I don’t make a habit of liking teachers. Don’t know why. Maybe I just have a lack of respect for authority figures, I’m not sure. In three years of high school, I’ve had over 20 classes, and I can tell you I was not excited to walk through the door into any of them, save one. ZoBot, sophomore year, fourth hour, was the funnest class I have ever had. Bar none. Why? It’s taught by the most exceptional teacher I’ve met, a guy by the name of Patrick Amen Reed (weirdest middle name ever). He is the only teacher I’ve thoroughly enjoyed learning under, and that’s over all 11 grades. His teaching style consists of simply lecturing all hour, which I know sounds boring, but not with Reed. His verbal jousting skill is second to none, save maybe Mr. Beckmann. The difference between him and Beckmann is that whereas Beckmann’s jousting comes off as narcissistic and intimidating, Reed’s comes off as lighthearted and genuinely fun. It’s the difference between a good teacher and a great one (in my eyes, at least). He doesn’t try to be saintlike, or rude, or relatable. He doesn’t try to be anything. Everything Reed does seems genuine and effortless, like this is exactly what he’s meant to be doing. I can only hope I have more teachers like him in the future.       

-Alex Juan

Dear Mr. Reed,

Thanks for being such an amazing teacher; this week was made to appreciate teachers like you. I never thought I would enjoy a such a challenging class so much, but I can easily say Zobot was one I looked forward to every single day (even test days).

Before your class I knew I wanted to pursue a career in science, but I wasn’t sure specifically what. I learned where I wanted to focus my education. You didn’t fancy up biology and make it seem like a dream, but you made it as real as you could in a classroom and as real as you could to what it’ll be like in our college classes. I appreciate that so so much. College scares the heck out of me, but the assignments and tests I’ve had to face make me feel a little more peace of mind.

Also, thanks for not just being a teacher. You aren’t just some guy with a degree that comes to class and gets by teaching. You engage with students and provide us opportunities to improve and make the class more learning than lecture. I’ve always been a quiet student, so I don’t stand out much to teachers. You make every student feel like they’re seen, myself included. Neither of my parents really know much about college at all so the long conversation we had about college and my brothers meant a lot. Not sure if you realize how much it did.

So thank you so much for all that you’ve taught me and all that you do for each and every student. I think I can speak for more than just myself when I say, you’ll be a teacher I remember. You’ll be one that I remember having a huge impact on my education.

Thanks so much Mr. Reed!

One of your travel buddies of Summer 2018,

-Molly Ebert