Taking Over the AP World

By Corinne Fraley

“We’ve been planning to take over the world, is that ok?“ After a conversing and heckling among a group of guys during one of Miss Keister’s AP World class, Jarrett Lohman (11) asked this question to his history teacher. Without batting an eye Miss Keister responded deadpan, “Yes, but not in my class. This is a benevolent dictatorship.”   

Miss Keister is one of the new arrivals to Dalat’s high school, only beginning teaching at the start of the 2019-2020 year- and thus far she has built quite the repertoire. From teaching Bible 9, to Media Lit, to Capstone, all in impeccable attire, Miss Keister has cemented herself within a variety of subjects among all high school grade groups with her dry witty and amiable nature. Though, she has, perhaps, made one of the largest impacts by teaching her favorite subject in her AP World History class.

Made up of primarily sophomores with an odd junior and senior thrown in, AP World, for years, has been notorious for its difficult content and massive workload, leaving students often feeling crushed and overwhelmed by the class. While the rigor remains, unfortunately, unchanged, Miss Keister’s presence has made history itself more manageable and enjoyable for her students.

“Class is always fun with her around,” Ethan Chan (10) confirmed when asked about his AP teacher. “She makes jokes, she talks to everyone, she knows her stuff, and she’s able to explain it in a way that we are able to understand.”

Since taking on the class, Miss Keister has brought new vigor to the history of the past thousand years. “I think she makes class so engaging because she is so passionate when teaching,” Grace Chung (10) commented.

This passion takes center stage when she lectures, often emphasizing many of her favorite facts, phrasing them in laymen’s terms to the delight of her students. She always takes time to address any question she can, never failing to both answer students, helping them to understand what she’s teaching but also to go over time in her talks even with a timer set. Every lecture guarantees understanding to some degree for her students and once Miss Keister even treated her students to a lecture backed by the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. Many students agree this is their favorite part of her class.

So, while AP World is not becoming any easier, Miss Keister had stormed the AP classroom and created an empire in her student’s hearts. Will her imperialist endeavors end at AP World, or will she eventually colonize the rest of the high school?