Since Ms. Young left to pursue her career as an academic counselor, Mr. Bevins is teaching AP Literature & Composition for the first time in his career. He’s fully ready to unleash hour-long discussions, delve into existentialism, and do nothing as his class complains about the cold in his room. 

Mr. Bevins states, “ I have never taught the class before, so I am sure I will be doing a lot of learning as I go this year. I spent a lot of time speaking with Ms. Young over the summer about how to best teach the class, which made me even more nervous because she was such a great teacher.”

Despite the fact that he’s teaching a new class, he’s met with familiar faces. Many students who are taking AP Literature this year had Mr. Bevins either freshman year, sophomore year, or both. Mary Nassar, a senior who’s had both, says, “I’m so excited to have Mr. Bevins again for a third year! I think he’ll be great at teaching AP Lit, and I can’t wait for all we have to read this year!”

Thankfully, the positive reaction goes both ways. In regard to the senior class, he adds, “I enjoy this senior class, so I am happy to be back working with them. I have been really impressed with the intelligent discussion and insight my seniors had on day one of class. They have grown up so much and are extremely intelligent.”

Very heartwarming. One could cry. Honestly, I might. If you see a tear on this digital article, you’ll know it was me or some other emotionally impacted senior. However, such sweet, sentimental statements will not take away from the difficulties that come with an AP class. 

Trinity Delacruz, a senior taking AP Lit, brings up the pros and cons of this class (but mostly pros. There’s not really much of a con): “At first I was a bit worried about the potential workload, but overall, I was really excited to have Mr. Bevins as a teacher again. He loves literature and always puts his utmost effort into teaching, so I had a feeling that he would be a great AP Lit teacher.” 

And like Mary and Trinity said, he’s doing a fantastic job. Despite the AC being the true antihero of room 204, us seniors could not be happier to ramble about silly character flaws, tragic hamartia, and good ol’ literature. 

As a perfect signoff, and in the words of Mr. Bevins, “I am excited to be a part of senior year. I want my seniors to have an awesome year, and I am hoping we can make a few new traditions and celebrations happen along the way. Keep reading and writing!!!”