Mr. Ratka is a social studies teacher currently in his 23rd year at Clarence High School. I recently had the opportunity to ask him some questions about his career and what made him want to become a teacher.

MH: Why did you decide to become a teacher?

Mr. R: I enjoy history and I enjoy working with kids, so it seemed like a natural fit I would say.

MH: What's your most memorable teaching moment?

Mr. R: When I got the job at Clarence. I taught at an alternative school part time before this, so it was when found out I had gotten a full time job.

MH: What extracurriculars are you involved in, and what do you like about them?

Mr. R: I am the advisor for Model UN, which is pretty cool because we get to discuss world issues. I have coached for about 25 years, and this is the first time I am not coaching for school. In that time, I’ve coached boys basketball, baseball, and softball. This is the first time teaching without coaching, and it is a little weird.

MH: What classes do you teach, and why did you pick them?

Mr. R: I teach Global 2 because I enjoy the material, and I teach AP Macroeconomics because I decided I wanted a change and wanted to try teaching a new course. I decided to teach AP Macro, and I like that this is kind of my course and I am hoping to build it up and have more kids take it in the future.

MH: What do you like about Clarence High School?

Mr. R: The students are fun to work with, and I have a bunch of good friends I teach with, which is nice. I enjoy coming to work every day. I get to work around people I enjoy.

MH: What's your favorite part of the curriculum?

Mr. R: For Global, probably World War II. For AP Macro, I think learning about the Federal Reserve, because it is very much relevant in today's world.