Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 27, 1994 TAG: 9405270080
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: CURRENT EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By MARA LEE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Their smiles grew wider and wider as they gestured and talked over each other in their admiration for Karen Coston. She knows everything they said with awe. She has a master's degree in third world nations' economies. She's certified to teach AP Calculus.
Several of the AP teachers at Blacksburg High have groupies.
At first glance, you'd think these teachers would be most hated, not most loved. Coston, by her own admission, assigned 54 readings, four thesis papers and nine tests last year.
But it's that toughness that earns the students' respect.
La Berge attributed part of the quality to the small size of most of her five AP classes. Her 10th-grade honors English class was 33 students; in contrast, her AP English in 11th grade was 16.
"The personalization is so inspirational," Tze said. "You learn to love what you're learning."
The AP program, college-level classes offered in Montgomery County High schools, is becoming a victim of its own success, however, as several of the classes become as large as regular classes.
The science APs are still quite small, partly because several of them run for two periods a day. Tze can definitely tell the difference between his AP chemistry class with about a dozen students and the 27-student AP calculus.
"With 30 kids rather than 14, you see people who don't generally speak up - but should - not speak up," he said.
As the science classes grow, lab pairs become lab trios and lab quartets. Less aggressive students often get left out. Tze said his chemistry teacher has noticed those left out are often female students.
In large classes, just as the teacher's individual coaching often has to take place during her "free time," so peer tutoring spills past the bounds of class as well.
When the third period ending beep sounded in AP calculus, Tze, Aaron Lee, who commutes from Shawsville to attend BHS, and another student gathered over a graph, talking about parabolas. "But the natural law curve isn't always defined!" Lee protested passionately.
He ran after Tze in the hall to argue over g of x.
Because of that extra student motivation and the skill of the teachers, senior Michael Johnson thinks the large classes are fine.
Tze disagreed. Students know requirements are getting cut when teachers have classes bursting at the seams. "What they're telling [AP teachers] is you're not allowed to give this much work."
by CNB