Here at Hamilton High School, you have the option to take 23 different AP courses (Advanced Placement). Many of those classes are extremely difficult and packed full of homework. Human Geography should be one of your class choices throughout your 3-year journey here at Hamilton. I believe this for two main reasons; Human Geography is a fantastic introductory-level AP class, and the information and thought process that Human Geography teaches you is extremely useful for the rest of your life.
When I first selected AP Human Geography as my elective for 10th grade I was not excited whatsoever for the class, and truthfully, the first weeks in Mr. Metro’s class were not particularly exciting. But to my delightful surprise, slowly but surely, I began to appreciate Human Geography for what it was, and the course turned out to be a perfect intro to AP, meaning that there was definitely a challenge when it came to tests and quizzes but it wasn’t the type of class to make you consider dropping out. The homework level is adequate, hardly any projects, and the material doesn’t require any prior knowledge to comprehend.
Human Geography, according to dartmouth.edu, is “the study of interrelationships between people, place, and environment, and how these vary spatially and temporally across and between locations.” This definition may seem like a mouthful, and truthfully it is, but it can be broken down into units. Those units being the seven main ones, all packed full of valuable information.
Unit one talks about different types of geographic patterns and concepts, and different scales of analysis: global, regional, national, and local. In my opinion, this unit was very simple. It taught me about the basics of maps and how to look at the world from different perspectives.
Unit two talks about distribution, density, and population change over time. In this unit, there is a particular graph called the Demographic Transition Model which gives an approximation of the death rate, birth rate, and total population, in each of the five stages of human demographic development. In AP United States History I was able to apply this model to my understanding of how the early British colonies in America developed into the United States.
Unit three talks about cultural patterns and processes which is where you get to learn about all the different religions and ethnicities of the world and how diffusion has changed their cultural landscapes over time. This unit is one of my personal favorites because learning about how a culture’s language changes based on diffusion and time is mind-boggling to think about. For example, think about how Spain originally colonized Mexico and forced the Native Americans living there to learn Spanish. Then, when Mexico gained its independence, the Mexican people barely interacted with Spain for many years. Eventually, a Mexican dialect was formed which is now extremely different from present-day Spain Spanish.
Unit four talks about political patterns and processes which contains learning to read political maps and understand boundaries and much more. As prior to Human Geography, I had never thought about how boundaries worked or what political maps were and they were significant in the slightest. Nowadays I am able to read and understand these maps and be able to formulate my own opinions on political conflicts.
Unit five goes into agricultural and Rural Land-Use patterns and processes. This unit can be kind of a drag but there are highlights, one being that after learning it you will know which region of the world different foods come from.
Unit six explains cities and urban land-use patterns/processes. This unit was information heavy but it helped me with the industrial revolution in AP United States History.
Unit seven talks about industrial and economic development patterns and processes. This unit helped me fill in the gaps in my knowledge when it came to the transportation of materials across our country, which again also helped me with understanding a concept like the Market Revolution in AP United States History.
These concepts may seem random and useless, but trust me when I tell you that these concepts have helped me in other classes such as World History, AP United States History, and English, and in my political thinking. Through Human Geography, I now have a larger grasp on politics and can understand the reasoning behind major political decisions. These seven units explain how humans have decided to use our world and how we have traversed it- it’s truly amazing. Human Geography has changed me as a person and it will change you as well, and I highly recommend it. (Also, Mr. Metro is such an amazing and passionate teacher, he makes the class a million times better than it already is.)
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