By Vismay Ravikumar
STAFF WRITER

As the demand for AP U.S. History (APUSH) soared at Andover High, the need for a new faculty member to join the APUSH staff has grown more apparent. ANDOVERVIEW sat down with veteran social studies teacher Fred Hopkins to discuss his yearning to teach U.S. history and the preparation that his transition required.

What prompted you to start teaching APUSH?

I was a US history major in college, yet I’ve never, ever taught U.S. history despite asking to do it every year. I’ve had a series of bosses tell me, “Yeah, we’d like to get you into a U.S. History class. How about next year?” Sometimes, I will just give up and just stop asking [to teach U.S. History] . When the people who have been teaching APUSH here said, “We’re open to someone else stepping in and helping that person navigate the course,” I was just standing there, ready to jump into the system. I just wanted the change of pace.

Has U.S. history been an interest of yours since high school?

When I was a high school student, I knew it wasn’t required. I studied different worlds, cultures, and histories in college, but I focused on U.S. history.

How many APUSH students do you teach? 

18. Just one section.

What are your opinions on AP classes?

The community and the management of the schools look at AP as a standard type of course. And it’s gotten to the point where this monopoly that the College Board has – they could tell you how to do. I don’t know if they would allow such a thing. They are a nonprofit, but they’re a business – people making money. I would rather see us abandon APs and just teach content courses and then force the AP world to accept ourselves. I taught AP European history in New Jersey for three years. My students and I didn’t have to deal with AP tests, and I wasn’t in any way encouraged to teach the test. I felt like a liberated teacher. It’s counterintuitive to teach to a test. A good test is something that reveals to students what they’ve learned. Teaching to a test, we all know, is pedagogically not sound. What we’re doing, it’s a mess.

What is the hardest part of starting to teach a new course? 

The things that I know best are the things I’ve taught up to then. So, when you don’t have this information stacked up in your memory banks, it makes it a little bit frustrating. The hardest thing about APUSH is stress. I wonder if people are interested in learning, or are they just interested in the measurement and what it does with college applications? Pure learning would be ideal if that’s happening.

What is the process of preparing to teach a course you haven’t taught before?

Over the summer, I worked with both the other teachers. And I read, and I read, and I read history, and analysis of history and opinions on history. Then, I went through an institute that I attended the prior summer and took in all the information that they shared.

Could you speak more about collaboration with [fellow APUSH teachers] Dr. Michaud and Ms. Chachus?

They showed me how they divide the AP course into units and lessons and showed me how they approach the show, and how they do assessments. They try to vary their lessons and activities and how they review. We talked about how you grade students, and everybody grades differently. So we’ll have to adopt. approaches to what works for you. By the way, that process is still ongoing.

They’re both willing to answer every one of my questions as soon as they come up. 

Are they a resource for you?

I wouldn’t be standing without them.

What is your favorite part of American history in general? Are you looking forward to teaching that in APUSH?

My favorite part of American history is the analysis of foreign policy that drives America’s official and unofficial interactions with the world.

Are you planning to continue teaching APUSH?

My reluctance to hop in was pretty strong, and now that I’m in it, I will stay.