Essay Ap African American Studies Should Be Banned

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AP courses are popular among many students in their high school years. These courses can help students reduce tuition fees, receive college credit, and advance their general education. Recently, a new AP African American pilot program was presented by the college board. Across the country, 60 high-schools have decided to take the piloted course, but one state has decided to ban it. Florida’s governor, Ron Desantis, wants to ban the AP African American Studies course that has been ten years in the making. He believes the course’s curriculum goes against Florida’s standards and Florida law because it contains certain concepts, such as queer theory, and intersectionality. However, the AP African American Studies shouldn’t be banned because it …show more content…

In the article, AP African American Studies Pilot Introduces Diverse Changes written by Bernard Grant, it states, “Stanford University research shows that culturally relevant course contents increases academic performance and attendance of students across BIPOC background.” According to the article, courses that are culturally relevant usually consist of students from diverse backgrounds. This helps everyone learn how to work with different people and develop new, creative ideas. In Naseem Rakha’s article, Is The New AP African American Studies Course Dangerous? Students Don’t Think So, it claims, “....students said they felt wiser, more empathetic and empowered to do better.” These studies show that the new AP African American Studies course can greatly impact students mentally and …show more content…

While this is in fact, not true. The AP African American course teaches the culture and past of a big percent (13.6%) of our country. AP courses are also a gateway to building critical thinking skills and learning new information to apply to present day life. In the article written by Naaz Monda, Florida Says Rejected AP African American Studies Course ‘Lacks Educational Value’, the College Board describes the course, “As with all courses in the humanities, it is not a theory course; students instead immerse themselves in primary sources.” The College Board also added, “The course is designed to encourage students to examine each theme from a variety of perspectives, without ideology, in line with the field’s tradition of debates.” Given the lessons students would be learning and participating in, it shows that the course does not lack educational value, but instead can teach students a lot about the past and form their own opinions. Governor DeSantis and other conservatives should not be erasing a course on Black history from the educational system just because they don't see how this information can be of any use to them. Even though Governor DeSantis has criticized this course beyond belief, students all over the country continue to grow more interested in taking the AP African American