The Overemphasis of STEM at Hamilton

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Peyton Impola

AP Calculus is one of the most daunting courses offered at Hamilton. It seems that the class lives in infamy, with its hard tests, massive amounts of homework, and high expectations. However, the class does have a 100% pass rate on the AP Exam. Students also have a deeper understanding of math than they do in any other math class. The class is challenging, there's no doubt about it, but it is also incredibly rewarding. Students who enroll in the class have a deeper understanding of the concepts than they do in any other class. 

Exactly the same could be said for AP Literature. While former students agree the course is challenging, they also believe that it is incredibly valuable, and offers students long term skills that have applications outside of the classroom. Like AP Calculus, Hamilton historically has a very high pass rate on the AP Literature exam–just last year, 100% of students passed the exam.

By all intents and purposes, the two classes seem like they would both be very popular at our school, with Calculus serving the math-minded individuals and Literature catering to the humanities crowd. 

However, that isn’t the case. 

As a matter of fact, AP Literature is a struggling course. Last year, enrollment was so low it was split into a skinny block–a grave mistake according to the students in that class–and this year, enrollment was low enough that students were given no option but an independent study through an online school. AP Calc, on the other hand, is flourishing, with three classes, and roughly seventy students enrolled, it seems that the class is as popular as ever and will have no trouble finding students to fill the class next year. 

The question is: Why does AP Literature have such low enrollment numbers? In their respective fields, the classes have similar difficulty levels. The AP exam pass rate for both courses is relatively similar with Calc having a national pass rate of 50.4%  and Literature having a national pass rate of 43.8%. Perhaps the problem isn’t the content of the course, but how each course is advertised. A recent survey was conducted among members of the HHS student body. The survey asked respondents when they were made aware that Hamilton offered AP Lit & AP Calc, respectively. The results are astounding. According to the survey, roughly 51% of respondents knew that Hamilton offered AP Calculus before they even entered high school. Comparatively, only 16.9% of students knew that AP Literature was an offered course before they entered high school. 

The fact of the matter is that Hamilton does not seem to value humanities as much as STEM. Just last spring, students were tasked with recruiting enough students for the class to run. Unfortunately, they were unable to do so, and were stuck fighting for a way to take the class. Ultimately, the counselor aided these students and allowed them to take AP Literature as an online class. 

One of these students, Jasleen Kaur, stated, “It was frustrating because I didn’t end up getting a proper opportunity because other people didn’t want to do it, even though we have run classes with fewer students.” 

Another student, Bronwyn Rhoades, expressed, “It feels like Calc is pushed by teachers, students, advisors, and more while it is up to the students to push Lit, which is a big responsibility for students to have.” Students should not have to fight for the ability to take a class they feel is essential to their education. There are already limited options for students who are seeking AP Communication Arts classes, and the school should not stand as another barrier in their way. 

Students are not the only ones with opinions on this issue. Mr. Holloway and Mr. Nysse, who have both taught AP Literature at Hamilton, both responded to interview requests on the topic of AP Literature. 

Can you give an overview of the history of AP Literature at HHS?

Mr. Holloway: When I started here a decade ago, if my memory serves me, there were roughly two sections of AP Lit with 30-40 students. The class was run by Ms. Figueroa. Students took it more seriously back then, even attending after school and Saturday morning study sessions. As the school added more advanced math options and AP classes in social studies and science, those numbers were cut drastically and the class was discontinued. Two years ago, Mr. Nysse and I revived it, but Nysse became the sole teacher of it last year when it was condensed from a two semester class to a one semester class that ran during the band block.

What do you think accounts for the recent trend of this class not having enough enrolled students to run?

Mr. Nysse: I think students have a lot of options for senior year. I hope that allowing juniors to take it will help next year. I feel like English is not a priority in the minds of many students. If you look at places like Madison, they emphasize “upper level” math as a requirement and just say 4 years of English. 

Do you think this trend is Hamilton specific or a nationwide trend of pushing STEM over humanities?

Mr. Holloway: Ever since the Russians launched Sputnik and beat us to space (and further amplified by 1983’s Nation At Risk, the Bush Administration’s “No Child Left Behind,” and Obama’s “Race to the Top”) the nation has been investing in STEM education at an incredible rate. There are good reasons for it, but there is a lot of discussion about the best way to allocate those resources. UW-Madison’s John Rudolph made this a point of emphasis of his research and has an upcoming book on the topic, Why We Teach Science (and Why We Should), for anyone interested. I've heard him argue against intensely specialized and high-concept STEM courses for ones that make the general population better critical consumers of STEM information, as a practical way to combat the misinformation and misconceptions about science and medicine that are becoming more prevalent in society. 

What skills does AP Lit provide students with that will be useful in their post-secondary education? 

Mr. Nysse: I think interpretation of higher level texts is essential. Also, the ability to recognize patterns, symbols, themes, and be able to write in complex ways are other skills. The ability to know when you’ve written well is important because there are not always standards and rubrics in college to tell you how you’re doing. 

What would you say to convince students to take AP Literature in the future? 

Mr. Nysse: I think the most important thing to do is start early. Students need to find the love of reading and literature by seeing the values in the stories we tell. Additionally, students need to understand that they will be expected to take classes in college that are reading intensive and require them to engage in the interpretation of complex texts. These skills are essential not only to get through college, but also excel in the workplace. The ability to digest complexity and problem solve go hand in hand. As I mentioned above, I think allowing students to take the class junior year might help. 

Perhaps the blame of this issue does not only lie with the school. It is extremely evident that in our nation, STEM is valued higher than the humanities. There may be larger scale factors that are responsible for the decline in enrollment in AP Literature here at Hamilton. Regardless of the outside factors affecting our courses, I believe that AP Literature deserves better. The course allows students to develop skills of thematic analysis, comlex interpretation, and basic skills for being a good reader. If you are interested in AP Literature for next year, start right now and begin to convince your classmates to also take the course. It will not run if there are not enough students. It will take a long time to undo the larger societal implications about STEM vs humanities, but that doesn’t mean you can’t begin that change here, at Hamilton High School. For now, I implore you to take AP Literature, as it is an incredibly valuable class, and is underrated at our school.