By: Riley Figueroa, Myles Chu Staff Writers
Inspired by the movie, “Stand and Deliver,” which is about the hardships and experiences of a high school calculus teacher, Mr. Ring decided to leave his job as an economic researcher for the government and become a calculus teacher, like the main character in the movie, because Mr. Ring had a background in mathematics. 24 years later, Mr. Ring continues to enjoy the challenge & opportunity of teaching Calculus at Galileo.
At the time Mr. Ring first started at Galileo, the school was short on calculus teachers and AP teachers, which gave Mr. Ring the perfect opportunity to become a calculus teacher at the AP level.
While being an AP Calculus teacher isn’t a simple walk in the park there are many parts that have attracted Mr. Ring to it. He says, “The part of math that fascinates me the most is observing how 2 very different things can be connected with each other. It’s intriguing, especially when learning new math myself and it’s also interesting when my students see those connections as well.”
While being able to teach a subject he enjoys a great part about his job, Mr. Ring finds working with his students to be the most interesting part about being a teacher. He believes that student interaction is the most significant thing when it comes to building a bond with his students, which in turn allows for them to become more comfortable with him as a teacher.
While Mr. Ring’s overall experience at Galileo has been phenomenal, there have been times he has struggled, particularly last year, when he had to deal with having to distribute work and teach online through the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr. Ring also doesn’t care much for the meetings he has to attend each week because, even though they are important, he still finds it boring.
Through all the years of being a teacher, Mr. Ring has developed a few pieces of advice for new upcoming teachers. He says, “As a teacher, try to help your students understand that making mistakes is all a part of learning. You learn from your mistakes, You have to be willing to make mistakes yourself, otherwise you’re not going to know how to learn from them, Try not to be too hard on yourself when you make your own mistakes, because, in the end, you will learn from them and they will benefit you in the future.”
