As a second semester senior, I am one of the first people to say I have lost my momentum. I signed up for Modern Literature after hearing from my friends how easy it was, and how little work you had to do to get an A. When I found out I was going to have Mr. Freeburg, I was happy because so many other students loved him. I expected the class to be kind of a joke, a class I could just blow off and still get a good grade.

Surprised is an understatement to describe how I felt the first day of Freeburg’s class. As soon as he started talking in a robot voice and busting out an air guitar motion, I thought, is this guy joking? This can’t be how he really is. I was wrong. Mr. Freeburg is like an educational stand-up comedian. Being in his class is like no other class I’ve ever been in. The forty minutes of class feels like five. It is impossible to get bored or to not like this class, even if you hate reading. I started reading not only the required page numbers for that night, but also reading ahead and participating in class—something I usually do not do. During the school day, I look forward to coming to his class, ready to hear the latest story about him attending a gothic-style wedding or his neighbors getting arrested.
Mr. Freeburg’s teaching method is like nothing I’ve ever seen; however, I always end up knowing the material without even realizing it. To a student not in his class, his tests look difficult. We have to write a description and the significance of about 15 items in a book. It’s hard to do badly on these tests, because it’s impossible not to listen to what he is saying.

In Mr. Freeburg’s Modern Literature class, I do the work because I want to. He is not just one of those fun teachers who don’t teach you anything; he taught me how to enjoy reading and that there are books out there I can find interesting. Modern Literature was the perfect class to end my high school career, and I’ll never forget laughing more than I have in any other class.