AP Biology. These two short words are enough to strike fear into the hearts of even the smartest and most hardworking of students and rightfully so. Signing up for the class means signing up for many cups of coffee, endless nights spent pouring over notes and tests that only come out of the worst nightmares. However, what makes or breaks an AP Biology student is in part determined by the teacher, and the students who have Ms. Pisano have truly hit the jackpot when it comes to the teacher.

All images of a cranky mad scientist lecturing from a textbook are dispelled with the first lesson that Ms. Pisano teaches. “You signed up for this.” Ms. Pisano literally destroys all preconceptions of what a teacher is. There are no assignments, only optional work. Don’t want to do the worksheet? Fine, don’t do it. Don’t want to take notes? Then don’t take them. Other teachers might hound their students to get their assignments turned in on time, but not Ms. Pisano. Just like the in the real world, Ms. Pisano leaves everything up to the students, and her unconventional teaching philosophy not only teaches us all the skills we need to pass the class but also skills can be applied to everyday life, in and out of school.

Ms. Pisano isn’t quite like any other teacher you’d expect teaching an AP course. She laughs and jokes with her students, lets them play with her pet snake, and always finds entertaining and engaging ways to teach the otherwise boring material. A long lecture about enzymes can turn into an assignment about baking cookies and pages of notes about metabolic pathways can turn into a hands-on activity that involves sticking pieces of paper on a pencil. A class is never boring with Ms. Pisano, and every day brings something some new to learn and experiment with.

But with all her idiosyncrasies and unique eccentricities, what makes Ms. Pisano such a great teacher is that she always makes her students feel comfortable. With her daily can of cheddar cheese-flavored Pringles and boundless energy, her jokes and laughter never fail to bring smiles to her students’ faces. There is no pressure and tension associated with her classroom, providing a welcome reprieve from the stress of the other classes.

Despite the dark reputation surrounding the class, Ms. Pisano is able to turn it around and make the class entertaining, interesting, and most importantly, comfortable learning environment for her students. Thanks to Ms. Pisano, the the tears and suffering of AP Biology don’t seem that bad after all.

-Michelle Lee, 10, Pow Wow, Staff Writer