My first impressions were not untarnished before my first click on the link to the 6th period AP Language and Composition. I was told by a few of my older peers that Mr. Maertens was philosophical. I had heard of teachers being described as difficult, easy, compassionate, fun, or dry, but the connotation of the specific word philosophical echoed positively given that I had never heard of such a word being used to describe a teacher before. That fact mingled with my intentions of pursuing philosophy in higher education gave me a positive impression of Mr. Maertens, despite how naive it is to judge a person before personally meeting.

Fortunately, that adept one-word description of Mr. Maertens proved to be delightfully true as I have found that Mr. Maertens’ AP Language and Composition class is always the highlight of my day for a myriad of reasons.

Firstly, the multitude of lessons learned in Mr. Maertens’ class has already proven to be very valuable. I distinctly remember a lengthy period of class time being spent dissecting my essay on the topic of education. It was by chance that my essay was specifically dissected during class time, but the critique given about integrating evidence and quotes properly, while separating analysis from emotional language was a powerful lesson. The section of the class earlier in the first semester dedicated to analyzing what education means, how it should be enacted, and what values should be represented was also very relevant to my internal reflection on the education that he has been taught and is learning. Reading the narratives of different authors like Wallace, Emerson, and Deresiewicz helped me look deeper into how education also deviates from the standards of achievements and success which his environment is so accustomed to. Such lessons also helped me understand how small the world known as AHS really is.

Another factor that contributes greatly to the positive nature of the class is Mr. Maertens’ willingness to allow students to discuss with one another and tackle difficult topics. He acknowledged that COVID-19 made it difficult for students to talk to each other and intentionally gave the class time to discuss the topics of the class between one another. I was touched by how Mr. Maertens took great care to compensate for the lack of socialization as Arcadia students have found themselves in during the pandemic.

Beyond just the mere accommodation of socialization, Mr. Maertens has not strayed away from topics like asking about our thoughts on the recent sexual harassment training in October and asking us about political issues like the Supreme Court, the Bolivian Presidency, and the California Propositions. His frankness in listening to the comments of adolescents is something I deeply appreciated when contrasted with my observed experiences of dismissiveness towards the thoughts and words of adolescents.
It also amazes me how tolerant Mr. Maertens is with the energy, and comments, of the class which he teaches which is commonly acknowledged by the class itself as sporadic and sometimes crazy, especially in the Zoom chat.

With all of these factors and much more unlisted, I would like to express appreciation and gratitude towards Mr. Maertens for making an intellectually stimulating and energetic class with great insights and accommodation for a limited social life. His work in creating just a hospitable education environment amid the pandemic has given me a class to look forward to.