The benefits of being able to learn and increase your knowledge in psychology while gaining credits for college are gone, at least in the state of Florida.
As of this year the Florida Education Department has decided to effectively ban the AP psych course due to new content that has been added.
Florida Education’s Department does not agreement with this added content, and will only approve of the course if this material is excluded. Removing these topics would make taking the test impossible. The controvesial topics focus on gender identity which has recently become at hotly debated issue in what are often referred to as culture wars.
According to College Board, a non-profit organization that provides AP classes and SAT testing, the material in question had already been in the curriculum for over 30 years. The only difference, they maintain, is that particular unit has been expanded. The reason on why they decided to broaden this section are due to societal changes, and more closely following college-level curriculum offered at various universities.
It is possible to take the class regardless of the ban; Florida educators only have to exclude that content. This makes it impossible for students to be able to receive the credit for the class as they will be unaware of a whole section when taking the test. For this reason, it makes it easier for schools to simply eliminate the course.
It is important to remember that the Florida Department is not discouraging the teaching of Psychology as it is. The importance of AP Psychology is clear and essential as it is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the Medical or Social Services fields. It is also an interesting class as students further their understanding of themselves as well as others.
Despite the ban, students interested in understanding the fundamentals of psychology can still enroll in a conventional course that teaches the key ideas. AP classes are intended to be taken for credit and to move ahead in college; nevertheless, interested students may still learn the fundamentals if they wish not to fall behind in this particular academic field.
