New social studies course offerings offer students psychological, historical views
Two new courses will hit the social studies department in the 2025-2026 school year. AP Psychology and Television and Society will debut in the fall semester for all eligible students who express curiosity. These courses will offer new opportunities for students to explore their interests, pave future career paths, and connect with their environment, according to social studies Department Chair Michael Allen.
“I think both of these courses are going to give certain populations at West an opportunity to take courses they haven’t had until this point,” he said. “Most of our AP offerings have been government and history-related, but I know there are a lot of kids that want to go into the science field. For instance, AP Psychology offers a course that can be applicable to science interests or a science degree while still being a social studies course.”
Junior Hailey Knutson is one of a number of students that has shown interest in AP Psychology.
“I am interested in AP Psychology because it doesn’t just graze how your brain functions, it goes deeper into how it affects your actions and others around you by explaining the mental process,” she said. “It would also dig into understanding the function of our feelings and actions, helping us become more aware.”
In this year-long course to be taught by Andrew Schaller, students will deep dive into how the human mind works.
“AP Psychology will cover a broader range of topics in greater depth. It includes 14 units such as research methods, biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, learning, cognition, and disorders. The goal is to provide a college-level understanding of psychology,” he said. “It will be available from sophomore to senior year.”
The content of AP Psychology is applicable to a plethora of different career paths students could choose to pursue, according to Schaller.
“Nursing, education, criminal justice, business and healthcare fields mostly all require psychology as a general education requirement,” he said. “I believe it is important to offer our students the opportunity to begin working on their career pathway. Offering AP Psychology allows students to begin building their skills and understanding in their fields of interest. This course also connects closely with our medical careers program run by Mrs. Schilling.”
Junior Linsey Koslowski believes that this course is also relevant through a social lens.
“There are so many ways you take your understanding of psychology and apply it to the real world,” she said. “Taking AP Psychology will help me understand how people think and act, which can help me communicate better and relate to others in a sympathetic way.”
Television and Society, the other new course on the table, will focus on finding ways to apply social issues and history to another familiar aspect of life: television, according to Allen.
“This class is going to use TV as a springboard to looking at social issues,” he said. “This can help students understand the history of a time period through TV shows you have heard of or your parents watched.”
The course will be taught by John Burke, who went into detail regarding what Television and Society has to offer.
“It’s a semester class, and worth half a credit. It’s going to focus on sociology, but there will also be a history component as we look at the changes of how American life and different groups were portrayed through the medium of television,” he said. “For instance, we might compare how the theme of family is presented in old ‘50s black-and-white shows like Leave it to Beaver and later shows like Modern Family and programs that are on today.”
In an era where the media contributes to how people analyze the world around them, Burke argues that this class brings television and social issues together in a relevant light.
“A lot of students ask ‘Why do I have to know this?’ Well, here is how you see this in everyday life, when watching a movie or reading a book,” he said. “ It’s about understanding the writer’s commentary and their lens.”
by Phoebe Fletcher
Published February 3rd, 2025
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue IV