Starting next year, a proposed Advanced Placement (AP) Comparative Government and Politics course could potentially be offered to students. This course would fill the second semester of the Advanced Mock Trial and Debate class, and was available for students to forecast for this year. Covering a variety of subjects, including the political systems of six different countries, the new course could enhance the Franklin law Program, known for their hard work and determination.
From Intro to Law, to the debate club, to mock trial, Franklin Law offers a diverse set of opportunities. The primary law course that is offered for students at Franklin is Intro to Law: Know Your Rights, which covers an introduction of the civil system and the basics of your legal rights. This course is available to freshmen through seniors. Two years ago, Intro to Law stopped being a prerequisite class for other law courses, meaning students were no longer required to take the introductory course before taking other law classes such as Mock Trial.
Franklin Law is largely led by the widely-known, highly-adored teacher, Brian Halberg — known to students as Mr. Halberg. David Marsh runs the Constitutional Law program, and Portia Hall currently teaches Intro to Law, although next year she will be taking over the constitutional side of things.
Recently, Halberg proposed this new addition of the AP law course. The AP Comparative Government course would include a semester of Advanced Mock Trial in the fall, and the class would focus on preparation for the AP exam in the spring. Halberg shares, “The class will study the social [and] political systems of governments and current event issues of six countries, including Nigeria, Iran, Mexico, China, the UK, and Russia.”
The possibility of this new course hangs in the air, since it’s not yet confirmed if it will be joining Franklin. Halberg shares that in order for the course to officially join the school’s AP class list, enough students must enroll in the course for the class to be able to function. There is not a set number, but administration needs to know that there will be high enough enrollment to justify assigning full-time equivalent (FTE) — a measurement of hours an employee works — to it. If not enough students forecast for the course, it will not be brought to Franklin.
Lucy Warren, a junior at Franklin, hasn’t taken any law classes yet, but she is a member of the debate club. “From what I’ve seen, the debate program is very welcoming. New people have joined pretty much every meeting since the beginning of the year,” says Warren. She continues, “The debate coaches have always been so excited that there’s more people joining and have made sure that the new people get all of the same information.” When introduced to the possibility of AP Comparative Government coming to Franklin, Warren shares that she had not yet heard about it, however it sounds intriguing.
Amrita DeDoncker, a fellow junior and member of the Franklin debate and mock trial team, states: “Being part of both mock trial and debate has shown me a sense of community I would have not otherwise known, which I’ve been extremely grateful to be a part of. Through the Franklin Law program I’ve made new friends, but also strengthened the relationships with people I’ve already known.” When informed about the possibility of an AP Comparative Government class, DeDoncker responds with enthusiasm, saying they personally know many people who would find interest in this new course proposal.
Along with DeDoncker and Warren, Co-Class President Keats Henderson, a member of the Franklin law program and the debate club, states: “The law program means a great path to learn more about the law and, more importantly, the trial procedure. It means practice for a future law career if it so interests me and an opportunity to put any legal talents of mine to more engaging and more interesting use.” Henderson continues by saying that the law program is very important to many people at Franklin and that he is sure many people would “eagerly” take a more difficult law course. “I would absolutely take an … AP Comparative Gov[ernment] course and would even be willing to take a full year worth of it. I strongly recommend it,” Henderson concludes.
The addition of this AP opportunity would enhance the law program here at Franklin and many students have shown interest in the opportunity; however, the Franklin Law program will remain strong regardless of whether the potential new course ends up joining the school.
