Class decisions: Students ponder whether to make the MAP commitment

The decision to join the Media Arts Program (MAP) is tough for students make. The prospect of integrating technology and new software in classes attracts many students to the program, but scheduling conflicts often cause students to avoid MAP altogether.

Senior Jocelyn Takahashi faced a few of these problems herself when she enrolled in the MAP program her sophomore year. According to Takahashi, she temporarily dropped out of the MAP program for a week and a half at the beginning of the year due to scheduling conflicts.

Takahashi was persuaded by conversations about how MAP students developed group work skills and are able to understand whole group dynamics. As a result, she decided to rejoin the program.
“My mother was really emphasizing how much it will help me in the workforce and later in life when I have to work with other people,” Takahashi said.

After being part of MAP for three years, Takahashi believes that MAP has in fact helped her work in a group more effectively.

“It really does make a difference when you know how to work in a group,” Takahashi said. “MAP teaches you how to work differences out and somehow create a product that you are proud to present.”

Students generally join the program sophomore year and take a MAP English, World History and media class. The integration of these different classes creates a close-knit community since the same students are in every class.

Besides improving one’s interpersonal skills, students generally learn the same materials in MAP classes as regular English and History classes. Because the curriculum taught in English MAP and History MAP are interlaced, however, many students feel that they are able to grasp a better understanding of units in MAP than they would in a regular class.

According to Takahashi reading “All Quiet on the Western Front” in her English MAP class, learning about World War I in her History MAP class and doing multiple projects relating to both the book and historical topics in her MAP elective class made understanding and remembering the unit easier.

“It helped a lot in so many different ways having the classes all combined together and all interconnected,” Takahashi said. “It really made me feel more engaged in what we were learning.”
Students in MAP also have the opportunity to learn programs such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Flash and Final Cut Express.

According to senior Meghana Rao, it was nice to be introduced to such software that she would have never heard about had she not taken MAP.

Despite the many opportunities and experiences MAP provides, many students are not inclined to take MAP because of the required MAP elective class.

Freshman Preethi Ravi for one, who is currently in MAP English 9 and enjoys the class very much, does not plan on continuing the program next year thanks to such schedule conflicts.

“I don’t really have the elective room to take the Media Arts class,” Ravi said.

According to Takahashi, however, the benefits of MAP outweigh any possible scheduling troubles.

“I’ve been really happy with class schedules and so maybe I could have had a different schedule, but I really like having MAP people in my classes,” Takahashi said. “It makes me feel really comfortable, and I feel like I can participate more. It’s literally like we are a family.”