This year, Mount Michael added a new class to its list of courses that are offered for students. Social studies teacher Mr. John Roshone ’99 and the Mount Michael administration made the decision to add A.P. African American Studies to his class list.
Prior to the 2024-2025 school year, Roshone taught A.P. Human Geography as a class offered for seniors. Last year, Roshone made the decision to drop A.P. Human Geography and replace it.
Roshone said that Human Geography was more about a wide range of topics that included politics and economics and was less about history. Roshone also commented that it was a good class to teach but the time for a new class had arrived.
Roshone said that he was “very excited” to begin teaching his new class this year. “It’s good to have a true diversity class offered,” he said. Prior to the class starting, he had to research all the new topics and familiarize himself with the content of the course. He said that many of the topics the course covers are briefly covered in U.S. History, so he had “some knowledge regarding many of the events and individuals that are key knowledge for the course.” Nevertheless, he said that the biggest challenge to switching classes was getting to know all the little details and important historical figures that make up the complex history of African Americans and their culture. As the school year approached, Roshone felt that he was well prepared to take on the class.
Roshone said the most unique part of the class is the three-week long project that students in the class worked on prior to the end of the first semester. The students found a topic that they liked and spent time diving into the impact that it had on the African American community. Will Storbeck ‘25 said, “I like the freedom of topic choice that we had. I got to pick a topic that I was genuinely interested in.”
Through extensive research, they put together a visual presentation of their findings. According to Roshone, “It was something unique and different that I think the students did a great job with.”
Another interesting part of this project is that it will be part of the A.P. test at the end of the year. Peter Killeen ‘25 said, “I had never done anything like it before and am excited to see how it correlates to the A.P. test.”
“Teaching this class has taught me as much as I have taught my students”
-History Teacher John Roshone ’99
Reflecting on the first semester, Roshone noted that the seniors in A.P. African American Studies did a fantastic job staying engaged in the class and actively participating. “Teaching this class has taught me as much as I have taught my students,” he stated.
With just a couple of months left in the school year, the “senioritis” trend has been slowly creeping up Roshone shared. Regardless, Roshone feels that his students will continue to be active in class and will find success with the A.P. test at the end of the school year.
