A world beyond teaching the test

Since retiring from teaching history at Mountain Brook High School in May, Dr. George Prewett’s daily routine has not changed entirely. You can still find him at Jack’s in Trussville for breakfast each day.

“The night before the AP test, he invited us to go to Jack’s to review,” Mountain Brook senior Olivia Burton said. “Almost everyone at Jack’s knew him, and a big group of students stayed there until 8 p.m. eating French fries and talking about history.”

Most mornings you can find Prewett there enjoying a cup of coffee and a sausage biscuit with jelly.

“You see some older men come into Jack’s, and they have retired and they aren’t as vibrant as they were,” Prewett said. “I want to be vibrant and active.”

To do that, he intends to keep his mind sharp by reading, substitute teaching and spending time with family following his 31-year career, much of which was dedicated to teaching Advanced Placement (AP) History at Mountain Brook High School.

“I will be reading a whole lot,” he said. “I’ve been married 37 years, and my wife, Janet, is still awesome. I’m not the kind of guy that wants to be away from the house a lot because it’s a joy to be with her.”

Students know his wife, Janet, as his “whiff,” as he refers to her in class. His daughter, Natalie, is 28.

Prewett’s AP U.S. History class was a favorite at the high school. Although challenging, his course, which covered 1876 to present day, engaged students in discussions that encouraged them to think critically and develop a love of history.

“Dr. Prewett is one of the most caring teachers I have had,” senior Anne Peyton Baker said. “You can tell he cares about more than just our knowledge of history – he wants us to learn to be life-long learners as well as how to have success in life in general.”

The course helped many students excel on the AP exam in May each year, gaining them college credit. But for the 61-year-old Trussville resident, teaching was not about test scores.

“I love the kids at Mountain Brook,” Prewett said. “They are all extremely well spoken, and there is a certain work ethic and understanding that studying is important that is unique. I go to grade AP tests every year with teachers from around the country, and they think I’m lying when I tell them about my students.”

After playing baseball at junior college and later graduating from UAB, Prewett began his teaching career at Pizitz Middle School in 1977. He moved to Vestavia High School two years later.

“My big goal in life was to be a head football coach,” Prewett said. “But high school football is all-consuming. It was like I had two full-time jobs, teaching and coaching, and I ended up loving teaching more. I didn’t want to spend every waking moment trying to win a state championship.”

Prewett went back to school to get his Ph.D. in history at The University of Alabama in 1986 and ended up at Mountain Brook afterward.

“My love of history came from my family,” Prewett said. “My mother had seven brothers. Everyone served in the military, so my uncles were always talking about the past, the [Great] Depression, World War II. When I got older I started to want to find out more about the past.”

Prewett and fellow teacher Glenn Lamar split the teaching duties for AP U.S. History, and both are known for being dedicated teachers who make the history department at Mountain Brook exceptional.

“Dr. Lamar and I have become very close over the years,” Prewett said. “We usually eat lunch every day together. Our conversation would always fall on methods of teaching, nature of the kids, the content we’re teaching. We built a tremendous bond over our love of history and teaching.”

That bond extended to their students as well.

“Dr. Prewett was one of the first teachers I have ever had that really made me want to succeed and learn in his classroom,” MBHS graduate Rebecca Lankford said. “He not only cares about his subject material but every individual student as well.

“He wants all who take his class to succeed, and because of his humor and general love of life, taking his class turned out to be a great experience for me. I am certain that Dr. Prewett and his teaching lessons will have a tremendous impact on my life in college and beyond.”

Prewett doesn’t plan to disappear entirely from the high school. In his spare time he plans to substitute teach there, the place where he left a legacy with students, faculty and administrators.

 “Dr. Prewett is one of the best educators I have ever met, and he is the best AP U.S. History teacher ever in my opinion,” former MBHS principal Vic Wilson said. “We are certainly going to miss him. I am proud to call George a great friend, and I believe that he made me better at my job.”