Students Scare Away from Big Syllabus

Kenzie Baldwin
Feature Editor

A student studies the AP Composition
book. Photo courtesy of Kenzie Baldwin.

      AP Composition students shy away from the eight page syllabus handed out on the first day. The AP College Board requires each AP course to have their syllabus approved, prior to teaching the class. Their requirements for the syllabus are extensive and result in a lengthy syllabus.

      “When creating a syllabus for my other, non-AP classes I can typically fit the need-to-know information on one sheet of paper. So no, I do not naturally write really long syllabi,” said language arts teacher Kayla Borseth. In the syllabus, the parts that are included are a course description and overview, resources and materials, writing/reading tasks and assignments, the writing process, grading scale and a short note on plagiarism, and the unit calendar.

      “The AP College Board wants to make sure students with different teachers and from different schools all receive instruction that will prepare them for the AP test. To accomplish this, they employ a syllabus screening process where they make sure each AP teacher is planning to teach the appropriate content and skills,” said Borseth.

          Each teacher is different when writing their syllabus for their specific classes; they have to go by certain requirements and have to make sure they included everything that is needed. Each teacher also explains their syllabus differently from the next.

        “I never hand my students a syllabus without addressing it. I walk through each part and give students an idea of how to use the information that is listed; if your teacher talks through your syllabus, pay attention. A lot of questions can be answered that way and anything that you understand becomes more manageable in your mind,” said Borseth.