• Rhetorical Situation: Reading

• Rhetorical Situation: Writing

• Claims and Evidence: Reading

• Claims and Evidence: Writing

• Reasoning and Organization: Reading

• Reasoning and Organization: Writing

• Style: Reading

• Style: Writing

Mr. Ray is the AP English–Language at Hoover High School.

He has always loved reading and writing. He first became enamored with comic books and Encyclopedia Brown short stories in early elementary school. From the time he could pick up one of those fat kindergarten pencils, he’s been putting his thoughts down on paper. He graduated from Central High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama back in 1997 before moving on to the University of Alabama where he first started studying filmmaking, then history, before finally settling on English. No matter what his major was, he was always minored in Creative Writing. During his senior year, he was published in a small college press journal and was nominated for an undergraduate award for poetry. Life led him to live in Athens, Georgia and Mobile, Alabama, where he earned his Masters in the Art of Education at the University of South Alabama. He and his family finally settled in Nashville, Tennessee where he taught for 13 years. This is his 17th year of teaching in total, but his first in Hoover. 

“As an AP English teacher, I believe my goals must extend beyond the AP test. I want to teach students to read the world, which is flooded with arguments big and small. I believe at my core that learning to read your environment and learning to express yourself are the most important concepts I can foster in a young mind. If you ever have a question, a concern, or just want to tell me about something interesting you read or saw, I can be reached at dray@hoover.k12.al.us or (205) 350-5788. My office is B-219.”