The Social Science Department and IUSD are no longer offering separate honors classes for Global Perspectives this year. Instead, all students, no matter their ability, will be combined at the same entrance level for Global Perspectives. If students wish, they may still achieve the Honors title on their transcripts by completing enriching work on their studies, such as reporting on a historical document or book.

“Students from all levels bring something special to the table,” Jane Koch, an AP US History and Global Perspectives teacher, said. “For me, a big indicator of success isn’t how well students did in previous classes, but rather their work ethic.”

One of the main goals UHS staff wanted to achieve by implementing this new system, in the spirit of unity and honoring more students’ perspectives, was allowing their students to achieve more.

“By giving students the same entrance level where they will receive the same introductory history class, students can decide for themselves whether or not they wish to move onto an AP or CP class the next year,” Koch said.

For some, this new change may seem drastically different compared to the original way Global Perspective classes used to be run, but many UNI staff members say otherwise.

“To us, instructionally, we [Global Perspective teachers] don’t notice a gigantic change from last year when we separated CP and Honors students,” Koch said. “We see more students engaged in the material, more interested in learning, and more of a team mindset in our classes, which was so hard to achieve last year when we were online.”

The positive results UNI staff members are seeing in their classrooms because of the change seem to outweigh the methods of the original system.

“This has been a confidence booster, especially when students see more of their peers raising their hands.” Michelle Benham, a student teacher currently teaching Global Perspectives, said. “The confidence of the students at the CP level has gone through the roof, boosting participation by so much.”

Overall, UHS staff has shown much appreciation for this new system, and their students also seem to have similar appreciative regards.