Despite alarming accounts of the workload from former AP United States History (APUSH) students, I didn’t know exactly what to expect from the class. Nevertheless, I was pretty excited to learn about American history in such depth. I was apprehensive, sure, and daunted by the fabled workload. But I’m nearing the end of my first semester in APUSH, and I absolutely love it. I heard about the notes, the lectures, and mostly the dreaded essays, but no one told me about how magical of a class it can be. 

I’ve enjoyed my time in history class this year—and it’s undeniable that I owe it all to my teacher, Mrs. Heather Moore. She has gone above and beyond in delivering a comprehensive and in-depth education in U.S. history, and I already know that I’ll be a better person by my last day in her class.

Even though I may not be the most outwardly expressive about it, I love studying history. I spend hours upon hours surfing Wikipedia (oops) entries on battles, crises, and scandals. This is America, Charlie Brown was my favorite childhood movie, and history documentaries have always been a time-sucking hobby of mine. If I’m doing a boring task, I listen to Crash Course World History videos. All that love for the subject that I have is one of the biggest reasons that Mrs. Moore is just a great teacher. From the very first day of school, I was immediately able to recognize a kindred spirit in her, and I’ve seen her put all of that energy and enthusiasm into every lesson since then.

It’s incredible how Mrs. Moore approaches the challenge of teaching high schoolers such a “boring” subject; she has a never-ending wealth of knowledge to teach, yet she never stops delivering it with enthusiasm and grace. It’s no small feat how she manages to eschew the horror of 30 teenagers for the entirety of an almost hour-long colonial religion lecture, especially considering her depth of knowledge on history. At this point in the year, students may be starting to take that vast repository of information readily available to us for granted, but it’s pretty astounding how much she has to teach us.

Mrs. Moore makes sure to look out for our well-being in such a tough class too. We can tell she cares about us when she checks in to see if we’re feeling overwhelmed, demonstrating a level of empathy and kindness that makes the class feel tailored to every student. 

And on top of that unbelievably complicated balancing act? We can always count on Mrs. Moore to be funny and accessible, in a way we don’t often see. Her candor and corny jokes help invite a class of dissociated teenagers to engage, and I really appreciate it on tough school days.

One of the moments with Mrs. Moore that has stood out to me so far in the year is actually when The Arcadia Quill staff was writing an editorial article on the Apache designation at Arcadia High School (AHS); seeing as she’s the longtime advisor of the Student Council Apache Commission (SCAC), I asked her for an interview. From the time we started scheduling our meeting to when she answered the last question, she was thoughtful and helpful, and contributed immensely to our research—I realized for the hundredth time how much Mrs. Moore had helped me through junior year so far. 

So thank you, Mrs. Moore, for assuaging our fears, looking out for us as people, and doing everything in your power to teach us everything you can.