When Piedmont students walk through the hallways of the third floor of Daniel Hall, they can sometimes hear a smack coming from a corner classroom.
The noise comes from History Professor Al Pleysier’s white board – his emphatic lectures often result in hits of a board or lectern when he needs to drive home a point.
Known to many as one of the most strict professors at Piedmont, Dr. Pleysier is often misunderstood. While he may seem strict or harsh, he helps students succeed.
Dr. Pleysier’s classes are extremely demanding yet provide tremendous feedback and students retain the information. He does not allow technology in his class and requires students to take frequent, detailed notes. Bullet points are not allowed as history is a story with Dr. Pleysier’s class. He also does not assign textbooks; as he often says in his classes: “I am your textbook.” Dr. Pleysier’s lectures are passionate and to the point.
“I lecture in detail. I repeat the information over and over again, and I believe that when you force your students to take excellent notes, you force them to interact,” said Dr. Pleysier.
The most difficult part of Dr. Pleysier’s classes are his exams. The main tests are essay or fill-in-the-blank, never any multiple choice. The fill-in-the-blank exams are often over 100 questions, with the essay exams frequently needing multiple pages of writing with a required number of major facts.
A frequent reason students may choose to drop a class taught by Dr. Pleysier is the traditional approach of not using technology. This includes no PowerPoints, as all lectures are strictly vocal, no electronic note-taking and a minimal need for technology when studying.
“I don’t need technology if a student listens to me closely. My class is face-to-face, I have enough technology anyway,” said Dr. Pleysier. “If I want to call Dish to get television, I get technology. I don’t get a human voice. I want to talk to a human, we have enough technology. Don’t get me wrong, I treasure the technology that I have, but it’s not necessary [in my class].”
From a first impression, Dr. Pleysier might seem stern. Outside of class, he is the complete opposite.
“He’s actually very nice outside of class, he’s very sweet and I enjoy talking to him outside of class.” said sophomore Chloe Seymour. “[A few days ago] he showed me some of the antiques he has in his office.”
Dr. Pleysier’s job is to educate and he takes it very seriously. His duties go beyond simply teaching history, as he encourages strong writing in his essay exams and shows life lessons through the material he teaches.
“I think history can teach you so much and warn you to stay away from certain things, like not to make the same mistakes, and I find that you learn a lot by making mistakes,” Dr. Pleysier said. “I think it’s extremely important that if you’re a citizen of this world that you know at least the history of some of the world, certainly your own world.”
Pleysier’s faith is a driving factor in his teaching. He has numerous religious pieces of art in his office, specifically on his office door.
“I hope that I behave myself in a respectable way and an honorable way.” said Dr. Pleysier. “I hope that through my actions, [students] see that I am a Christian and that I live according to the precepts of Jesus Christ.”
Students that make high grades in Dr. Pleysier’s class all find him to be an amazing professor who has an exciting teaching style with a level of intrigue unmatched in other classes. A man that may seem strict is actually an acclaimed professor with a tremendous track record of success, not only in memorizing history, but in showing life lessons and preparing students for the “real world.”
“He’s the only professor I’ve had that’s genuinely passionate about what he does. I’ve never seen his level of passion from anyone else,” said former Piedmont student Evan Schuur. “He’s my favorite professor I’ve ever had.”
