There are plenty of new teachers at Gardner Edgerton High School, Ryan Ridder is one of them. His classroom is located in the 300 hall and he teaches Biology. He has taught many different grade levels, but this is his first year teaching high school level Biology.
Ridder majored in Biochemistry in undergrad and received two master’s degrees in Museum Studies, and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
“I’m from Wichita, I went to undergrad at Wichita State University, and then I was a grad student at KU,” Ridder said.
Ridder always wanted to be someone who could help other people with information about Biology
“[I wanted to help people with Biology] at least since I’ve started grad school… so whether it was museums or at a school just anything teaching related,” Ridder said.
Ridder had started his teaching career as a graduate student teaching at schools, volunteering, and working in science museums.
“When I was a grad student I taught the intro Biolabs for undergrad freshmen, and I did a lot of volunteer outreach stuff,” Ridder said. “I worked in New York at a science museum for 3 years, and then I taught 7th and 8th grade science at Lawrence.”
With Ridder being a new teacher he wants to make sure people enjoy Biology and have fun with it.
“I try to make stuff as hands-on as I can. I try to give people little projects to do, so opposed to just talking the whole time,” Ridder said. “I try to get people involved in what’s happening in some way.”
Ridder enjoys studying organisms that are extinct.
“I was a paleontologist in grad school, so I like studying dead stuff, or extinct I should say,” Ridder said.
Being a Biology teacher comes with its perks because Ridder gets to dissect a lot of different types of animals.
“I’ve dissected hearts, I’ve dissected fetal pigs, [and] I’ve dissected squid,” Ridder said.
Different age levels of anything can be drastically different, and that especially goes for schools. Elementary school compared to high school has a mountain of differences.
“It’s the first year I’ve taught high-school level biology… I’ve kind of taught every age level except high school up to this point, so I’ve taught like older and younger… now I’m bridging the gap finally,” Ridder said.
