My First AP Class

After having so many great experiences throughout my academic career, there is still one moment that remains more special than others. It's been five years since I took AP European History with Mr. Hanna, but it still stands out as one of the best classes I have ever taken. Given that five years later I find myself as a Government major it may sound a bit obvious why I would like such a class. Yet, the best part wasn't what he taught, but how he taught it. History is notorious for being a "downer", and although I've always thought otherwise, it's fair to say that Mr. Hanna made the entire class and I love it even more. On my first day, sophomore year, I was anxious, as this would be my first AP class, but as it got closer and closer to 7th …show more content…
Little did I know, that I would meet a teacher who was more dedicated than I could ever imagine. His approach since the beginning was to allow us to understand history beyond the realm of a textbook. For every time period we studied, he would introduce us to a piece of literature written at the time. Whether it be him recreating Churchill's famous speech at Westminster College or sharing a poem by Aleksandr Pushkin; I found that history can and is more than just a timeline of events. During our unit on the French Revolution, I rushed back home and replayed Le Marseillaise almost nonstop. Listening to the passionate and vibrant chords of the piece, I imagined being a sans-culotte at the walls of the Bastille. That was the beauty of it all. I no longer saw history as a static timeline of events, but rather a dynamic narrative that everyone contributes to. However, I find myself extending Mr. Hanna's approach beyond the classroom as well. One of the greatest projects I ever participated in was the recreation of the Congress of Vienna, but there was a