In the first two weeks of May, high school students all over the country will sit for their AP Exams. Many students benefit from a comprehensive review of material and test-taking strategy prior to the test itself. Below is the schedule for this Spring's AP Exams. Click the links to the right to see available tutors who can help students prepare for these tests or search using location and subject at Tutorpedia.com! During March, sign up for small group review sessions of 2-3 students and receive 10% off group rates! AP Exam Schedule 2013
There seems to be a very distinct line drawn in the sand: either a topic is academic, or it isn't. Either it is worthy of serious scholarship, or it isn't. Knowing a lot about the Civil War is academic; knowing a lot about professional football is not. Being able to recite Shakespeare is academic; being able to recite 2Pac is not. Schools, in maintaining the traditional content areas (and distribution requirements) of English/Language Arts, Social Studies/History, Math, and Science, perpetuate this division. Some things, schools say, are worth knowing, and some things just aren't worth knowing.
Any one of us could make the argument that there are some things that are objectively not worth knowing. Generally speaking, though, each of us would make a case for something different that is not worth knowing. Some sorts of topics may be devoid of all relevance and meaning to my life (the life cycle and history of termites in Madagascar, for example), but that does not mean that everyone finds these topics so dry (Malagasi home builders and foragers). And conversely, some things that I know a lot about (vintage Fender guitar amplifiers) may be completely useless knowledge to the next person (my deaf 90-year-old neighbor). What school does, in effect, is tell us what is worth knowing and what isn't.
This world needs experts in all subjects. We who have never taken apart our car engine or bathroom sink understand this when they break down. But even car engines and indoor plumbing would be hard-pressed to find a home within traditional academics. These are the topics for shop class, an anachronistic fringe elective that has traditionally been there for those who have not done so well with their "academics."
One interesting thing to note is that this dichotomy of "academic" and "non-academic" quickly falls apart when we move past high school. In college, one quickly realizes, you can study anything. One friend of mine wrote about people that trade Grateful Dead tapes for his Master's Thesis, and another friend studied the reproductive habits of teenagers (she is now a Ph.D., who consults with the WHO about HIV prevention). Studying the reproductive habits of teenagers is a bit more...informal when you are in high school, but can become one's life's work. We even see respected scholars like Cornel West and Tricia Rose researching hip hop, which may make us think twice about just how academic 2Pac really is.
The truth is that anything is worth knowing if it brings meaning and understanding into our lives. At Tutorpedia, we ask: what have you ever wanted to learn? We expect that the answers will vary wildly, and we're preparing accordingly. Our tutors are experts in helping students better understand math, English, history, and science, but they are also in the process of putting together project-based learning experiences that will extend what is possible to learn beyond the borders of traditional academics. Soon, Tutorpedia workshops will allow students to polish their fiction writing skills, grow edible plants in an organic garden, find focus through meditation, perform live in a rock band, gain extra confidence and practice for the SAT or SSAT, explore the latest innovations in biotechnology, compose a photo essay, choreograph their own hip-hop dance routines, and more.
It's important to pass on knowledge, and much of the knowledge that we pass on in school is important. But let's not limit ourselves to just the "academics." Topics that nobody would suggest be studied in school can be just as legitimite and meaningful.
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