As students at Westside begin to select the courses these two weeks, Westside Wired is going to preview a different department each day. The Westside Wired staff hopes to help educate students on the changes within each department and also highlight less-known classes. 

While there won’t be any new classes offered in the social studies department, the 2014-2015 school year will be the first that all seniors are required to take American government. The department will offer both regular and AP Government. Unlike the current school year, next year American government small groups will have designated AP sections and regular sections. Social studies department head Bob Brousek explains the goal in splitting up students.

“The high numbers made it almost impossible to keep the classes together,” Brousek said. “We thought it was important to split up the classes so students who need the extra help in regular government could have the attention to understand concepts. But if there’s AP and regular together, there’s a tendency to move up the knowledge and rigor of the class, and that could mean some students could be left behind.”

Another change the social studies department will be seeing at the end of this year is the retirement of Mrs. Gangel, who teaches World History and AP European History. Brousek said the department is not sure who will replace her as of now, but a new teacher should be selected by the end of the school year.

Contrary to rumor, Brousek said AP exams will continue to be reimbursed next year. He thinks this is important to encourage students to take AP exams, and the social studies department offers the most AP courses out of any department in the school. Brousek thinks that any student who wants to challenge himself should take an AP course.

Senior Naomi Samuel has taken most of the AP courses offered in the social studies department, as well as non-AP course electives. Samuel recommends AP Economics as a good introduction to AP courses for underclassmen.

“(AP Economics has) a relatively light workload, but prepares you for two AP tests: Microeconomics and Macroeconomics,” Samuel said. “The material is extremely relatable to the real world, and ties in well if you’re interested in business, marketing or politics.”

Samuel also thinks if students want to challenge themselves, courses like AP United States History (APUSH) or AP European History are a good option to improve on writing and critical thinking skills.

“I know a lot of sophomores are on the fence about taking AP U.S. History, largely because APUSH has acquired an undeservedly harsh reputation,” Samuel said. “The class really forces you to improve your writing skills, and really prepares you for the AP test. Of all the classes I’ve taken at Westside, this is definitely one of the classes in which I learned, and actually remembered, the most.”

This was the preview to the social studies department at Westside. Here is the preview to the computer science department. Check in tomorrow for a preview on the Art and English departments.