Throughout the year, I’ve used many different methods and tried countless new resources to study for APUSH and learn the material. Over time, I found several learning techniques that were perfect for me. First, during class, the PowerPoints were extremely helpful as the condensed the material and summarized the chapter in an explicit and comprehensible fashion. Although in-class lectures are often tedious, I strongly recommend paying attention and writing down important details Mr. Wickersham goes over. Writing important information and facts helped me remember them better. There were also many out of class activities that helped me improve. I believe the Google Docs were the most helpful homework assignments since they summarized the material and emphasized the important information in each chapter. The only disadvantages of the Google Docs were that people often forgot to do their paragraphs and sometimes accidentally included wrong information. The resource that was the most helpful to me was the Jocz Production videos. Those videos, which were made by California teacher of the year, Mr. Jocz, quickly reviewed all the material and showed how all the major events fit together. My least favorite way to learn in APUSH were the portraits because they were long, dull, and difficult to read. Although they contained some important information and provided details, they were extremely time-consuming and redundant.
    2. I wish we spent more time covering repeating themes in American history, such as the different waves of feminism, migrations, and revivals. Although we briefly talked about most of these, the years, people, and details were obscure and confusing. I wish we’d had a final review and summary of each of those recurring topics.
    3. Although there were certain chapters that I really didn’t like, I’m glad we spent much time on every unit because it helped me get better even at the topics I didn’t like and it prepared me for the AP test. I do think that some activities, like the Oregon trial simulation, were fun but not very helpful.
    4. I had many weaknesses in the class. Coming in, I was a very poor writer, especially because English is my second language. This class hugely helped me in improving my writing. I’m also a bad test taker and I often don’t have enough time in exams. Although this is still true, this class greatly helped me to be a better test taker and not stress as much.
    5. Like I said before, this class hugely helped me in improving my writing. I think this is the most important impact the class had on me and it will help me in the rest of my High School career and beyond. APUSH also taught me how to deal with much stress and work and how to use my time wisely, which is always important.
27. Taylor Mahle June 12, 2019 at 2:09 pm

    Blog #121- Final Reflection on APUSH
    1. My favorite learning style was through the PowerPoints notes. I think this way was the most effective and easy way to learn the materials. Each PowerPoint slide was written well so it was easy to understand, plus there was space to take notes. Also, the PowerPoints were easy to study off of, because you had all the information right in front of you. It made it easier by chunking things into sections, which you could put into flashcards or more notes. My least favorite style was the notes that were just reading paragraphs. These had a lot of information on them which made it hard for me to understand the key points. Also, with so much information there was little space to write your own notes on the slide. Overall, I liked the PowerPoints way better.

    2. Overall, this year I think we spent a good amount of time on each time period. However, I wish we spent more time on the Great Depression. I feel like the time period, we mostly got our information from the summer reading assignments. Which made it hard for me to understand the information. I also liked learning about the 1990s and more history which is modern. However, I understand that there is little modern history on the AP exam, which makes it a less urgent time period to know.

    3. I wished we didn’t study a lot of the early American time periods. I feel like we spent a lot of time on these units, however, on the AP exam there was a decent amount of stuff from these time periods which helped. Overall, this time period is the most boring time period to me and I think we could spend more time on other time periods.

    4. My strengths as a student were writing the essays. I think I did a good job applying all the factors needed into my essays. I also used all the right resources to make my essays good and get a good grade. I also think I did a good job at putting documents into category and organizing my thoughts. My weaknesses as a student is studying for the multiple choice and time management. I had a hard time studying for the multiple choice and trying to figure out what the passages meant. Overtime, it seemed to get easier however, I never really seemed to get it down. I also think I struggled with managing my time, I would always seem to make myself stressed out because I didn’t have enough time or had so many things to do.

