As a new school year begins, Ray High School welcomes new teachers to campus, one of them is Physics Teacher Richard Flather. He teaches OnRamps Physics, IB Physics, and IB Environmental Systems and Societies and strives to help students succeed, prepare for future studies, and share his passion for physics.
Q: So, how’s your first couple of weeks gone at Ray?
A: They’ve been intense, but amazing.
Q: How long have you been teaching?
A: This is my eleventh year of teaching.
Q: Do you have a teaching philosophy?
A: The more students are exposed to higher-level thinking and critical thinking skills now in high school, where they have that safety net, the better off they’re going to be in whatever career path they choose after high school.
Q: Are you from Corpus?
A: No.
Q: Where are you from?
A: I’m from a little tiny town called Montgomery, Texas.
Q: Why did you move to Corpus?
A: Honestly, I moved to Rockport because of my lungs. The air quality there was just way higher than anywhere else in the state that I could afford. And then I ended up moving to Corpus because of pursuing a better path in my teaching career.
Q: So you always knew you were going to go into teaching?
A: No, I actually, as I was telling the student who was here right as you walked out, that I actually spent three and a half years working on an engineering degree before I switched to doing a physics degree.
Q: Do you know about the engineering club?
A: I do. I, in fact, hang out with Mr. Mudd, so.
Q: Why did you choose physics?
A: I’ve been interested in physics since I can remember. I literally have a book that I apparently wrote in third grade, talking about physics. So, no, it’s always been in my blood.
Q: What was it like majoring in physics?
A: Math. And then some math. Followed by, oh yes, math.
Q: Was your program difficult?
A: I’ll put it this way. To get a degree in physics, I had to take one additional math class to get a minor in mathematics.
Q: Where did you go to school?
A: I went to two. I went to A&M College Station, and then I ended up transferring to Sam Houston University when I switched my major from engineering to physics because Sam Houston did not have a grad program. So as an undergrad, I got to work with my professors a lot closer and do research, teach labs, that sort of stuff. That’s usually only what graduate students can do, but because they didn’t have graduate students, I got to do it.
Q: I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’re working with Speech and Debate?
A: Yep, I’ve been coaching Speech and Debate for pretty much my entire teaching career.
Q: Did you do Speech and Debate in high school?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you do anything else in high school other than Speech and Debate?
A: Yeah. I ran track. I was in a band. I swam. I competed in pretty much every nerd UIL, so math, science, all of that. I did tons of AP classes. I’ll put it this way. I was trying to get into the Air Force Academy, and I actually got into the Air Force Academy, so I was trying to make myself look as amazing as possible. But I didn’t end up getting to go.
Q: Why didn’t you end up going?
A: In March of my senior year, I contracted viral pneumonia, and it really messed up my lungs, so I went from being able to run 10 miles no problem to not even being able to run one just because I couldn’t get enough air. So I could no longer meet the PFT (Physical Fitness Test) requirements, so I could not actually get to go. The original reason why I went to A&M was I wasn’t ready to give up on that one, so I joined the Corps of Cadets.
Q: What are some of your hobbies and your interests?
A: I scuba dive mainly.
Q: What’s scuba diving like?
A: I mean, it’s swimming, but you don’t have to come back up to breathe. One of the reasons why I do it is as long as you dive fairly shallow, you can use what’s called enriched air, and so because my lungs are messed up, if I’m on enriched air, it’s like I can breathe normally.
Q: Who’s the most interesting student you’ve had?
A: Gosh. That’s a hard question to answer. There’s a lot. I don’t think I can name just one. I can say maybe the one that was one of my best success stories. I was at Rockport, and it was the year Harvey had. So the school got shut down for six weeks, and then when we came back, I was in a portable building teaching physics with nothing. And if you’ve been in a physics class, there are lots of labs and stuff you do, and I had none of that stuff because it all got destroyed. And this student’s home life situation was not the best. He was living in a FEMA trailer with almost 30 other people, and if you’ve seen one of those FEMA trailers, they shouldn’t fit more than, like, three. And I managed to help him get a five on the AP test and a full-ride scholarship to Duke.
