M-A made a substantial curriculum change in 2021, removing European history courses and in place requiring all sophomores to take a class about world history.
This change allowed AP teachers to teach more Asian history rather than focusing solely on Europe. Many Asian students appreciated seeing the new curriculum pay more attention to their cultural backgrounds.
Prior to this change, students had the option to take Modern European History or AP European History as their sophomore history class. Both Europe-focused courses were removed in 2022 and replaced with World History and AP World History. M-A replaced the required freshman World Studies class with Ethnic Studies a year prior, so all freshmen now take Ethnic Studies.
Collin Goel, who graduated from M-A in 2024 and took AP Euro as a sophomore, said his history courses at M-A did not sufficiently cover Asian history.
“There wasn’t enough focus on Asian students in the curriculum to really have diversity. We went over the Chinese government and the Chinese revolution in World Studies, but it was so lacking in depth,” Goel said.
“It is a bit of a shame, because it is nice to know where you come from and the roots of your ancestors,” Goel added. “It’s nice to see yourself represented in the class.”
The emphasis previously placed on European history may have prevented students from understanding the important roles of other civilizations. Not only is Asia the birthplace of many significant innovations and prevalent religions, but it also plays a crucial part in today’s economy.
AP World, on the other hand, brings more attention to Asia. “I definitely think there is a big emphasis on Asian history in the beginning of the class,” AP World teacher Amira Sani said. “I think that’s really cool. It’s not something that’s heavily covered in your mainstream history classes until you get into college.”
Asian history is also a prominent aspect of grade-level World History classes. “I teach about Japan, China, India, Vietnam and Korea,” World History teacher Jason Knowles said. “Asia gets a pretty heavy emphasis.”
“We can’t cover every single ethnic group. Japan, China, and India get the most heavy doses, but we cover a little bit of the history of Korea and a little bit of the history of the Philippines,” he added.
Since the switch to AP World, Asian students interviewed have said they are satisfied with the class’s coverage of Asian history. “The class is focused on learning enough for the AP test, but I think I got a good understanding of a wide range of Asian history,” senior and Asian Culture Club Vice-President Claire Chang said.
One student also said she appreciates how her teacher allowed her to research her own family’s history. “There’s history that we’ve learned on our own based on our family or where they’re from,” junior Sumiko Robinson said. “When it comes to AP World History, I think it covers a lot. I’m satisfied.”
Chang also acknowledged that taking Chinese as a world language elective deepens her knowledge of her own culture. “I learned a lot about culture, calligraphy, and Chinese artists, as well as Chinese foods and holidays,” she said.
Some students still wish the curriculum was more diverse but understand the difficulty of incorporating more perspectives. “I would have liked to see more history about Taiwan and other minority countries that didn’t get covered,” senior Heidi Chen said. “But I think it’s just hard to fit it all in. If regular World History did that, I probably would have taken it.”
Though she was generally satisfied with its Asian history curriculum, Chang had some criticisms of AP World. “In AP history classes, you aren’t really incentivized to truly understand Asian cultures and perspectives. You’re trying to get a five on the AP test, and that often means choosing to have a broader understanding of the history over really diving deep into it,” she said.
“It’s really hard when you have other things you have to focus on as well,” she added.
There are also ways to learn about Asian culture at M-A beyond history classes. “Besides taking Mandarin in school, I would definitely say you could join the Asian Culture Club or Chinese Culture Club,” Chang said. Through these clubs, members can learn about Asian culture by watching movies, eating traditional snacks, and celebrating cultural festivals like Lunar New Years.
