Some classes Park offers have prerequisites, although some classes don’t require them. The requirement should depend on what course it is. If the class is math, for example, algebra should be a required prerequisite for an AP Precalculus or later courses (as it already is). If the class is an elective, it should not be required; rather an educational decision by the student.
Students should be able to decide whether they want to take the prerequisite for certain classes. As said above, certain core classes may require prior knowledge to understand the information. In other cases, it could hinder learning if a student wants to take the class right away but isn’t able to because they have to take a prerequisite. If the prerequisite isn’t available for their grade, or the student isn’t interested in the prerequisite option, but wants to take the class, or for many other reasons, this can be problematic. As one example, classes such as ICL are required courses. This does not have a prerequisite class, but it is required for freshman students to take. If it’s not something that directly needs to be done to further understand the course being taken, it can also take away time for students’ other studies or for the class they could be taking. This can help students who want to deeply understand concepts, which could be a good idea, especially if they want to major in that subject or gain additional credit.
Prerequisite classes should be offered at Park as an optional pathway for students, but there should be a mandatory pathway for certain classes. Advanced coursework generally requires a fundamental knowledge of certain topics that will be further discussed in the other classes. For example, IB Biology HL (International Baccalaureate Biology Higher Level) needs to be taken before you can take the second year of the course. This is because if you went straight to the second year, it wouldn’t make sense. After all, it explains a deeper understanding of the concepts you would have learned in the prerequisite class. Park would be just fine keeping the course catalog the way it is regarding that piece, while adding some prerequisite classes for core classes specifically would be a generous idea to learn fundamental knowledge. Creative classes, or electives, do not need to require them.
On the other hand, some classes don’t need to require prerequisites, like elective classes. For example, Pottery 2 or Drawing/Illustration, mixed media, etc. The same goes for woodworking classes and other art electives. These are creative classes, and although prior knowledge might be needed, it’s more of an exploratory class. While an Intro to Art class or a Pottery 1 class may help with fundamental knowledge, people can generally catch up and save time in their year by taking the other class. On the other hand, some IB classes require prerequisites. For example, if a student is at their senior year in high school and wants to take a class, but doesn’t have time for the introductory class, this could prevent them from pursuing this in college because they don’t have the fundamental knowledge or at the very least won’t give the student the credit for the course in high school or college.
I understand the other side as well of the costs it would entail by requiring these classes, although also offering benefits to teachers who may end up getting many questions that could be answered from the previous course. It also requires countless more teachers to teach those classes. This can involve hiring issues, time management, and budget issues. Although it would be more expensive to hire more teachers for these classes, it is an important option to have for Park students.