    5. My takeaway from APUSH is that America has its goods and bads, however we have made mistakes and learned from them. Also the class had taught me to work hard and better ways to study.
28. Dominick Stoops June 12, 2019 at 3:15 pm

    1. My favorite learning style was the power points. They were very effective, watching you lecture was a very good engaging way to learn. Sometimes during lectures I would get really sleepy, but I found that these were where I learned most. Along with the power points, I learned a lot while watching A.P crash course videos, these really helped me before a test. I also really liked the google docs, they were effective in recapping all of the subjects in the chapter. If I was unsure about a subject I would look back at the docs to see what it was about. My least favorite learning style was highlighting and portraits. I see how highlighting old speeches and documents was necessary, I just didn’t really learn much from it. Some of the documents we went over were very effective (like the succession of the confederacy documents). The portraits were just brutal for more. I didn’t really learn much from them, other than the first ones that were assigned. But nonetheless, nothing was really terrible in the class.

    2. I wish we would have spent a bit more time on the progressive era. We learned it at the last bit of the class and it felt kind of rushed. The only reason why I said progrssive era is because it was on the DBQ, but there was no way for you to know that that was going to be on the A.P test. Other than that, I wish we would have recapped more about multiple topics before the A.P test. I liked recapping the writing methods, but I think I would have also benefited from recapping the historical facts, specifically the road to revolution. For me, the road to revolution was just that part in U.S history that I didn’t really grasp as easily as other parts of the curriculum.

    3. I wish we would have spent less time on the columbus era and early colonization. It wasn’t on the test, and it didn’t really come up in other places. The information from these time periods were also boring and made me want to go to sleep. I think that these should definitely be taught because they were important just not as much. Other than those, everything else was pretty good.

    4. I would say that my biggest weakness was not asking questions and procrastinating. When I didn’t understand something I wouldn’t really speak up. I also wouldn’t engage myself enough in talks and conversations, I would always hope someone would talk before me. My other weakness was procrastinating. I procrastinated with portraits and practice readings. Procrastination is just something that I do when I shouldn’t, and it does come back for me every time I do it. My strengths were probably being able to understand situations presented in the history and in the documents. I think I understood the passages that we were given around 65% of the time. My other strengths was just being able to keep going in APUSH, and not giving up over the slightest discomfort.

    5. What I learned from APUSH is that history is not one sided, there are so many points of views that cannot be dismissed. If you really want to get a full understanding you need to know everyone’s opinions, especially in U.S history. I also learned that U.S history is not just one lecture through time, its carefully putting together pieces of history from the past so you can form an opinion about the future.
29. Kyle June 12, 2019 at 5:58 pm

    1. My favorite learning style was two things, power points and crash course videos. The power points that we do in class and the conversations that go with them really make up the bulk of what we learned this year, and it sticks because you keep the conversations engaging. The crash course videos also help because they’re interesting, especially in school when you’re doing it as opposed to working. My least favorite style would probably be portraits, I’m going to be honest Mr. Wickersham nobody tries on those portraits so nobody really absorbs very much information. Like really I don’t even think Veronica takes those seriously.

    2. I wish we’d spent more time on the last unit before the AP exam. The progressive era I think. We zipped through that era then took a test on it which I’m pretty sure I didn’t do so hot on. It is the era I know least about because we only spent like a week or something on it.
    And that was the era that dominated the AP Test so I would say try and make more time for it next year.

    3. I think the Great Depression, our first unit went on a little long because we had already done stuff for it over the summer but I get it, you were introducing us to AP so I wouldn’t say I wish it was shorter but it was definitely didn’t reflect the pace of the class.
    4. A strength I have as a student is retaining the information in this class. I guess the only reason I do is because the class is very interactive so most of the time I’m entertained and I remember what I’m learning better as opposed to other classes where you just sit there and listen to a teacher. Because of this I remember most of the stuff we learned in first and second tri. I see a lot of lot of my classmates struggling with retaining the information so I guess that would be a strength of mine.
    5. My takeaway from this class would be that American history is complicated. We’re not the nation I thought we were, yet I now see how hard it was and how many things had to happen for this country to get to the point it’s at now and it makes me feel grateful I was born when and where I was. Thanks for a great year Mr. Wickersham.
30. Lily Paul June 12, 2019 at 6:22 pm

    1. My Favorite way to learn in class this year was by far doing hands-on activities that challenged us to go outside our comfort zone and think critically about the topic and event we were studying. For example, I really enjoyed lessons like Abe Lincoln funeral, the Oregan Trail and the most influential American competition. I found that these were a great opportunity to have some fun in class and also learn a lot about the subject from your own presentation and others. I’m a very visual learner so I find any art based activities very useful.

