Mr. Breig: The Teacher Who Can Do It All
By: Sadie Howell
Mr. Breig teaching.
Everyone knows Mr. Breig, but we all know him in different ways. As you take a deeper dive into who he really is, apart from being your science teacher, you might be really surprised. For some people he’s a dad, while for others he is the head of the science department at Jenks. A is coach to some and a church leader to others but in all, he is Mr. Breig. He’s the teacher who lives 20 lives.
Ric Breig, a teacher at Jenks high school, has been teaching for 21 years. Throughout these years, he has influenced many lives in many unique ways.
He says he wants to be the person to help guide students to become the person that they want to be when they are older.
Breig's science department achievements displayed in his classroom.
Though science might seem like his strong suit, Breig took on language arts for 6 weeks In Mrs. Ritze’s class.
Sydnie Ritze, A Jenks high school language arts teacher, speaks on having Mr. Breig in her 5th hour English class for 6 weeks.
“At first it was very intimidating, having him in my classroom learning, but he shared his goals with me and how he wanted to improve his writing skills for his AP classes, and I found that very fascinating.”
She claims he would act like a student; he sat at a desk with other students, telling them to call him Ric rather than Mr. Breig. He would raise his hand and everything. He would even prompt the other students to engage and learn by asking them what they thought about a topic and sharing his opinions with the students.
Mr. Breig shared his struggles with trying to make it to her class every day, since he was in the math and science building and she was in building 5. He shared it made him get the feel of being a student again, having to walk class to class, which he thinks helped him play the student act well.
Breig teaching his 4th hour class about covalent bonds.
After those 6 weeks, Ritze shared that she would like to come to his Chemistry class and learn for a time period. He helped inspire her to try to enjoy chemistry and take on a challenge, and all because of Mr. Brieg’s actions in her own class.
Some students have the privilege of knowing him both in and out of the classroom, Natalie Conkling, senior at Jenks High School, has Breig as a church leader and a teacher for AP Biology.
Conkling has known Breig for 3 years, and throughout those years, Breig has helped her improve her knowledge in AP biology, and her knowledge for serving others. At Conkling’s church, he is involved with most of the mission trips and focuses on leading those.
Senior posters from over the years displayed in Breig's classroom.
“Breig says that it’s very important to him that everyone is smiling and laughing all the time, which kind of helps me have that mindset as well. Also, during the retreats, he always finds ways to talk about quantum physics, which always reminds me that he is a teacher as well,” said Conkling.
With all the things that he does, it may seem like a lot to juggle, but Mr. Breig has a way with his time management.
Breig shares how he manages time by making lists, very detailed lists to be exact. He doesn’t like to put the unnecessary things on the lists, just the things that he knows he can accomplish and fast.
In the end, it makes you think, “What can he not do?” he’s just a normal guy in Oklahoma, living his life to the fullest he can. He takes opportunities and takes on challenges, because he knows he can. Like juggling 7 different leadership roles. Being the life science chair for the science department in Jenks, being his son’s basketball coach, while doing about 7 other things on top of that.
But, with all of those things that he has accomplished within his life, he claims that being a father is his greatest accomplishment. Heartwarming, right?
“I really am a dad first, before everything else. Having young people that are happy and healthy are really special, and I think that's why I like working with students," said Breig.
So, Breig is really the teacher that can do it all.
