I began working with Brett Reeves while I was a student at ACC. Even though English is my second language, I was determined to be an English major, and Brett’s assistance made that possible. We also worked on my admissions essays and secured my place at several major universities, including the one I chose to attend, Penn State. I have also recommended Brett to several of my friends in Engineering. They are always happy to find that Brett can help them with their language skills and the challenges that engineers face in their liberal arts classes.
It is because of Mr. Reeves that my son loves both literature and history. Reeves has helped Lakota use his natural gifts, through Socratic dialogues, deep literature analysis, and critical thinking skills, all of which come to bear in Lakota’s writing.
Not only have I observed Lakota’s knowledge base expanding, but I have observed my son’s growing awareness and thoughtful opinions developing in each course with Reeves.
I recommend Mr. Reeves for his wealth of academic offerings and for his commitment to educating each child in a kind and respectful way.
The collaborations I’ve worked on with Brett Reeves have inspired me and influenced my skills as both a writer and a musician. As he voiced the great poets of modern and classic times, such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William Faulkner, and T.S Eliot, he helped me find a passion for poetry and literature.
Brett taught my biracial daughter (African American and Caucasian) a one-year class on Southern literature. Although this material is controversial in nature, he was able to approach the class with depth and sensitivity while also “teaching” my daughter about issues such as racism, the relationships between enslaved persons and their oppressors, the status of women, and other important, if sensitive, topics.
Brett Reeves was my English teacher for four years. The work we did together prepared me for college, and he even helped me with admissions. I can say that he is the coolest teacher I have ever had. Whether it’s in his classroom or during one-on-one tutoring, Brett always puts his passionate, creative, and enthusiastic self into his teaching. Brett will provide a groovy learning experience like no other!
My son has gone from not really being developed or interested in reading and writing to being very intent on writing good essays and really learning the subject matter. Mr. Reeves loves to teach and it shows by his attitude, intensity, and the expectations he sets for himself and the people he teaches. Students catch fire with him.
In my experience, I have never seen an educator who is better at inspiring students.
Mr. Reeves is passionate about making the subject matter of English exciting and interesting to his students.
His students willingly read challenging texts (such as the writings of William Faulkner), write complex papers, and enthusiastically engage in discussions about the subject matter that they are learning in Mr. Reeves’s classes.
Many of his students have taken their lessons outside of the classroom and can be found participating in the Poetry Coffeehouse held at Austin Java or submitting their writings to various print and online publications. His students become lovers of poetry, critical readers, and better writers. Mr. Reeves is always willing to freely give of his time to assist his students.
Mr. Reeves’ British Literature class truly changed my world. As a senior in high school, I actually looked forward to waking up early to attend his class. Mr. Reeves has the most engaging teaching style that I’ve ever encountered, and the discussions we had in class not only helped us to understand the reading materials, but to understand our own developing morals and ideals. He tied in modern media and concepts with the classic literature we were reading, which showed how truly timeless writers like John Donne are.
I was able to also take our Brit Lit discussions with me out into the great wide world, when I travelled to London the summer after my freshman year of college. After reading and discussing so much about the Tower of London, Queen Elizabeth, Henry XIII, and Sir Thomas More, walking through the Tower itself had so much more meaning for me than it would have had I not studied with Mr. Reeves. I had so much more knowledge of all the things that happened within the walls of the Tower, and this gave me so much more respect for the lives lived and lost in those chambers. That is an experience I will never forget, and thanks to Brett Reeves I was able to tour London as not only a tourist, but a scholar.
Not only did Mr. Reeves prepare me for the Real World, but taking his class as a senior for dual credit prepared me for college in a huge way. After completing British Literature, I was able to enter university already having some college level papers under my belt. While many of my peers struggled to write those first 12 page papers freshman year, I was already prepared and knew how to annotate, make notes, organize, write, and cite my paper. I had the confidence to succeed and knew that if I could handle Paradise Lost, a sociology journal article would be a piece of cake. I am now halfway through my college career, and Brit Lit with Mr. Reeves is still a class I rave about, and he remains one of my favorite professors. Years after taking his class, I still find the works that we studied relevant on a daily basis, and I know that I will carry what I’ve learned with me throughout my life.
