This article was just printed on the front page in Olympia, Washington about my uncle. We always knew Uncle Andy was really cool...apparently a lot of other people do to. He's always inspired me by his desire to learn, explore and teach others. He's also been a great example of how you don't always have to live your career out the way everyone else does. God can take you wherever He chooses. And often you can learn a lot more on your own, when you're interested and digging for it, than if you get a degree just because everyone else is.
Retiring from his material world … sort of
Andy Nydam: Teacher leaves Olympia High, transitions to ‘teaching teachers’
LISA PEMBERTON | Staff writer
One day, someone at church mentioned that North Thurston High School in Lacey was looking for an automotive instructor.
“I asked them how much it paid, and I wasn’t at all interested,” Nydam said. “Then the perfect storm occurred, and three weeks later, I was teaching at North Thurston.”
That was 30 years ago.
This week, Nydam will retire from Olympia High School, where he transferred 18 years ago. He said he’s doing so because the time is perfect: Nydam turns 62 and a half, and he reaches the coveted 30-year mark in the teachers’ retirement system, on the same day.
“If that’s not the planets aligned,” Nydam said with a chuckle.
Initially, teaching wasn’t something he thought of as a long-term gig. Nydam said he figured he’d return to the automotive industry after a year or two.
“I had some really good job offers from a bunch of corporations,” he said.
But it didn’t take long before he realized that the challenges and rewards in the classroom couldn’t be matched with climbing a corporate ladder.
He recalls feeling an instant connection with the kids in auto shop.
“I went to school because I was supposed to,” Nydam said. “I saw 30 kids just like me. … That became my goal: How on earth do you engage these kids?”
Nydam developed a reputation of explaining complicated and technical material with real life stories and funny analogies, said Mark Emmons, one of his former students who is now an instructor of advanced automotive at New Market Skills Center.
And it didn’t hurt that Nydam’s passion for all things auto and science seemed practically contagious.
“I really loved his class so much, and it just resonated in me, I wanted to be in auto,” Emmons said. “You could tell he was really excited about teaching. He made us all feel like we were somebody, and we had a place – a family.”
In 1988, Nydam added material science to his workload at North Thurston. The career and technical course teaches practical applications of chemistry through different materials such as glass and plastics.
“It’s one of the fastest changing fields, and there is so much to learn,” he said. “In material science, you can dig deeper and deeper in any area you want, and you’ll never hit the end of the tunnel or the ultimate knowledge.”
Nydam has helped develop material science curriculum that’s used in classrooms, and he’s lectured all over the United States and Canada for the past 20 years. Nearly every material science teacher in the country has either been trained by him, or somebody he’s trained.
“I just feel so blessed that I was the right geek, and in the right spot, at the right time,” he said.
It doesn’t matter if he’s giving a lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or if he’s leading a beginning automotive class with freshman who don’t know what Phillips screwdrivers are, Nydam has a skill for presenting information in a way that’s comfortable and relevant for his audience, said North Thurston auto instructor Brian Stretch.
He said Nydam is a nurturing teacher who taught him to always try to see the potential in every student. “He is brilliant,” Stretch added. “You can’t have a conversation with him without walking away smarter.”
Nydam taught material science at River Ridge High School in Lacey for three years before moving to Olympia High School in 1994.
His material science courses at Olympia High School have traditionally pulled in a diverse mix of students – including those who are on the academic honors track, and those who are more apt to take vocational education classes, according to principal Matt Grant.
“Andy teaches like no other teacher,” Grant said. “He may be the best I have seen at integrating hands-on experiences, scientific methods and narrative stories.”
Recent Olympia High graduate William Hoza said Nydam stands out from other teachers because he embraces creativity and isn’t afraid to let kids learn by making mistakes.
“By giving kids the freedom to do just about whatever they wanted with incredible equipment, chemicals, tools and materials that are found in his classroom, Mr. Nydam gave students opportunities to create the contents of their imaginations that are unheard of elsewhere at the high school level,” Hoza said.
Nydam said he’s enjoyed his job so much he doesn’t feel like he’s really “worked” in a long time. He said one of the best perks of teaching has been watching students go out into the real world and make a difference.
“There’s nothing wrong with people outdoing the teacher, in my opinion,” he said.
For example, one of Nydam’s students went on to become one of the world’s experts in Nitinol, a material that’s used to create heart stents. Others have gone on to build their own companies, or make a great living in auto and material science industries.
“I’m bragging, but I have absolutely some of the most amazing kids in the world,” he said. “I could go on and on about (their) successes. Some of the kids have gone on to do really, really well.”
Nydam’s said he doesn’t really have any hobbies or family obligations, so his retirement plans include teaching at six colleges this summer and working with Everett Community College and the Snohomish School District on a materials-based curriculum.
