Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
I love having Mr. VanTassell as my physics teacher. This is my second year in his class. He is always willing to work with students to help them understand the material. Physics can be a difficult course to take and hard to understand, but with Mr. VanTassell's help, I am now challenging myself in taking AP physics. Mr. VanTassell teaches in a way that lets me understand the material. When anyone in the class has questions about what he is talking about, he will stop and review what he has just done. If there are any questions on the homework that we were given, he will take time out to show the class how to go about solving the problem so that we can understand the problem. He is also organized. At the beginning of each section he will pass out a sheet of homework problems for that entire section including when we will have a test. I always know when my homework is due, and I don't have to worry about getting the work from that class when I am sick because I always have the work with me. The entire year is planned out from the very first day of class so that we can have time to finish all that we are supposed to and have time to review before the AP test.
Mr. VanTassell also has a great personality. It makes the class more fun and makes me look forward to his class. He is always telling stories about things that have happened to him that relate to physics. That way, we can see a real life use for what we are learning. He also understands the students. He knows that physics can be a challenging course and understands that students are taking other classes. While that does not excuse us from doing our homework and doing well on tests, he tries to not overload us with so much homework that we cannot complete it all. He always gives us enough problems so that we can understand the material and practice what he lectured about, but not so many that we feel overwhelmed.
The students at Granger High love Mr. VanTassell. I always hear good things about him from other students. When I signed up for my first year of physics, I was worried I wouldn't be able to do well in the class. My brother who had Mr. VanTassell nine years before me told me not to worry because Mr. VanTassell was such a great teacher. He told me that I would do just fine because Mr. VanTassell would be able to teach so I could understand the material. I honestly never thought that I would take an AP science class. I always figured that I would just either not take science my senior year, or take some simple science class. Mr. VanTassell made me like physics so much that I decided to take AP physics this year as a senior. I am so glad that I am preparing myself for future college classes, but at the same time, I will miss having Mr. VanTassell as my teacher.
--Christa Howe
