Richard Wright Named PhysTEC’s “Local Teacher of the Year”
Congratulations to Richard Wright, our Upper School physics teacher, named by PhysTEC as their “Local Teacher of the Year”! He is one of 10 teachers nationwide who were honored by PhysTEC this year (click here to see the list). Richard was nominated by the University of Texas - Austin where he participated in the UTeach program.
According to PhysTEC, “The United States has a severe, long-term shortage of qualified physics teachers. Of the approximately 1400 new teachers who are hired to teach physics each year, only 35% have a major in physics or physics education. This award is designed to highlight the impact of recent graduates from physics teacher preparation programs in the classroom.”
Richard says, “I'm happy that such an amazing place got recognized and honored. This award is recognition of the hard work of the students and the amazing support from our community.” St. Andrew’s students are proud of Richard, as he notes, “Unsurprisingly, the students have gone out of their way to congratulate me. I appreciate it but am most appreciative of our students' willingness to fail forward and fight through the frustration and confusion.”
The enthusiasm for Richard’s classes is tangible: “In AP Physics, the teams got super-competitive with their drag race vehicles and Rube Goldberg devices. Competition and interest yield some pretty amazing results. For the final project, the teams are pursuing their own capstone project focusing on electromagnetic principles. These projects include a levitating light bulb, an impenetrable safe, a homemade speaker, an EMP gun, and a Tesla coil. We're just getting started but excitement is at an all time high.”
Thank you, Richard, for your contributions to physics education! Go Cru!
