Student Cooperation creates international relations course

     On Feb. 5 administration replaced World Cultural Geography with International Relations, following a petition from the students and teachers requesting the change.

In addition to AP European History and AP Human Geography, World Cultural Geography has been an elective option for sophomore students for years. But the course’s reign as the elective history class at Krop is about to end.

Sophomores Makenna Metayer and Vanessa Giraldo started a petition with the support of Mr. Hafter, the AP Human Geography teacher, and Ms. Lee, the AP European History and AP World History teacher, for the school to add a new elective: International Relations.

The movement began after Metayer and Giraldo began speaking to other students and teachers about why they wanted the class.

“I know that the class is going to help my writing, and this is an important skill to have,” Metayer said. “Plus, it is important to know about what is happening throughout the world.”

After distributing 15 petition papers throughout the school, the teachers started telling their students about an International Relations course and spreading the petition.

Mr. Hafter was one of the teachers that helped them spread the petition. He has taught it in the past, and believes that it is an important course for the students to take.

“In the contemporary world, International Relations is important for students to learn, since, hopefully, by learning what is happening in the world today we won’t repeat the same mistakes we did in our past,” Hafter said.

Hafter had tried before to get the class in Krop’s curriculum, but the administration did not grant his original request. But after getting almost 600 signatures from students who wanted a change, and receiving emails from parents and teachers, they have added International Relations as a course option for the 2019-2020 school year.