    2. I really wish we had spent more time on the ’80s and ’90s. I think so many interesting things in politics and media happened during those decades and they are recent enough to be somewhat relatable to kids our age who have maybe heard their parents or siblings talking about this time period. It definitely helped to be able to put a face to a name when talking about the politics because it was so recent and we all grew up hearing about these people. I wish we could have studied this for long because I think we could have gone more into depth in pop culture and other things of that sort.

    3. We could have spent less time on the reconstruction era. I’m not sure exactly how long we worked on it but it felt like a very long time and as soon as I lost interest it started becoming really head to follow. Things like years and events all started to blur together towards the end of the unit.

    4. I have a hard time staying on top of a lot of assignments and sometimes all the dates things are due can slip my mind very easily. I find it hard to stay on track with all my asignments especially when I have alot of things coming up. I do however I think that I have a lot of strengths that I benefit from in this class. I think my creativity often helped me in this class and my ability to speak up during class discussions. These two things along with my genuine intrest in history really helped me through these past three trimesters.

    5. I learned that there is so much that goes into causing different events, and the things that lead up to these events can be construed in so many different ways. I also learned that it is almost always good and bad to a situation and there are always multiple sides that you have to consider to truly understand the context.
31. Evan Willey June 12, 2019 at 6:55 pm

    1. I think my favorite learning style was talking/discussing US History. I feel like this mode worked well for me personally because participation in discussions keeps me focused and really thinking about what is being said. I think when this is paired with writing, for example the powerpoints, I really can comprehend the information because the blend of open discussion and writing helps me to remember and understand the concepts. I think videos are sometimes not my best way of learning. I believe this because it is very easy to lose focus of the videos and to just let the information go by without understanding or paying much attention. Also, if it’s in class and we have to take notes it becomes a burdensome task. No one wants to take the notes but when they do they don’t focus on the video but rather just completing the notes

    2. I wish we spent more time on the most recent part of the class and history, the unit with the 90’s and the 2000’s. I think we should spend more time on this piece of history because this is what we see most in our lives. What we learn about in that unit directly affects the society we live in today so I think that makes it more important. Important mistakes that were made and accomplishments of this time period are still evident in our lives today so I think that also adds interest. Learning about things like the start of the computer and the beginning of Apple is more interesting to us because most everyone has a computer and maybe an Apple product. So when these things affect us personally it has more gravity when we learn about it and for that reason is more interesting and forces us to care more.

    3. I think the earliest parts of history could be shortened, maybe units 1 and 2 didn’t require as much depth. I wish these units were shorter for the same but opposite reason as my reasoning for question 2. Since the time periods these units cover were so long ago I think that it tends to be less interesting. We can’t see any impact in our lives today and so most of the events are seen as unimportant. I also think the learning and resources aren’t as great for these units. Since things like primary documents and things like cartoons weren’t around for these events, the learning has less variability to it and is more straightforward which in turn makes it less interesting.

    4. I think my biggest weakness as a student is procrastination. In this class especially this is a big problem as workloads can really stack up and you can easily become overwhelmed with work. The best two examples of my procrastination were assignments that aren’t very hard but are so easy to leave for the last moment. Practice Reading and Portraits were always saved for the very last day to complete. This became a problem when other assignments were due on top of practice reading, for example google docs, and then I have to scramble and do both assignments on the same day it makes life much harder. One strength I think I had was my notetaking in class. Being that we did a lot of learning through powerpoints, it was very crucial for me to take good notes during class so that I had good material that I could look back at when studying. Also, the better notes I took in class the better I was at remembering the information and comprehending it quicker.

