AP Art History Class Reviews for Class taught by Mary Lanctot

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AP Art History Course Review by Josh Kitamura, May 17 2005 at 00:25:58

AP Art History is quite possibly one of the most demanding courses I have ever taken. This is not to say the course is bad in any way, but this year I have delved into more pages of a text book, written page upon page of essays and learned so many images that just thinking about it makes my head spin. If you or your student is not up for a challenging (but not remotely impossible!) year of work, then AP Art History may not be for you. If, on the other hand, you are up for a challenge then please read on and hear about what all this work produced in this art history student.

Looking back over the year now that the AP test has passed by, I must say I am very impressed with how well prepared I was for the AP Art History test. The scope of the material is incredibly vast and the AP test could easily cover a number of various artistic periods, styles and cultures. Yet the text and the study course used in the AP Art History class seems to have nailed every important aspect while keeping things as manageable as possible. As to how much time all this work might take in an average week (it does vary between easier and harder weeks) I would take a rough estimate of about 4-5 hours reading, 1-2 hour studying, 1-2 hour on weekly quizzes and essays and 1-2 hour on various other weekly assignments. It can be tough at times, especially when other infrequent assignments are added to a normal week's work, but it is not beyond accomplishment. I should ask a question of prospective students though, do you like writing? AP Art History is a course that deals in analyzing works of art by their style, culture and time period and you will need to learn how to communicate those points effectively through essay writing. This course requires many written assignments so that you receive more then enough practice though. This is especially important not only for reinforcing the learning, but also to prepare for the many essays on the AP test which account for 60% of your AP grade. I will note that the material is extremely well presented and it is doubtable that you will have any trouble learning the concepts and connections found in art history. And even if there was something you were having trouble figuring out, worry not for the AP teacher, Mrs. Lanctot, was always more then happy to help out with an explanation. This course does demand much work when it comes to reading and writing, but all that time put into the subject pays great dividends come test time.

One of the benefits that I gained from taking this course was not only a greater understanding of art, but also a much increased appreciation of art. This course through its instruction really illuminates the finer connections art and architecture have with the culture in which they were created, points that are easily overlooked browsing over works without having studied their history. I was even surprised to learn much about the mysterious and strange artistic styles that have developed in modern years. Not only that, but you are able to watch the development of art from the earliest periods up through modern times. With all this knowledge, you cannot help but develop a greater appreciation and fascination for art.

One point I will note about AP Art History is that communication between students is greatly based on the students' willingness to participate. AP Art History does not require posting on the online message boards so that many students simply choose not to or to do so less. This doesn't mean that there is no communication between students though, I did communicate with a number of my fellow classmates over the year, with both art related discussion and simple friendly chat. There were also group study sessions facilitated by Mrs. Lanctot at the end of the year before the AP test using the AOL Instant Messenger service, these were highly educational as well as enjoyable. I don't think that the minimized level of communication greatly hindered learning though and many of the students were friendly and willing to help out as they could if you asked.

Again I say that AP Art History requires a great deal of work and you should know that going into the course. It is far from impossible, but enough to keep this course highly challenging. There is a great deal that you will be asked to learn and memorize. The more effort you put into your assignments and study, the more you'll take out in understanding and the more you'll be prepared for the AP test. A student that already has an interesting in history, art or both would probably take the most enjoyment from the course, but I don't think either quality is entirely necessary. Also, if you are hesitant to take this course because you do not have any history with art going into it, you need not worry as I don't believe you need this to do well in the course (I personally had nothing more then a passive enjoyment of seeing art going into the course and did not struggle because of that). I believe I would recommend this course to any student provided that they realize that it will require a great deal of work and dedication. Having completed the course and now waiting with confidence for my grades to arrive, I can easily say that I don't regret the time and effort this course has required. In fact, I am very glad I took AP Art History this year.

AP Art History Review by Jessica LeClair, June 06 2005 at 05:45:07

This is a truly excellent course! Mary Lanctot is a wonderful and enthusiastic teacher. She possesses an obvious love for art that spills over into her students. The amount of material seemed overwhelming and daunting at first, but through Mary’s encouragement and guidance, it became a joy to open my textbook every morning. Unlike in other courses I have taken, where the material seemed to disappear from my mind shortly after I took my final, I have been delighted on numerous occasions to realize how much I internalized from this course. Mary not only planted many priceless seeds of knowledge in my mind, but also fostered in me a love for art and its history. Every interaction I had with Mary was enjoyable and constructive. She is incredibly accessible, at times answering my questions sent to her in e-mails with a lengthy and thoughtful response in less than an hour.

This course requires a fair amount of independence and personal discipline. Mary has a deadline system, that I personally appreciated, but is not for everyone. All work, except for a handle of papers, is assigned at the beginning of the week and due on Friday. While this affords an aspect of flexibility and freedom, it is easy to fall behind, and leave too much work for the final few days of the week. Also, while Mary sets and announces deadlines, she will not be your parent and constantly follow up to make sure you are on target. She will post a message that alerts individuals to what work they need to complete and how late it already is, but overall she expects you to responsible and manage your time wisely.

This course is not for students who aren’t willing to apply themselves and put in a substantial effort. While during most of the year, I put in about 10-12 hours a week, as the exam approached I spent about 3-3.5 hours a day studying. There is a lot of memorization required! The course prepared me well for the exam, however, since AP Art History is less mainstream than other subject areas there are very few studying materials. It is pretty much up to the student (with help from Mary) to put together their own study plan by assembling various books, memorization aids, and other resources. This course is well suited to an organized, self-motivated student. Some people I have recommended this course to, have wondered whether a background in world history is required to excel in this course. An extensive knowledge of world events throughout history is definitely not required to do well in this course. A very general understanding of the major events in history, like World War I, World War II and the Holocaust, is sufficient.

The only element of this course that disappointed me was the lack of message board interaction between fellow students. Our online boards were pretty dead. Sometimes, it would be over a month between postings. One reason for this lack of interest in posting messages may have been that many of the students in the course were seniors, and busy with college preparation. Through the guided interactions I had with other students, like essay critiquing, thought provoking Discussion Questions, and other exercises, I found my classmates to be engaging and interesting. I don’t think my experience or the course suffered significantly from this lack of interaction. Overall, this was probably the most enjoyable and fulfilling course I have ever taken. I would highly recommend it to all!