While I love the broad brush that AP World History paints of the last 10,000 years, it is beginning to be extremely limiting. In my college prep class, I spend about six weeks talking about the origins of democratic thought, the Enlightenment, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the wars for independence in Latin America. Even that amount of time isn’t enough.
In AP World History, I am facing covering all of those topics, plus the rise of nationalism, the unification of Italy and Germany, and several smaller themes related to revolutionary ideas – all in a week. Obviously it can’t be done. I will touch upon the Enlightenment, do a short simulation on the writing of the Declaration of Independence, and then do a comparison on the Legacy of the French and American Revolutions. My students will have to learn the rest from the textbook. Good luck.
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