Natalie Lopez, Reporter
@nlopezcourant
The AP World courses have built a reputation for their difficulty. Ten years ago, AP world teacher Marianne Cohen proposed a solution to limit the stress that the freshmen andsophomores who take the courses feel throughout the year: ‘survival kits’ are handed out in the beginning of each year.
Along with her fellow AP World teacher Zeeshan Arastu, Ms. Cohen uses the boxes as a way to help destress students. The boxes include an assortment of items including note-books filled with notes, review sheets, review sheets, text-books, pens, flashcards, and letters containing advice.
These letters play a key role making the boxes individualized. “The letters are written for the next year’s kids, particularly the kids who moved up from Global I into AP World II,” said Ms. Arastu. “Those are so heartening for a lot of the kids who feel overwhelmed at the beginning of the year.”
Despite the stress that surrounds it, AP World is designed to be manageable for students who are willing to work at it.
“I think the AP World exam is completely accessible to basically anyone who wants to try it,” Ms. Arastu said. “It’s just a matter of being resilient enough to handle the pace and the stress that goes with it.”
Not only are the physical contents of the boxes useful for students, but they also have a deeper meaning. “The boxes are from past classes who have survived, which provides a beacon of hope to ensure current students they can do it to,” Ms. Cohen said. “This allows current students to have someone to fall back on when the pressure of the course becomes too much.”
These boxes have created a community, and brought students together throughout all grades. “What really makes the boxes so special is that it creates a continuation of the experience and creates a bond between the certain grades,” said junior Naomi Cimino, who previously took both AP World classes and passed down her own box. “It’s a lot of stress so these boxes allow the kids coming in to have something extra to give them a step up.”
While Naomi included a lot of course materials, she also included something much more personal, her way of paying it forward. “I wrote them a letter,” she said. “And, I told them to text me if they need anything. It gives them a friend who has gone through it. And I know for me, having a brother who had gone through it, the stuff he left me was really helpful. So it’s kind of like the same thing, giving yourself an extra resource.”
