It was the first day of school and I was dreading going to my first AP class. It was my junior year and I was taking AP US History with Mr. Paul. AP classes are intimidating, and I had so many doubts about whether I would be able to pass this class or not. What did I get myself into? kept running through my mind. That was, until Mr.Paul started talking—and he answered that exact question.
During the first class, the first thing Mr. Paul did was explain everything I would need to know about taking an AP class. Although I still had doubts, about whether this was the class for me, I started to feel better. Once Mr. Paul started teaching, I saw his passion for the subject. He compared what he was teaching to examples today, making it easier to understand the topics. His knowledge and passion about teaching US history shines through his style and humor.
I was dreading the essays more than anything in this class. I was expecting my AP teacher to throw the essays at the students, and to tell them to write the whole thing. But not Mr. Paul. Mr. Paul realizes how hard essays are, and he took the time to break it down into steps. He clearly explained each step and gave us the winning formula for how to write topic sentences and a thesis. My essay writing started to improve faster than ever.
Most AP classes don’t give the chance for extra credit to raise your grade up, and neither does Mr. Paul, but he did give us the chance to rewrite our essays. Mr. Paul realizes essays are the hardest part of the class, so he gave us the chance to get points back on the essay. This not only raises our grades, but it also helps us learn from our mistakes. At the end of the first semester, I ended up with a B+ in the class, and the last points he gave for the semester were the essay rewrite points, and if it wasn't for the rewrite, I wouldn't have received an A in the class.
Mr. Paul is a wonderful teacher whose personality and humor shine through his teaching style. Mr. Paul is like a best friend who is always there to help you succeed. He does everything he can to to see his students succeed, and is always willing to meet with you to give any extra help because of his passion for the subject. Mr. Paul has given me more confidence about passing not only his class, but also the AP exam.