As it came closer to beginning my junior year of high school at Seabreeze, I began looking at my class schedule as if it was a monster. Five AP classes, very rigorous ones at that. This included AP Calculus AB with Mr. Huckaby. I had never had a class with Mr. Huckaby before, so I had no idea what to expect. Well, to be honest I was expecting a rigorous math course with endless loads of homework, making it miserable. Instead, I began the most enjoyable class of my high school experience, which would carry into my senior year as well.
Before taking two years of calculus with Mr. Huckaby, I had never imagined I’d be laughing on test days. I would usually be filled with nerves and angst, but that would disappear as I walked in the classroom door to a math joke written on the board, with Mr. Huckaby dressed in a tutu or ridiculously huge glasses, and to finally sit down to a test with the name spot labeled “Villain: ____” or “Prisoner: ___” just to take the nerves off and make his students laugh. This support continued into my senior year when I saw that the first year of calculus was repeated on my schedule, when I had signed up to take the second year of his class. I had not done as well as intended on the AP Exam, which apparently meant I was supposed to take the first year again. Mr. Huckaby felt awful, as he said that he was beyond surprised that this would happen to me and the few other students. He continued to stand up for me and the other students until we were placed in Calculus BC, where he strongly believed we belonged.
More personally, Mr. Huckaby went above and beyond when considering his students and their feelings. On a day we had an important test scheduled, I was unexpectedly absent due to the passing of my grandpa. I explained this reason for my absence, which Mr. Huckaby responded to with full support. Without brushing off this comment, he learned through the grapevine that his family and my own had networks generations ago and was very excited to tell me about the following Monday. For me, this was incredible. I had never had a teacher care so much about me as well as my family. Going out of his way to find out our families had actually known each other proved Mr. Huckaby’s thoughtfulness that goes beyond just his teaching.