Welcome back to PCIA’s Teacher Feature blog series! We’re picking up where we left off last year with a highlight of PCIA science teacher Mr. Ryan Van Duzor.

Teacher: Mr. Ryan Van Duzor
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Subject: Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Earth Science, Physics, Meteorology, Oceanography, Ecology
Lives in: Stevenson, Wash. 

What do you enjoy most about being a teacher?

Sharing my passion for science with my students!  Watching them grow in their scientific reasoning and the application of their knowledge to real world questions is incredibly rewarding.

If you could take your students on a field trip anywhere in the world, where would you take them?

Costa Rica! Madagascar! Iceland! Around the world in 80 days! It would be amazing to teach as we traveled, using the organisms and the ecosystems as examples for the lessons. 

Who is your biggest inspiration?

David Attenborough, famous nature documentarian. His love for nature, combined with his thirst for knowledge, always shows brightly in his work. There is no doubt that he has made a major impression on me and inspired me to be a scientist and now a science educator. I like to think that I, in my own way, replicate his approach in my classroom.

What makes a good day at school?

Outdoor lessons on field trips are easily the best days. There is no substitute for location based learning. But any day where the students and I have deep scientific conversations and the students are really applying their knowledge is a good day!

How do you define success?

Success, to me, is any time you do your best work, to the best of your ability.  Success in science almost always requires failure on some level. Only through perseverance through that failure can you find the better question to ask or a better solution. 

Check back soon for a new PCIA Teacher Feature! And, as always, you can see a list of our current staff here.