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The Importance of Building an AP® Classroom Community
The classroom community…is it worth the time and energy? This is not a rhetorical question. The answer is yes.
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I must have convinced you of the need to build a classroom community from my first post because…you’re here. Or maybe you already know that you need to build a classroom community, so you clicked on my post. Thank you. You are what makes this blog and your classrooms special! That is why students are asking to join your classes. Keep it up.
Building classroom communities can help connect learners to the class, teacher, content, and other students. Think about how the first paragraph made you feel. Did you like being complimented? Did you like the happy spirit I created with my good cheer? Cheer and happiness can help us connect as humans. Shouldn’t students like school (at least a little)? Plus, your students signed up for AP® Economics.
Not all classes are going to be the same. Each class, each year takes on a different identity. The time of day and students in the class are what makes each class unique. Your first period of the day might still be asleep and not yet full of energy. That class right after lunch might be hyped on sugar. Each class has its own strengths, and you should try and recognize those strengths and use them to your advantage.
AP® Economics can be a very fun class to teach and take. You can build your school’s economics program into something that everyone loves while giving students in your school a chance at college credit. Now that's a marginal benefit!
Attached are some ways in which you can build a classroom community in your AP® Economics classroom.
Enjoy!
Nick Anello has taught AP® Economics for nearly a decade at Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School in Flossmoor, Illinois, in addition to teaching IB SL Economics. He holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, and two Master of Arts degrees in General Administration and Curriculum & Instruction from Governors State University in University Park, Illinois. He has led professional development programs at local, state, and national levels on the teaching of economics. In 2017, he received the 3M and Econ Illinois Outstanding Economics Educator award. He also served as a member of the AP® Instructional Design Team during the most recent curriculum update.
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