It was time for another challenge for new science teacher Aaron Eide.

After working at Troy High School since the 2018-2019 school year and being assigned the Fullerton Joint Union High School District’s [FJUHSD] Teacher on Special Assignment [TOSA] for science since the 2015-2016 school year, Eide said he wanted a change of scenery.

As part of his TOSA responsibilities, the instructor said he had a chance to visit every FJUHSD campus to meet with other science teachers during the school day — either during their lunch time, conference periods or department meetings. And of the 16-20 times in the past eight years he has done these visits, Sunny Hills stood out.

“I knew this was a great place to work at,” Eide said. “It always just seemed like a nice campus whenever I visited; the students all seem pretty amazing, the campus is super clean and the staff is really friendly.”

So upon finding out last semester that science teacher Kathy Bevill had announced her retirement starting the end of May, he said he didn’t hesitate to apply for the transfer.

“I came and met with Mr. [Craig] Weinreich [the principal] and Mr. [Andrew] Gartner [science department chairman] and talked about what my role would be this year, and since I had already been working for the district, the hiring process wasn’t really anything other than just, ‘OK, you’re gonna come fill this role now,’” said Eide, who also relinquished his TOSA title to another instructor at Sonora. “It was more of a transfer than a hiring process.”

EIDE AS IN “ID CARD” OR EIDE AS IN “THE IDES OF MARCH”?

As with his relaxed personality in and out of the classroom, the former Troy teacher said he doesn’t usually explain to his students at the beginning of the school year how to pronounce his last name.

“I don’t care what they call me,” said Eide, who has also had students refer to him as “Mr. E.” “As long as they’re asking me questions [about what they’re learning], that’s all that matters to me.”

For those who do ask, the science teacher tells them.

Eide said his last name (pronounced the same as the contraction, “I’d,” or the singular form of “Ide” as in “Beware the Ides of March” from a line in William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar) comes from a Norwegian heritage.

In fact, it’s a shortened version of “Eidestevenson,” he said.

GROWING UP IN THE INLAND EMPIRE

Besides his European cultural history, Eide said he grew up in Riverside and loved the outdoors – collecting rocks and figuring out what they were made of. This curiosity eventually led to his budding passion for science.

Before joining the education field, Eide said he entered the work force as a part-time lifeguard in Riverside during the summer after his sophomore year at La Sierra High School. 

As a swimmer on the school’s swim team, he said he applied to become a lifeguard with his fellow teammates and ended up being one of the only two people chosen for the job.

Part of his duties included giving swim lessons to as young as newborns to as old as grown-ups, Eide said.

“It was surreal being 16 years old and being in charge of people’s safety,” he said. “So I had to grow up really fast doing that and take things seriously, which I never did.”

EARLY TEACHING YEARS

Upon graduating from La Sierra High School in Riverside, Eide said he enrolled at California Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in geology. And then by 2000, he obtained his teaching credentials in science, geology and computer science.

“I decided this was the job I wanted my senior year in high school,” Eide said. “I was lucky and had many wonderful teachers over the years. Those teachers gave me an appreciation for learning and I wanted to be like them.”

Eide said he worked as a substitute teacher in the Walnut Unified School District during the 2000-2001 school year. The following school year, he started his first full-time position at Rincon Intermediate School in West Covina, teaching Earth science, life science and chemistry to seventh- and eighth-graders until the end of the 2003-2004 school year.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Eide, who got hired with the help of his friend’s mother, the principal on that campus. “Junior high school students are a little bit insane, but it was a really interesting experience getting to work with them.

“This job taught me to have patience.” 

Upon completing his second year at Rincon, the science instructor decided it was time for a new challenge.

“I transitioned into teaching [at] the high school level because I wanted to move closer to the beach,” Eide said. “I lived in West Covina, so I transferred here to the Fullerton area, which is about 20 minutes closer to the beach.”

In the fall of 2004, he got hired to teach at the Fullerton Joint Union High School District’s continuation campus, La Vista High School, where he worked at for nearly 15 years before transferring to Troy High School in the 2017-2018 school year. Two years before transitioning to Troy, the district appointed him as the science TOSA.

Before coming here to teach three regular Biology and two honors Biology classes, Eide said he has taught Earth Science and all levels of Biology; he has also overseen instruction in animation, game design, film production and web design.

Weinreich also lauded his experience, especially as a science TOSA.

“He stepped down from that position and needed to be placed [into a full-time position],” the principal said. “And we had the science opening, so that’s that. That was just an easy placement, but he’s an amazing science teacher, a great all-around individual.”

Eide’s new role here will primarily center on establishing relationships with freshmen, most of whom have Biology or Biology Honors on their course schedule.

“Personally, he’s been an amazing teacher so far,” said freshman Myles Sherman, who is in third-period Biology. “He’s just calm, and everyone likes him; we respect him, and he respects us.” 

Other students described his teaching style as helpful, entertaining and engaging.

“Mr. Eide is very dynamic and enthusiastic whenever he teaches,” said freshman Jacob Ibarra, who is in fourth period Biology Honors. “I think he likes to teach his students in a fun way, and everybody wants to learn in this class.”

Like the new teacher, freshman Aaron Yoo said he also enjoys doing hands-on activities and group projects. 

“My favorite project so far was one about ecosystems,” said Yoo, who is in fourth period Biology Honors. “We were put into random groups and each group was assigned a specific ecosystem. We made posters and presented them to the class. I was assigned the desert ecosystem.” 

Outside of school, Eide said he spends time with his wife and two children, ages 5 and 7, living in Long Beach, where he coaches his son’s football team. Besides visiting the beach, he enjoys participating in triathlons, a long-distance endurance race consisting of swimming, cycling and running. As of last month, he said he has competed in a dozen of these contests.  

Eide said he aims to learn more about his students and create enjoyable science-related experiences for them in the classroom with a hands-on-activity at least once a week. 

“I want everybody to enjoy their time — to not be bored with coming to class,” the science teacher said. “So that’s what it means [to have fun]. It means being engaged in the classroom. It means everybody wanting to participate, not being forced to participate.”