    5. America may have not always done the right thing, but our mistakes shape us just as much as our successes so it is important to know what events have led to the way we live today.
32. Zoe Kissinger June 12, 2019 at 7:43 pm

    1. My absolute favorite learning style this year was the informal discussions we had on what we were learning for that particular unit. It allowed for people to share their opinion or idea and receive support and criticism from their peers. I particularly liked when the topic we were discussing connected to events happening in our world today. Though I may not have always participated, it was always interesting to hear other people’s thoughts, and it helped reinforce my memory on some of the harder topics. My least favorite way to learn was taking notes from videos, because sometimes I would miss an important detail while writing another down or have a question that couldn’t be answered because I didn’t want to disrupt the class.

    2. I wish we got to spend more time on the 1990s and the early 2000s because it was interesting learning about important historical events that went right over my head as a young child and what my parents experienced while they were growing up. I also feel that we should have spent more time discussing and debating issues from today, such as abortion rights and our current president’s situation. I would have loved to participate in a lively discussion on LGBT rights, too, because I have been exposed to a lot of different perspectives on the matter, and I would like to share those thoughts and my own.

    3. I feel that every lesson we had this year was important and impacted the test one way or another, so I don’t think that any of them should be shortened. If it was up to my own personal preference, I would spend less time on the petty squabbles between politicians about who should compromise with who, and just get to the end result of the deal. Sometimes I’d end up filling my space underneath a slide with notes that weren’t entirely necessary, and that’s just a waste of paper in my opinion.

    4. I’m not sure if you heard or not, but I have been diagnosed with pretty bad ADD, so I essentially have the attention span of puppy in a field of crippled squirrels. In order for me to remain engaged in what a class has to offer, it has to be interesting and/or interactive enough to force my participation. Otherwise, I’ll basically be in another dimension while looking like I’m at least semi-interested. It was especially rough for me to keep my attention straight when we were watching videos. With my habit of unintentionally daydreaming to my social anxiety that prevents me from asking for help, answering all the note questions on a worksheet was made into a pretty daunting task.

    5. It is important to plan ahead for upcoming or unexpected assignments, projects, or threats. This can be taken into the context of school or the context of history.
33. Gillian Waitzman June 12, 2019 at 8:23 pm

    1. My favorite learning style from this year were the simulations we did once in a while. It was effective for me because I tend to learn more and pay more attention when I can physically be involved in something and when I am having fun. I felt that by doing this simulations, I could partially feel like it was actually like to be in the shoes of a person during the period we were learning about. My second favorite learning style from this year had to be the google docs. While they were a pain to do sometimes, in the end I think it was the best way to study for the tests. My only problem with them is some kids don’t end up doing their definitions/questions, and it ends up affecting the whole entire class. My least favorite way to learn had to be watching videos. While I did enjoy some of them and learned many things from them, some videos were just full of one person naming off facts about the topic we were learning about. This learning style works for a lot of people, but for me when a bunch of random dates and people are thrown at me, with no type of story behind it, I not only don’t pay attention as much, but also don’t understand it as well.
    2. One thing that I wished we had spent more time on this year was the Progressive Era. I think the reasoning behind this is because of all the snow days we had prior to the AP test, and because we may have been partially behind. The reason I wish we spent more time on this was because it was the DBQ on the AP test. While I think I did decent on it, I wish I could have included a little more contextualization and outside evidence. But besides the AP test, I wish we had spent more time on the waves of immigration. My book, Orphan Train, focused primarily on the first wave, with it being a majority of the Irish. Reading this book made me much more interested in this topic, because it gave me insight on what that time period was really like fore some people.
    3. I wish we had studied less of the early American colonies. There is no doubt that it should be covered, since it applied to a lot of the multiple choice part of the AP test. I just think maybe we should spend a little less time on it. The reasoning behind this is because I couldn’t quite connect myself to that time period, like I could to the others. I also think because it was so long ago and so many things have changed since then like the government and social norms, that it doesn’t interest me as much as more modern periods.
    4. My strengths as a student was how I handled such homework assignments, such as practice readings, google docs, and portraits. I feel like I always tried my best to get them done a couple days before the due date, just in case I received other large homework assignments or tests the day it was due. An example of this is that for the practice readings, I would always get it done the day the assignment is written on the white board. One time I even emailed you to see if you could put it up early because I didn’t want to wait until one or two nights before it was due. My weaknesses as a student are for sure giving myself enough time to study. While I am not a huge procrastinator when it came to homework for this class, when it came to quizzes and tests, I was. An example for this is telling myself I would start studying for the AP test like a month before it took place. That didn’t end up happening, and in the end I was very stressed.
    5. My takeaway from APUSH is that even the best of the best American influencers are not perfect.
34. Walter LaMar June 12, 2019 at 10:10 pm

