The Four Person AP Euro Class: The Breakfast Club of Hills?
December 22, 2022
What’s one thing that The Beatles, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Wayne Hills AP European History class have in common? That’s right–they’re all four person groups.
Three juniors, one sophomore, and a teacher walk into an AP Euro classroom. What sounds like the beginning of an unfortunate joke is the reality of the only AP Euro class at Wayne Hills.
But how did this happen? More importantly–how does an introvert survive in a class like this?
“I guess people just dropped the class over the summer,” explained junior Sanem Furtun. She’s one of the four students who take the class, and was shocked to realize that the class would even be running.
In AP European History, students learn about the sociopolitical developments throughout European history from the 1400s to present time. It is an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in different cultures, and to widen their perspectives. Learning in such an intimate environment helps students learn the dense history.
However, the status of the class was shaky at the beginning of the year.
“I was kind of scared because I thought it would be canceled at some point during the middle of the school year. And I really didn’t want to take AP stats,” said sophomore Imane Chenni. She’s the only sophomore in the class, but said that she felt comfortable sharing her opinions in the small group. “The workload is difficult but manageable,” she elaborated. The three other students shared this sentiment.
“I was a bit concerned about how it might not be as dynamic a setting given the small size, but I am lucky to have a strong group who are not shy about speaking,” Mr Turso said. He is the instructor of the four students, and is basically the head of the Breakfast Club quintet.
“It’s my favorite class because I love European history, and the class is small enough so we can interact more with the teacher and the subject,” said junior Emily Kozak.
But the class isn’t just a walk in the park. They definitely go through some tangible, truly real hardships too.
“We don’t start class sometimes because the subs are convinced that kids are skipping class!” said Chenni. “No one believes that a class of this size exists.” One can only imagine the wild conversations that happened in the AP Euro group chat that day.
“There was a day where I was the only one in the class. I was a little embarrassed, but Turso was a good sport about it. He laughed it off and I basically had a private lesson,” said junior Harris Nahez.
It’s certainly a strange situation to be in.
“Imagine having to choose a partner for group projects. You really can’t afford to be picky in situations like this,” said Sanem. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
So now that you’ve read about the experiences of the four students, how would you feel? Would you take this class?
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Amanda Horn • Dec 23, 2022 at 11:09 AM
I think that this small class is so unique and it gives you a new perspective on learning in class!
Isabelle • Dec 23, 2022 at 10:00 AM
I find it interesting how this class has only 4 people in it, it seems as though there could be a lot of closer interaction with the teacher in a class size that small. Was the class originally going to be a small number of people or was it supposed to be a much larger class?
Sean • Dec 23, 2022 at 9:29 AM
In film studies this year, I enjoyed the movie the breakfast club and find it funny that there is only 4 people in this class. I recommend the movie to all that has not watched it
Shashank Venkatesh • Dec 23, 2022 at 9:18 AM
I find it kind of cool that this 4 person’s class exists. It seems that the students are fine with it because they all love the subject. I feel that if it was a general education class for some math or science or English, a 4 person class would not be ideal because it would just be inefficient at that point.
Ryleigh T • Dec 23, 2022 at 9:17 AM
I didn’t realize that there was a class this small in are school. I think it’s really cool because with such a small class size you can have more one-on-one attention.
Noor R • Dec 23, 2022 at 9:13 AM
I never knew there was a 4 person class in our school, I find it so cool how the class still runs and how it most likely builds good learning skills since there’s less people to teach!
Moksha M • Dec 23, 2022 at 8:37 AM
This is so cool, I did not know that they ran classes with 4 people! They probably became such good friends through this situation.
Brynn Buckley • Dec 23, 2022 at 8:37 AM
This is kind of a chaotic circumstance, but it seems like the very small class size could be very beneficial here! Especially with a tougher class like this one, it seems important that the teacher is able to work one-on-one with the students.
Ryan C • Dec 23, 2022 at 8:23 AM
It is interesting thinking about how a class could become that size and if any others could as well. Depending on the person this could be a positive and give a closer connection to the teacher.
Samuel S • Dec 23, 2022 at 8:45 AM
I believe that this should help the students with their scores on the AP Exam. The fact that the students are closer with their instructor should allow them to help better understand the information. I could also see how this could be bad for the teacher because they might feel like the student body does not enjoy his classes. Either way, I find this quite interesting.