Richard Yoha was once a Rio student who, proudly, “never got detention.” Now, he runs his own history classroom at Rio and is preparing to finish grad school this summer. The Mirada spoke with Yoha about his time at Rio and how it influenced him as a current teacher.
What was it like coming back to Rio? Was it an overwhelming and scary experience when returning to work here?
It was really scary at first because the school has a reputation within the district as being a heavy-hitting academic school. I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t screwing anything up. I became the loser teacher. And then it was really stressful, the whole fact that there’s still a lot of teachers here that I had as a student. I’m like, ‘did I make a good impression on them?’ It’s funny because I would still call them ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ and they’d be like, ‘Do not call me that. You’re a co-worker now.’ And now it’s really natural to call them by their first name.
Do you remember much of your experience as a student?
Kind of. I was a pretty boring kid. I took school seriously. I never got detention. I was in band for a bit. I did rugby but quit early. I did football for a day. Looking back, I would have done a lot of things differently in my high school time. But high school is weird. It’s awkward. I feel like there’s very few people that feel like they know exactly what they’re doing in high school.
Do you think any of your past teachers have influenced your teaching style in any regard?
This is going to be really funny. I always thought Mr. Cazzaza’s tests in psychology were very well done. They were very well balanced. They weren’t too hard. They were very practical. There was a French teacher here named Mr. Hodges. I really, really, really liked the way he interacted with the students. So I try to mimic that. I always liked Mr. Mason. I always thought he did a good job with making the government relevant. I always enjoyed how Mr. Taylor brought fun energy to the lesson. Even though I can say that, I always had a weird time looking back, and now that I think about it more, I’m pretty fortunate to have gotten here.
What contributed to your interest in teaching? Was it something you discovered at Rio or college or in life?
I was a theater major my first year in college, and I was in a little school in Iowa. And I was like, no, this is literally the drama department. I don’t want to move to LA and try to be an actor. I’ve always loved history, and I’d always thought about it being fun to go into some sort of teaching, and I’m so glad I did. I’m so glad compared to acting, this is such a better job. It is more balanced. And I think it is so fun to actually challenge yourself with, oh, how do I deal with a problem? How do I try to get them to the point where they actually like me and I can discipline them? Or just those moments where you’re laughing with the class. That’s really what makes this job special.
Do you have any advice for kids who want to be teachers? Maybe history teachers like yourself?
Just know yourself. Know what type of social science speaks to you. Is it United States history? Is it world history? Is it more of the social sciences of economics, different psychology? Are you more of a science person or are you more of a social person?
