March is that wonderful time of the year when the stress of course selection finally starts to kick in for students.
But students will notice some new changes on the course selection sheet this spring while picking their courses.
Honors Modern East Asian History, AP World History and Peer Counseling are the three new courses being offered at Cal High next school year.
AP European History and Intro to Business teacher Chris Doherty will be teaching Honors Modern East Asian History, which is a relatively new history course that mainly focuses on the history of modern China, Korea and Japan.
“I believe that this class provides opportunities for students to discover new global perspectives,” said Doherty, who has a master’s degree in East Asian History. “I also think that this course would be nice to add to the other various history courses Cal High offers.”
Honors Modern East Asian History is geared toward rising juniors and seniors, and Doherty recommends that students take another AP history class before enrolling in his new class.
Sophomore Sophia Yin plans to take the new class during her senior year.
“I’m really looking forward to it, since the history taught in school is usually very European and American centric,” Yin said.
The first semester of the course will cover East Asian history up to World War II, while the second semester will focus on events following World War II. The course will address the growth of Imperial Japan, Republican China, the Korean War, Qing China, and Late Tokugawa and Early Meij.
Students also will analyze samurai journals and historical films, while sharpening their critical thinking skills and debating about the rise of powerful leaders and technological innovations.
“If you want to do history right, you got to spend more time on it,” Doherty said, “so I think having a class dedicated to East Asian History will be beneficial.”
Another new history class being added to the course offering in the fall is AP World History, which will be taught by AP US History teacher Daniel Sweetnam. The new course will now give rising sophomores the ability to select from two AP history courses. AP European History is the other course available to sophomores.
“The general idea of adding [AP World History] was that it would be more relatable and interesting to our diverse student body,” Sweetnam said.
Sweetnam said he is beyond excited to teach the course, as he’s enjoyed teaching AP United States History to juniors. Since this is his first time teaching AP World History, Sweetnam is delighted to learn new history with his students.
The course will cover a comparative analysis of regions across the world, Sweetnam said. Students also will learn about colonialism, industrialization, imperialism, and world wars.
“We will compare civilizations around the world, and then see how they develop and where changes happen” Sweetnam said.
Freshman Samaira Buti is planning to enroll in AP World History next year because she wants to gain a broader outlook about the world regions.
“It will be fun to learn about other countries’ history, and study the economic, social, political and cultural changes that have shaped the world,” Buti said.
Sweetnam strongly believes that providing more courses will help align with students’ future career goals and academic interests, and enable them to discover new interests.
Moving away from the history department, a new Peer Counseling class is being offered by Christina Haaverson, who teaches English 10 and positive psychology. The class is intended to make all students feel welcome and like they belong at school.
“This class is about giving students training they need to counsel their peers for normal everyday issues that go around at school,” Haaverson said. “Those include feelings of stress, anxiety, testing, breakups, and friendship issues. Students will get hands-on training to deal with these issues.”
Haaverson said the class is a perfect fit for students wanting to pursue a career in therapy, social work, education, and law because they’ll be working on conflict resolution.
“We found that students are more willing to open up and talk to their peers,” Haaverson said. “We are looking for a group of students who display empathy, like giving advice, being a good listener, and can maintain confidentiality.”
Students interested in the course must complete an application and interview with the campus social worker. Some teachers also recommend their students to apply for the program.
“We really need to make sure that students can maintain confidentiality because you have to be able to keep whatever your peers say an absolute secret,” Haaverson said. “After they have confided with you about their problems, you can’t go around and spread the gossip, so we are really careful while picking out our student counselors.”
Haaverson is excited about the new class because her teaching methods are derived from her background in teaching Cal’s Positive Psychology class. She has also taken Greater Good Science Center courses at UC Berkeley and psychology courses at Yale. She has also obtained a Social Emotional Learning and Trauma certificate.
“When the school asked me if I would be interested in teaching it, I immediately jumped on board and it was really good,” Haaverson said.
The peer counseling program has been around for a long time at other high schools.
“A lot of staff here have had this course in their high school, so this has been around for quite some time,” Haaverson said.
Assistant principal Tiffany Zammit went to school in Half Moon Bay and said she enjoyed the peer counseling program and wanted to incorporate the program at Cal as well.
“The peer counseling program at my school was awesome and the counselors and teachers that oversaw the class did a great job collaborating with student clubs to implement and expand the class,” Zammit said.
Zammit feels the course made a big difference at her high school since students approached the class with a great deal of thoughtfulness and care.
“I know our Cal High team is going to do the same,” Zammit said.
Junior Sophia Lomando was recommended by a teacher to apply for this program. She also heard about this class and thought it was a cool experience for students to have.
“I am very excited about taking this course next year,” Lomando said. “I think this class will be an amazing opportunity to help people at school.”
Lomando also thinks the course helps students because it can be easier to connect and talk to someone your own age compared to school counselors, who are adults.
“I personally want to be a school counselor and saw this as a good opportunity to gain real-life experience,” Lomando said.
Haaverson hopes the program grows in the future to encompass different levels of counselors. She believes it will make a difference for students struggling with mental health issues.
“We want to make individuals feel safe, included, and feel like they’re part of a community,” Haaverson said.