The teacher of the month for October is Mr. Rodriguez! Mr. Rodriguez is a dedicated chemistry and environmental science teacher at Hughson High School. This is only his second year teaching at HHS, but he is a valuable teacher on campus. Mr. Rodriguez received his higher education from the University of the Pacific and Sacramento State University, and has 16 years of teaching experience, and 20 years of education experience. Mr. Rodriguez’s motivation for teaching was amplified by his fathers role in high school education for 30 years. He was a dedicated teacher as well, and inspired Mr. Rodriguez to become a teacher. Mr Rodriguez explains that his father “made it look so easy that I just assumed it was.” He goes on to state, “for those of you wanting to be teachers, know that it is not easy, but always very rewarding.”
Not only is Mr. Rodriguez an excellent educator, but lives in Hughson and enjoys the community. He expresses that he loves “…how neighbors in this town look after one another. As a resident of Hughson, I love how walkable the neighborhoods in this town are and how friendly people are.” With that said, Mr. Rodriguez’s favorite part of teaching at HHS was during his first year when students would express their appreciation at the end of each class, by saying, “have a good day” or “thank you.” He explains, “It’s such a small gesture, but it spoke volumes to the culture of the school and the respect that exists here.”
Aside from the respect that occurs here at HHS, Mr. Rodriguez’s favorite part of teaching is “helping students access knowledge and finding creative ways of remembering it.” Even students can attest to this teaching method. Alexis Sotelo, a former student of Mr. Rodriguez says that he would always explain difficult subjects in detail, until everyone understood. Sotelo also says that whiteboards were frequently used to help solidify concepts before writing answers down on worksheets. Evidently, Mr. Rodriguez is a phenomenal educator and enjoys teaching students and being a part of the community alike.
