By: Ayesha Gulzar (She/Her) and Gavin Tilock (He/Him)
January 4, 2021

December’s Panther Spotlight goes to none other than Mr. Dredge, a Math 7/6 AA teacher who has been teaching for 11 years, 5 of which have been at Glasgow. Going back, Mr. Dredge grew up in a small township called South Brunswick, New Jersey, close to Princeton. Before coming to Glasgow or even turning to teaching, Mr. Dredge had a colorful past full of numerous jobs starting with being a guest service supervisor right out of college, using his education in tourism management. Soon after, he was able to get a job as an audio/visual technician. Using some of his AV (audio/visual) background, he moved out to California and became a production assistant for a few months. During this time he also signed up for the Marine Corps Reserve where he drilled while also working a few smaller jobs at the same time. 

Mr. Dredge became a substitute teacher while in the Marine Corps. “I really more stumbled upon [teaching] more than anything else,” says Mr. Dredge. Growing up and throughout college and soon after earning a degree in tourism management, Mr. Dredge had never really considered the idea of becoming a teacher. But a few years later, Mr. Dredge came across the superintendent from his old school district and landed himself a substitute teaching job after discussing and filling out an application. On his very first day of teaching, he found enjoyment listening to a student sound out vowels and consonants during a one on one reading support class. “From that moment, I realized ‘Wow!’ I really like doing this.”… I felt like I was doing something useful and from there on, I felt like I wanted to go into education.” After this realization, he went to get his first master’s degree at Monmouth University and while it was a crazy schedule to deal with including substitute teaching, running an afterschool program, drilling with the Marines, and doing classes twice a week, he did get through it. “It was a very chaotic time, ” Mr. Dredge says. Once he got his master’s, Mr. Dredge was able to begin teaching and loved it from the moment he started.

When asked about what his favorite part about teaching was, he said, “My favorite part about this job is interacting and building relationships with students, families, and staff but also, watching students grow… I love it when students get those ‘aha’ moments,” says Mr. Dredge. “Even just seeing how students learned this much curriculum and learned about this many units and then officially pass an SOL or are even just able to talk about math…it’s an awesome feeling.” Mr. Dredge hopes that his class makes kids hopeful about their learning and forms them into curious, lifelong learners. He also wants his students to be able to face challenges head-on and teach them that they have to work for what they want. “With all students, but especially with students where math and school came easy to them, when they hit a wall, I don’t want them to panic. I want them to know that it takes hard work to learn something new…and you know, I would also like it if they enjoy my math class.”

Outside of school, Mr. Dredge also engages in many hobbies and activities. First and foremost, Mr. Dredge got his second master’s degree at George Mason University and came out with a degree in Educational Leadership in December of 2019. In his free time, he loves music, playing guitar, and is even in a band where he occasionally plays at parties and weddings. Besides music, he loves sports and has developed a lifelong love for it after playing football throughout high school, rowing in a crew during college, and being a goalkeeper in soccer for a couple of years. Another ongoing activity he loves doing is just spending time with his family. “We travel a lot, not so much right now, though, but we like doing things on the weekend like going out for walks and bike rides.” Overall, Mr. Dredge is a very talented and compassionate teacher, who hopes that his students come out of his class having grown with an appreciation for learning and caring for others.