He’s also going to spend a week a month doing workshops for Ohio State University. He believes the pendulum is finally swinging away from being based on standardized test scores, to the side that allows kids to get more hands-on learning experiences, and reaches the “kinesthetic learners,” as he says.
And he wants to be part of that shift in education.
“I’m stepping out of teaching kids, and into teaching teachers,” Nydam said.
http://www.theolympian.com/2012/06/21/2148361/retiring-from-his-material-world.html“I asked them how much it paid, and I wasn’t at all interested,” Nydam said. “Then the perfect storm occurred, and three weeks later, I was teaching at North Thurston.”
That was 30 years ago.
This week, Nydam will retire from Olympia High School, where he transferred 18 years ago. He said he’s doing so because the time is perfect: Nydam turns 62 and a half, and he reaches the coveted 30-year mark in the teachers’ retirement system, on the same day.
“If that’s not the planets aligned,” Nydam said with a chuckle.
Initially, teaching wasn’t something he thought of as a long-term gig. Nydam said he figured he’d return to the automotive industry after a year or two.
“I had some really good job offers from a bunch of corporations,” he said.
But it didn’t take long before he realized that the challenges and rewards in the classroom couldn’t be matched with climbing a corporate ladder.
He recalls feeling an instant connection with the kids in auto shop.
“I went to school because I was supposed to,” Nydam said. “I saw 30 kids just like me. … That became my goal: How on earth do you engage these kids?”
Nydam developed a reputation of explaining complicated and technical material with real life stories and funny analogies, said Mark Emmons, one of his former students who is now an instructor of advanced automotive at New Market Skills Center.
And it didn’t hurt that Nydam’s passion for all things auto and science seemed practically contagious.
“I really loved his class so much, and it just resonated in me, I wanted to be in auto,” Emmons said. “You could tell he was really excited about teaching. He made us all feel like we were somebody, and we had a place – a family.”
In 1988, Nydam added material science to his workload at North Thurston. The career and technical course teaches practical applications of chemistry through different materials such as glass and plastics.
“It’s one of the fastest changing fields, and there is so much to learn,” he said. “In material science, you can dig deeper and deeper in any area you want, and you’ll never hit the end of the tunnel or the ultimate knowledge.”
Nydam has helped develop material science curriculum that’s used in classrooms, and he’s lectured all over the United States and Canada for the past 20 years. Nearly every material science teacher in the country has either been trained by him, or somebody he’s trained.
“I just feel so blessed that I was the right geek, and in the right spot, at the right time,” he said.
It doesn’t matter if he’s giving a lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or if he’s leading a beginning automotive class with freshman who don’t know what Phillips screwdrivers are, Nydam has a skill for presenting information in a way that’s comfortable and relevant for his audience, said North Thurston auto instructor Brian Stretch.
He said Nydam is a nurturing teacher who taught him to always try to see the potential in every student. “He is brilliant,” Stretch added. “You can’t have a conversation with him without walking away smarter.”
Nydam taught material science at River Ridge High School in Lacey for three years before moving to Olympia High School in 1994.
His material science courses at Olympia High School have traditionally pulled in a diverse mix of students – including those who are on the academic honors track, and those who are more apt to take vocational education classes, according to principal Matt Grant.
“Andy teaches like no other teacher,” Grant said. “He may be the best I have seen at integrating hands-on experiences, scientific methods and narrative stories.”
Recent Olympia High graduate William Hoza said Nydam stands out from other teachers because he embraces creativity and isn’t afraid to let kids learn by making mistakes.
“By giving kids the freedom to do just about whatever they wanted with incredible equipment, chemicals, tools and materials that are found in his classroom, Mr. Nydam gave students opportunities to create the contents of their imaginations that are unheard of elsewhere at the high school level,” Hoza said.
Nydam said he’s enjoyed his job so much he doesn’t feel like he’s really “worked” in a long time. He said one of the best perks of teaching has been watching students go out into the real world and make a difference.
“There’s nothing wrong with people outdoing the teacher, in my opinion,” he said.
For example, one of Nydam’s students went on to become one of the world’s experts in Nitinol, a material that’s used to create heart stents. Others have gone on to build their own companies, or make a great living in auto and material science industries.
“I’m bragging, but I have absolutely some of the most amazing kids in the world,” he said. “I could go on and on about (their) successes. Some of the kids have gone on to do really, really well.”
Nydam’s said he doesn’t really have any hobbies or family obligations, so his retirement plans include teaching at six colleges this summer and working with Everett Community College and the Snohomish School District on a materials-based curriculum.
He’s also going to spend a week a month doing workshops for Ohio State University. He believes the pendulum is finally swinging away from being based on standardized test scores, to the side that allows kids to get more hands-on learning experiences, and reaches the “kinesthetic learners,” as he says.
And he wants to be part of that shift in education.
“I’m stepping out of teaching kids, and into teaching teachers,” Nydam said.
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