As the 2023-2024 school year begins, many new teachers have arrived on campus and are now joining the supportive community here at Arcadia High School (AHS). This year, the Science Department welcomed Mr. Andres Gonzalez as a new teacher for both Chemistry and Physics. With unmatched enthusiasm and dedication to science, Mr. Gonzalez now begins his journey at AHS.
Mr. Gonzalez grew up in Riverbank, a small town located in Central California. He attended UC Merced for his bachelor’s degree and UC Davis for his master’s degree. Growing up, he was not very interested in the sciences.
It was only until he attended UC Merced that he was inspired by a biology professor of his, which led to his interest in studying the natural sciences. Reflecting upon his professor’s teaching style, Mr. Gonzalez commented that it was so effective that he “would never miss a class.”
Even after Mr. Gonzalez became interested in the sciences, he was not sure of a career in education until his final year before graduation. While working alongside his professor, he developed a better understanding of teaching as his professor “started sharing a lot about what he does in terms of education, especially teaching science.” And from there, Mr. Gonzalez said he “developed a desire to really become a teacher and share [his] knowledge with other people.”
Coming to AHS, Mr. Gonzalez noted that everything seemed bigger, especially the size of the campus and the number of students he is now working with. As he noted, AHS was “nothing like what [he had] been used to since it is a really big school and a little intimidating.”
Previously, Mr. Gonzalez worked at a very small school, with only around 800 students overall. Compared to AHS, it was a “very small community and everyone knew each other.”
A large reason for coming to AHS was the fact that Mr. Gonzalez had planned to move to the Los Angeles area. His decision to teach here became “more driven based upon what [he] saw.”
In the classroom, Mr. Gonzalez focuses on providing his students with hands-on learning experiences. In his own words, he wants his students to “visualize what they’re learning, whether that be through a lab, a demo, or maybe a simulation.”
In addition to helping students see science happening before their eyes, Mr. Gonzalez also places a heavy focus on collaboration. When students work together, he commented, “We share different ideas and different perspectives, and we can just grow from there.”
Outside the classroom, Mr. Gonzalez has a plethora of interesting hobbies as well. He has recently picked up rock climbing and regularly visits the Hangar 18 Indoor Climbing Gym here at Arcadia. He got a new dog named Chorizo. And he was a competitive ballroom dancer for seven years, starting in sixth grade. Besides his personal hobbies, Mr. Gonzalez also participates in various student activities to further his connections with his students. This year, he is the club adviser for the Indian Culture Club.
When asked about the biggest goal Mr. Gonzalez wanted to accomplish here at AHS was, he replied that he wanted his students “to come back and just tell [him] that they enjoyed [his] class.”
He also wanted to encourage more students to take science courses like chemistry and physics, and if possible, to encourage more students to take the honors or AP variants of those courses. It’s very important to him that the “students are very motivated” and acknowledges that while those classes are sometimes not the easiest, students would still be interested if teachers made it fun.
The three most important traits Mr. Gonzalez would look for in a good teacher are consistency, equity, and spirit.
To him, consistency means keeping your promises to students. If you promise them something, “[make] sure that you hold up your end of the deal and any promises you make and try to meet them.”
Equity to him means “making sure that every student is receiving the same opportunities in terms of their learning.”
And lastly, spirit means a teacher needs “fun spirit” and “be awake and be ready” for your students.
When asked about one piece of advice he would give to students who are struggling academically, Mr. Gonzalez’s reply was simple yet powerfully motivating.
“Never say you’re not good at something until you’ve tried. And if you fail, you try again. And if you fail a second time, you try it again. Because eventually, you will get it.”
With such an optimistic and enthusiastic teacher joining our community here at AHS, the future students are lucky to have Mr. Gonzalez as their teacher for chemistry and physics. Once again, the AHS community extends its welcome to Mr. Gonzalez. And we are excited by the positive impact he will leave behind.
