*Content Warning: Physical abuse*

Rene Ribas walks onto stage with his head held high, ready to receive his first medal for graduating salutatorian of his elementary school.

The MC calls his parents to pin it on him. No one walks up. The restless crowd stirs uncomfortably until the MC moves on.

“I was in tears, but they weren’t happy ones,” Ribas said.

His father was working in Saudi Arabia and his mother arrived late, missing the ceremony. Forty years later as an Algebra 2 teacher, Ribas reflects on how his parents’ apathy pushed him to focus on school as an escape.

“I grew up in poverty, and I also grew up with absentee parents,” Ribas said. “I had a depressing childhood, which molded me to the person I am today. I’m amazed at how I handled the depressing situation, because I handled it by focusing on my studies.”

Ribas studied on his walks to school as a kid because his house was so small there was no private, quiet spot for him to study.

“I walked to school in elementary, a little over a kilometer, and during the walk I would memorize things or read while I walked,” Ribas said. “Again, I didn’t have that parental guidance and support on how to study. So I had to learn everything on my own or from my teachers. There was no internet then, so I really had to invent ways to provide myself the space and time to study.”

Aside from being unsupported and living in poverty during his childhood, Ribas was also physically abused by his parents.

“Small or big mistakes, I got a beating from my parents,” Ribas said. “During those times, I did not just feel unsupported, but I felt hated by my parents. I had to find what was missing in my life outside the family.”

Academics was his way out.

“I always wanted to be in school,” Ribas said. “I felt freedom when I was in school.”

Despite his fear of adults that stemmed from a difficult relationship with his parents, Ribas looked at his teachers as role models.

“The big influencers in my life were my teachers,” Ribas said. “I loved them. My teachers provided the adult guidance I needed. I highly respect them and recognize their part in my life.”

After graduating from the University of the Philippines Diliman at 16, Ribas pursued a teaching career, starting off as a math instructor at his alma mater. He then taught in the Dole School and Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. In 2008, Ribas moved to the U.S. to teach math at the Gateway Charter Academy in Dallas. He’s also been a math teacher at five different schools in the Houston Independent School District. He’s now a Pre-AP and academic-level Algebra 2 teacher. He hopes to be what his teachers were to him: a positive influence.

“From preschool to the present, teachers continue to inspire me,” Ribas said. “Even now that I am a teacher myself, other teachers still inspire me [with] how dedicated and passionate they are in what they do. I saw the same thing in my teachers during my early years in school. I guess that’s one of the reasons why I became an educator myself. I was happy to be a student of those teachers and maybe deep inside, I formed the idea of becoming like them.”

Sophomore Abhineil Gotur, a student in Ribas’ third period Pre-AP Algebra 2 class, appreciates Ribas’ commitment.

“Mr. Ribas is very passionate about teaching,” Gotur said. “He wants you to learn the material. He’ll never get mad at a student no matter how much they struggle. He’ll go slow even if it’s agitating. It ensures that the student will get the concept and his job as a teacher has been successfully fulfilled. I like how he makes the learning environment interactive, like with whiteboards and sometimes personal stories linking to the word problems he uses in class, and it makes it like a fun experience to learn in his class.”

Ribas uses an exploratory style of teaching that includes exploration, implementation and evaluation.

“Teachers have specific targets to achieve, and that is the holistic education of young minds,” Ribas said. “Since I teach math, I like the exploratory style of teaching that allows my students to discover and explore with their own learning. After the exploration activity, I usually evaluate the effectiveness of the activity in terms of student learning and student achievement. Did they score well in student achievement? If they did, then that means the activity was effective. If the scores are low, then that means there should be either a reteach or reassessment of the activity.”

With around 110 Pre-AP students and 65 regular Algebra 2 students, Ribas puts in time outside of work to ensure he teaches students everything they need to know.

“It requires a lot of effort to be a teacher, even to teach a single lesson,” Ribas said. “Preparation is key. So even outside the work hours, I spend time preparing for the next lesson. But it’s definitely rewarding especially when you see appreciation from students or good feedback from students.”

Ribas tends to sprinkle jokes in his teaching to help engage the class. Freshman Laksh Ngangom, who takes Pre-AP Algebra 2, appreciates these jokes.

“Honestly he’s a great teacher, and it’s not just how he teaches that affects the class,” Ngangom said. “He’s not a boring teacher. He tells jokes that bring so much enthusiasm to the atmosphere and really brings the class mood up if a lot of people [feel] dead.”

Ribas yearns to be like the teachers who inspired him for his students.

“I want to see the best in the students I interact with,” Ribas said. “I feel so accomplished when I influence my students to reach their highest potential.”