I want to go to med school. There was one AP student whose hobby was pencil-twirling. But such quirkiness can be evidence of an individuality that enables many of the scholars to, in effect, teach themselves. They occasionally will take an AP exam without having had a formal class in the subject. Teachers acknowledge that the best thing to do sometimes is just get out of the way.
Some teachers find that unconventional approaches help keep high-voltage students engaged.
On a cool November morning, Vail, the banana-packing English instructor, sent his AP students into the garden outside his classroom. Shulman says he steeps himself in AP courses like this one purely for the intellectual excitement. I need the challenge. I take them to prove that I can do it. The AP frenzy does bring added pressure, though.