by ALEX RAGHUNANDAN Staff Writer
If you have seen a tall guy with glasses who is always making a joke, it is probably Monroe’s newest math teacher, Mr. Peter Ruckdeschel.
Mr. Ruckdeschel – or Mr. R as his students call him – started teaching at MTHS during the fall, and teaches PreCalculus Honors, PreCalculus, and Dynamics of Trig to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
After college, Mr. R always knew that he wanted to work with people. He started working in sales and marketing for five years, but after a while, realized it was not for him. Having a love for soccer, he always coached in Monroe and realized how much he loved working with children. Coaching helped him realize that he wanted to be a teacher.
“I’ve known Coach Pete since I was little and he has taught me a lot and is an amazing coach. I think that he’s so good at helping people and I know he is gonna be a really great teacher,” said freshman Caitlyn Magee.
Mr. Ruckdeschel loves using technology and applying what he is teaching to the real-world. He asks his students what their interests are at the beginning of the year so he can relate his lessons to those topics. That is why he loves math so much. Besides being a huge math nerd, he thinks it is important that students know math as they are surrounded by it everyday.
The iPads are one of Mr. R’s favorite thing about teaching at MTHS because it prepares students for the future. He combines technology and math by using videos, examples on the web, and his wiki to immerse his class in the material.
According to Mr. R, PreCalculus and all other high school math courses are the foundation for higher levels of thinking in real-life. One of his favorite parts of teaching is showing his students the applications of what they are learning, like in navigation, architecture, and more.
“Mr. R is a really great teacher; he is always really funny and interesting. I love how much he uses the iPad and other forms of technology to engage the whole class. I never wonder why I’m learning this, he always shows how math is used in real life,” said an anonymous student.
To Mr. R, it does not matter if his students still know their trigonometric identities or know how to graph polar equations in 10 years. He wants his students to leave him knowing how to think on a higher level.
“Too many people go around the world not thinking about their problems because everything is handed to them. I want my students to use critical thinking to improve their lives and the world around them,” said Mr.R when asked what impact he wants to have on his students.
Yet, Mr. R is not all work; he loves being funny and making learning as painless as possible. He thinks that if you are not having fun, you are not living.
Does math seem more important to learn once you know how much it affects your everyday life?