    1.My favorite way of learning we did in class was the simulations we did like the Monroe doctrine or the Oregon trail because they really made you feel like you lived through the experience even if they might’ve been a little off. Now if you meant like really learning, my choice would be the normal presentations we got because i just got accustomed to them and it’s nice to have the pictures to see what you’re talking about. My least favorite way to learn was the DBQ tour where you go around and hippo the documents which isn’t bad, it’s just that I don’t like hippoing.
    2.I wish we spent more time on the 1920 because I have no idea what happened during that time and I feel like the roaring twenties would’ve been interesting because I wanted to know what exactly people did to cause the depression a bit more. Another one would be the Progressive era because it was on the AP test and I didn’t know that much because we just got into it and I had no idea what to write at the time and the topic seemed to be pretty important from what I heard.
    3.One thing we could have gone less into is F.D.R. now I love the guy, and he did a lot, but we also learned way too much of what he did the fact that I can remember him so clearly proves it because I think we spent almost an entire two weeks on him which is a lot of (FDR).
    4.Let’s just get this straight no matter what I do I would always get a D on the multiple choice if I read the entire section did the reading problems i even made a Quizlet one time; I will always be bad at the passages and interpreting them and I would always choose the answer where if it wasn’t the first one it would be the one I chose. Thankfully we had retakes, so I could maintain a B+ but I was pretty solid on the DBQ and LEQ because I can write properly and as long as I know what I’m talking about I could get a 4 or at least a 3.75 at the least.
    5.I learned that America is one of the most greedy, dishonest, convoluting country that looks good on the outside but rotten on the inside but that’s what life is not always what you think it to be.

    Mr. Wickersham it was a good year and I hope you enjoy your cruise.
35. Mecca Terrell June 14, 2019 at 12:50 pm

    1) I think my favorite learning style would be the use of google docs and the online practice questions from the textbook. I like these because with the practice questions, it kind of forced you to read the material thoroughly in order to be able to quiz yourself using the practice questions. And the google docs let you take key events/ concepts from the textbook and zone in on it to get a better understanding of the material. My least favorite way of studying was the portrait. Even though some of them were interesting and I wanted to read more, most of them were just too lengthy and tedious, and I feel like they focus too much on one concept and distracted from the subject that was being learned in class.
    2) I wish we spent more time on early America and the most recent things that we studied. I might not be as accurate as I could be because we learned this long ago, but I feel like the times during the founding of America and the time around the Cold War were very rushed in the class and we didn’t cover that period super thoroughly, (in comparison to how much information I absorbed while we were learning about, for example, about the 1800s)
    3) I wish that we studied a little less about the relationships between colonies and that we didn’t go so in-depth with that period of time because I feel that the information from that period wasn’t as valuable as information from other periods.
    4) Some strengths I had as a student, for example, being able to use the APUSH group of students to my advantage and really be able to collaborate with them and utilize resources such as class group chats and google docs to be able to study with the class instead of trying to do it by myself. Another strength I had was actively listening and participating in class discussions in order to get a better understanding of the circumstances of the time periods and how it affected certain key events. A weakness I had as a student was keeping up with class work and my management of time. I was at a point where I had too much on my plate and I found myself too overwhelmed to keep up with the work.
    5) American history is not just black and white. While all we see are the biggest events that happened throughout history, it’s also about an in-depth look at the opportunities, hardships, and relationships that made a history of America possible in the first place.