My Tryout for American History AP

I tried out for the History AP class. Didn't make it. I attended high school in a district that strongly encourage honors courses and AP credit, graduating in 1975. The "fireworks" though go back to my freshman year, Academic 1971-2 when A teacher we'll call "Mrs. O" was my homeroom teacher. Luck of the draw and she was my European History teach in Academic Year 1972-3.

Those "fireworks" were in November 1972. At the beginning of my freshman year.September 1971, my father had a major operation for cancer which later turned out to be unsuccessful. I had major social and adjustment problems that particular year.

Fast forward to sophomore year, 1972-3. That year I was far better adjusted socially. In fact, Mrs. O remarked on that to my band teacher. Notwithstanding her being impressed, when she met my mother and (soon to be deceased) natural father at parent-teacher night that November, the meeting did not go well. In fact, from what I heard later they nearly came to blows, though my father was by nature a peaceful, accomplished professional. In April 1973 I sat for a written exam to get into AP History. Almost alone among the people who sat for the test, I was not admitted to the AP courses. I did take other Honors-level history in Fall 1973, Spring 1974 and Fall 1974. The Fall 1974 course was taught by the department chair, Mr. R. This is significant as the story develops. I received my early decision acceptance to Cornell just before Christmas 1974.

Spring 1975 was thus a leisurely semester. My mother suggested that I take the AP American History exam. I asked "why waste the money" on the test, since I was not in the course. She said "just take it." I found the test almost ridiculously easy.

After graduation, that summer, when I returned to my local town for a summer band concert, Mr. R, the department chair, pulled me aside and said he needed to talk to me. That was strange since I already held my diploma. He said "I wanted you to know, you got a '5' (a perfect score) on the AP exam, but please don't make too big a deal of it." I told my mother the good news along with the strange request "not to make too big a deal of it." My mother told me about Mrs. O's hoedown with my father, and thought he didn't want a story about the obvious discrimination to appear in the local paper. In any event I had no intention of spreading ill will in my hometown as I was leaving for college. That turned out to be a wise decision.