Vol 48 Iss 1 Oct 22 2019

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18 October 22, 2019 Alutant EHS Teacher Features Robert Rutherford A Lydia Blaisdell Staff Reporter Feature Since Robert Rutherford was in 8th grade, he knew he wanted to be a band teacher. “I started going down that path, but then I started falling in love with the idea and the actual performing part. So that was like being on tour doing all that stuff was super cool,” Rutherford said as he talked of his journey from teacher to performer, back to teacher. But as he went on pursuing this career he found his love for performing. That love turned him on a path of performance accomplishments. He has performed in the Blue Devils Drum Corps, The Ringling Brothers, and the Barnum and Bailey Circus. He then decided to become a band teacher. But does he miss his performing life? Leaving the life on the road with amazing connections and making an impact? As his dream became wanting to be a studio musician and travel playing trumpet for a living, what changed? Why did he decide to come back to where it all started? “The thing is I got to go do all of that, I got to go live that dream. Even though it was for a year, I got to go do that part of my life that I had worked so hard to do and it was really awesome and I absolutely miss it,” said Rutherford. The Greatest Showman’s Last Show Robert Rutherford in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus One of many of Rutherford’s accomplishments is his participation in the circus. He described his experience there as amazing and overall life-changing. He lived in a tiny train car and played all the time. “When I told my parents that I was joining the circus my mom cried, and my dad was like this is awesome! And my mom was like, my sons joining the circus...great,” stated Rutherford. He was in the circus during the end of the “Legends” tour, which was the last circus tour that had live elephants. He also helped put together the “Out of This World” tour. Rutherford got his undergraduate degree at Central Washington University, and using those connections he joined a group called the Blue Devils. Rutherford described the Blue Devils Drum Corps as an all brass and percussion ensemble. He participated in this group the summers of 2012 and 2013. They won their 15th world championship when he participated in 2012, the same year he was featured as a soloist. “The Blue Devils just actually won their 19th world championship and it’s actually like the world champions because we’re just like the housing site basically of this league,” Rutherford stated. When asked what it took to reach where he is, Rutherford explained the immense amount of failure it took to reach where he is. He described his transition into the Blue Devils and CWU as terrifying with his having never marched before and worrying about how people would react to him. Overall, Rutherford has accomplished much with his incredible performance abilities. He also gave up much to come to Ellensburg High School, but he still considers his decision to quit the circus and return to his original dream of becoming a band director a great one. He truly loves helping young musicians like those who helped him. “Music did wonders for me personally, and if I can help anybody by doing the same thing, absolutely I want to do that.”
Alutant October 22, 2019 19 A Mathematical Superstar A Looking Inside the Mind Of Daniel Barrera Hannah Campbell Staff Reporter Feature At a young age, it was clear that Daniel Barrera was an enthusiast for mathematics. “As a kid, I was always good at math. I mean, there were other subjects that I enjoyed, but I never excelled as much as in math… Math was always something that I enjoyed,” Barrera states about his early school life. Thus, the whole journey began. As he got older, Barrera took this excitement and pursed his passion in teaching the subject he shined in. While studying here at Central Washington University, he majored in mathematics while also minoring in bilingual education, and he received a master’s degree in special education. Barrera began teaching his own classes at Easton in 2014 and began at Ellensburg High School in 2016. Overall, he has been teaching mathematics for twelve years. “I like to take complex topics and break them down for people to understand in simple ways… I like to see that ‘Aaahh, that makes sense now’, the reaction you get from students, that’s huge right there,” he says. As a math teacher himself, Barrera wants to get rid of the stigma surrounding mathematics. “Sometimes, students come with a mind block, ‘Oh, this is math’ barrier already. Psychologically, it’s a barrier before they even try. They have this negative perception about math.” When asked about any troubles he experiences as a math teacher, his response was, “Going back to that barrier that students have when they say “Oh, I’m dumb.’ No, you’re not dumb. We’re just gonna find different ways for you to understand.” Before becoming a math teacher, Barrera worked at restaurants, CPS (Child Protective Services), and served as a police officer for two years. However, Barrera seems to have stuck with the profession as a math teacher here at the high school. “I think EHS is very unique, I grew up here, I went to school here, my family lives in town, it’s a good place to raise kids.” So what is Barrera’s favorite part of the job? “...When students become professionals, you actually have some sort of input or say I had that student in my class and now they’re professional. You know, you almost have an influence… “...Two years ago I had two students who took the SAT test and they scored top 1% in the nation… and guess who their math teacher was…” Barrera says proudly. Daniel Barrera is a man of many interests. He enjoys learning about different cultures and their histories, he likes to explore and travel, and is happy to interact with students. Whether it be helping with studying for the upcoming test, or entering the room’s door everyday and saying, “Did you know?” followed by a random fact, joke, or a riddle that would boggle even the world’s brightest EHS Teacher Features minds, Barrera is always sure to start the class off with smiles. When asked if he thinks there is anything he can improve on as a teacher, Barrera was quick to respond with, “I think everyday you can become a better teacher. Everyday is different so you have different challenges everyday… nonetheless, there’s always room for improvement.” While finishing up the interview, Barrera remarks on how much he enjoys his job as a math teacher here at Ellensburg High school, stating, “I think it’s one of the best jobs I could have.” Barrera smiles as he hands an assignment out to his algebra class.
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Vol 48 Iss 1 Oct 22 2019

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