We’re well into the school year, and with that comes the Teacher of the Year award! This time, the winner is the one and only, Mr. Pedro Benavidez! Many students recognize him as a brilliant teacher whose determination and teaching skills are almost entirely unmatched throughout Ray, and with his extensive time at this school comes a rich history. Recently, Texan Times had the honor of interviewing him, taking a small peek inside the life of Mr. Benavidez. The following is a Q&A, so sit back and enjoy!
Q: How long have you been working at Ray?
A: I started here in 2006.
A: I had two prior professions before this one. I was a researcher in infectious diseases, but I got tired of research and went into construction. There, I worked in low voltage wiring, so fire alarm systems, burglar alarm security, etc. I worked with all the banks in the area with their security, alarm systems, vaults, and so forth. I realized I didn’t want to do that anymore; even though it was entertaining, it’s also super hot in Corpus. That’s when I decided to go into teaching because, at that point, I was already a supervisor, and that’s kind of when I discovered what I like doing.
A: My degree is actually in biology and infectious diseases. Chemistry was never really in my radar specifically. I have a composite science degree, so when I went into teaching, I had enough credits of all sciences to teach anything. My first classes were IPC Integrated Business and chemistry. Then I shifted to biology where I realized that I didn’t actually like teaching biology since there’s a lot of vocabulary memorization. I moved to chemistry just to get away from it, and I really enjoyed it because chemistry is applied. It’s math with a purpose, and I like the problem solving aspect of it. I have taught every core science class here at Ray though.
A: I like the math aspect of it. The unit that the freshmen are on currently is stoichiometry, which is chemistry-math, converting a certain amount of one reagent into how much product is going to be made. To me, it’s life, mathematics, and it shows a bit more of the real world. It shows how we transform a certain amount of matter into another kind of matter, and it’s not always equal to what we expect it to always be equal to. Then it goes deeper, where we have rates of reactions, how fast or how slow it happens, and a lot of that can be applied and scaled up in full in industries. I like that version of it.
A: This is my second time winning, I won in 2016 as well. I get nominated almost every other year. I’m excited! I don’t actively seek the recognition, but I do appreciate it anyway. I’ve done a lot of hard work, so it’s nice when I get a heads up like a “hey, good job” type of thing.
A: Patience. Immense amounts of patience. It’s difficult, and a lot of people, students, and parents, don’t realize what teachers really do. Students only really see us for around 49 minutes out of the day, so you never see the planning of the lessons and the creation behind the papers. They don’t see my role as Department Chair, making sure things are running as smoothly as possible in the department. If I’m missing substitutes, staffing situations, etc. It’s also about trying to remember that you are all kids and still learning. One day you may come in irritable, and the next you’ll be perfectly fine. There’s a lot of “hats” that I wear, not just as a teacher but when I’m working as an advisor, mentor, coach, whatnot. What you guys see of me in those 49 minutes is not the sum of the whole that I am. There’s a lot more that goes on behind the scenes, but it ultimately comes down to patience. It’s a rough, rocky world out there, sometimes we have to be a little bit more patient with each other.
A: Aside from feeling like I’m Superman here sometimes, I do a lot behind the scenes as I mentioned beforehand. I’ve been here for a long while. Ever since COVID, we have a smaller staff. There have been times where I had to teach other classes when I’m not even there, which we’re working on. I do a lot, again, behind the scenes to make sure everything functions on a day to day basis. Personally, it’s not just me as well. It’s also all the students. I do have a lot of kindness and patience. I try to keep things going, but in the end, I’m as good of a teacher as you students let me be. Part of this win is also you all.
A: I’m really proud of my freshmen scoring second at the previous meet. That was really great and unexpected. In regards to the science fair, I also had a large number of freshmen who, for the first time, went to district and then advanced all the way to regional. Good job guys, I’m really proud of you. It’s a lot of hard work, and all I’m doing is kind of guiding a little bit and filling out forms. You all are doing the rest, so keep it up!
There’s no doubt that this year’s Teacher of the Year winner has deserved it more than ever. Known as hardworking, entertaining, and a fantastic teacher, there’s no one quite like Mr. Benavidez at Ray! Congratulations to Mr. Benavidez, and may his career continue to bring him and his students new experiences and memories!
