Scholarship / "How did a teacher influence/inspire you?" About My AP Gov Teacher [3]

When most students go to high school, they probably encounter a generally nurturing learning environment filled with their peers. The last thing they expect is to enter a classroom and have the teacher slam the door loudly as his introduction to the class, then point at one of them at random and ask what the Fourteenth Amendment was and how it was ratified. Of course, I was that lucky student. I remember frantically looking around the classroom, hoping one of my fellow students might know the answer. Unsurprisingly, they all looked out the window or down at their desk, avoiding eye contact with me at all costs. As you can see, Mr. Jeffries was quite the eccentric and theatrical AP United States Government teacher. Little did I know that with his unconventional teaching style came incredible success.

Fortunately for me, the rest of his class wasn't as terribly embarrassing as that first day. Despite this, he still loved torturing his students, or so I thought. There were quizzes on the chapter readings every other day. We would have essay hours at least once a week, during which we would have to write three free response essays from previous AP Exams in one class period. And don't even get me started on the exam days - or should I say "packet" days, as we all called his thick exams - I cleared them from my mind upon exiting his classroom.

The pain that I endured in his classroom was not without its bright spots, though. Before his exams, we would always have review days. These usually consisted of a game of "Grab Gomer." Grab Gomer involved two students coming to the front of the classroom, Mr. Jeffries asking a question, and then the two students rushing to grab an injured green army man off of the stool so that they would give the answer. If one answered correctly, then they were allowed to throw a plunger at the whiteboard. If it stuck, the team won one point. Of course, this unusual game was a hit among the students, and further cemented his position as most bizzare teacher.

One thing that I appreciate was how Mr. Jeffries never favored me a student. It didn't matter how well I scored on a test, how long my essays were, or how I was always on time to his class. I was just like everyone else. The only thing that mattered to him was that his students would learn something before they finished his course. Mr. Jeffries's had a guarantee - any student that survived his course would automatically receive a passing score on the AP Exam. That guarantee didn't fail me when I received my small "AP US Government - 5" in the mail in July.

Mr. Jeffries taught me that hard work does not have to be boring. If one just tries to succeed, then eventually they actually will. Looking back, I would give anything to do his entire class all over again.