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Brendan Ly

I want my students to know that they engage in scientific inquiry all the time, but that it may look different from Western science. Every culture and community has their own wisdom, knowledge, and teachings that may look and sound different from what is being taught in the classroom, but is equally important to explaining the world around us.

Brendan’s Story

Teaching Discipline

Biology and Chemistry

Why Biology and Chemistry

I chose these disciplines because they are interdisciplinary so students can integrate their experiences and knowledge to construct new understandings. While science does require students to digest lots of information, it is also a place for students to form an innately personal consciousness of their world by creating meaningful connections in their learning.

Science is critical for coming up with solutions for climate change, the biggest issue facing society today. Science is where students can be creative, take risks, create the unknown, and imagine a future that is fundamentally different, transformative, and just. Science is the breeding ground for students to do work that is restorative, revolutionary, and radical.

Professional Experience

Brendan started teaching while still in high school, as a mathematics instructor at the Kumon Learning Center. While in his undergraduate program, Brendan worked both as a General Chemistry Supplemental Instructor and as an Undergraduate Student Researcher at CSU Long Beach.

During his Master’s program at CSU Los Angeles, Brendan worked as a Graduate Student Researcher in two different labs. Afterwards, he attended the Ph.D. program in Chemistry at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) for 1 year, where he worked as a General Chemistry Laboratory teaching assistant and that’s when he decided to switch into the Teacher Education Program (TEP) at UCSB. While in TEP, Brendan student taught Chemistry in the Earth System at Santa Barbara Senior High School and Integrated Science 8 Student Teacher at La Colina Junior High School.

Brendan will start his first year of teaching Biology and Chemistry at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Eastvale, California in the 2024-2025 school year.

Hobbies

Outside of school, Brendan loves activities that help him slow down and be mindful. Right now his favorites are hammocking by the beach and coloring. He also loves learning new languages.

Academic Background

  • California State University, Long Beach (Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry)
  • University of California, Santa Barbara (M.Ed. Secondary Science Education)

Resources