Continuing from the last installment…
With longstanding issues of low pay, lack of participation from students partially due to the pandemic, and years upon years in the field; teachers who continue to strive to uplift their students, always doing so with a smile, more than deserve to be highlighted and praised.
Another longstanding teacher, Mr. Prey has been teaching for a total of 32 years, with 27 of those at Ridge. He currently teaches AP Environmental Science/BIO105 Enviro Bio/BIO145 Marine Biology and Human Anatomy & Physiology/BIO160. However, Mr. Prey has taught an array of science classes ranging from biology to chemistry to his current classes.
When asked about preventing burnout, Mr. Prey said he leads with a positive attitude. It also helps that he is engaged by the subject he teaches: “Science changes the world and science is constantly trying to figure out new things, innovations; and so, for me, I feel like I will never get burned out.”
Rather than burnout, he mentioned that tiredness can weigh on him. “I think there’s mental fatigue sometimes, if students aren’t doing well.” However, Prey noted that students who fail are given an opportunity to learn from it, as such he understands that failure is a natural part of the learning for students and thus he does not take it as a negative, though students may not recognize that. Then he gave advice he tells to any new teacher: “Just focus on the positive gains. Not necessarily the grade the student has, but the positive gain overall.”
Prey openly said that students really do affect how he feels about teaching as a whole. “I think students have a huge impact.” Specifically, he mentioned the transfer of energy, either from himself to the students or vice versa. It can be a challenge to engage students, but it is a challenge he takes in stride. “I think of it as that I am a salesman for science. If you don’t like science, that’s okay, come to me because I want to change your mind, I want to change your perspective.”
He continued, saying, “You have a bigger influence than you realize. As you get older, I think you will realize that we learned from you as much as you learned from us.”
Mr. Lang is a specific case, as he fits within both Mr. Sabel and Mr. Prey’s categories. While he has not been at Ridge since its opening, he has only ever taught at Mountain Ridge and plans to keep it that way. In fact, he started at Ridge in August of 1998–the same year as Mr. Prey!
Teaching a variety of math, spanning from Pre-Algebra all the way to AP Calculus AB, Mr. Lang says that he takes each year at a time to avoid burning out, investing in each year as a brand new start. When asked how he recovers from teacher burnout, Mr. Lang chuckled and meekly said, “Complain to my wife?” He took a moment to think before saying that he never truly burns out, as he frequently participates in hobbies that alleviate the stress of the job.
On the topic of passion, Lang said, “I think it ebbs and flows.” This past year he attended the AP conference where his passion for math really shined. Talking with people of a similar interest always incites more passion, according to Mr. Lang. Even just working out a math problem sparks more passion for math and, subsequently, teaching math! In fact, this year Mr. Lang has entirely reconstructed the AP Calculus AB curriculum, an action that has made this year more interesting and awakened more passion.
Students definitely influence how Mr. Lang feels about teaching. “The biggest thing is I love when students look up and I can see they are paying attention. When that’s happening, when students are on, it definitely propels you through.” He mentioned that it can change depending on the period, however always makes sure he does his best for those who need it. “I always just try to make sure that, even if I had one person paying attention out of twenty-nine, I know that one person is paying attention and that’s all I need because it’s making a difference for that one person.”
Mr. Prey and Mr. Lang set examples for their students on a daily basis, showing passion for their job which impacts students positively every day.
