By Hayden Sampson

Things are different. There’s no doubt about that. What’s important isn’t the situation we’re in, but how we react to it. For the past few weeks, Dr. Evans has created a new approach to teaching Humane Letters, one which has definitely changed the way his students look at online classes.

His idea is called tutorial essays. About every week, Dr. Evans’s students are asked to put together a one page paper on something they have been learning about, whether it be the Great Books they are reading or history. They can choose whatever topic interests them the most, and really just discover more about the subject.

Dr. Evans has this to say to his students: “Please consider these essays an exploration. In grading them I will look for evidence of curiosity and energy more than right answers.” This is frankly important for all learning, finding ways to learn things that don’t always fit the same mold as your neighbor. And it seems to be working.

Sam Campbell, a junior and student in Dr. Evans’s class, states, “I love doing these essays. I get to explore what I want to explore, and I really feel like I’m improving in my writing.”

That really is what school at Tempe Prep is all about, and Dr. Evans and his class seems to be fulfilling it. At Tempe Prep, we are blessed to have teachers that go above and beyond. Dr. Evans is certainly one of them.