Kevin Ruane is Not as Terrifying as You May Think

By F. Morina

March 27, 2023

Although he may seem strict and intimidating to those who don’t know him, Kevin Ruane inspires his students to do better and prepares them for the future. With his meticulous assignments, he pushes the students to use their creativity like they’ve never used it before. However, more interesting than his assignments, is his voyage to becoming a teacher at Colonie High who is known for setting high standards for his students.

Even though I spontaneously asked him to do an interview one day, he agreed right away and we sat down together in his class room. He seemed prepared for anything, which wasn’t surprising because I've known him for almost three years, and is he always prepared.

Ruane was born in Syracuse and grew up in Voorheesville. His grandfather came from Ireland and became a construction worker with eleven kids; his dad went from being an exceptional ball player who almost tried out for the Yankees to becoming an insurance broker after hurting his ankle; and his mom stayed at home to take care of him and his younger sister. With a strong, supportive family, he wanted to work just as hard and make them proud. “The idea of the hard work I saw my family do, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t the one dropping the ball on that,” Ruane said.

As a student in high school with mid-80s in each class, he decided to pursue a career in physical therapy and go to Northeastern in Boston. Once he realized he wasn’t actually an expert at science, he decided to use his Taekwondo teaching skills that he developed as a teenager to go to Saint Rose for an Education degree. After trying an elementary teaching program, he then went on to secondary, which turned out to be the right path for him.

He started student teaching at Colonie High and eventually had the opportunity to get a job as a full-time English teacher. Over time, he found his niche as a teacher and how he wanted to educate the diverse students who come into his school.

What may be most interesting about his own education, is that not long ago he studied abroad in London at King’s College to get his second Master’s degree. When asked about his best memory there, he explained that if he had writer’s block when writing a paper, he could just take a walk by himself, wherever he wanted and explore the city. One of those places was Buckingham Palace. “I know it’s not the most exciting thing but to have that opportunity was almost therapeutic, just to walk and take things in,” Ruane said.

Knowing from first-hand experience, ( I was a student in his English 10 Honors and AP Language and Composition class) Ruane pushes students to their fullest potential. I remember him handing us rigorous tasks that would make us think and maybe even give us anxiety for days on end. From creating a gothic story, to putting students in random groups to write and perform a skit, Ruane makes sure his students are never bored.

“He made me feel more confident in my writing skills,” Bianca Grabocka, a former English 10 Honors student of his, said. “I felt smart because he didn’t think anything anyone said was dumb, he would just find a way to spin it so it made sense,” she said while laughing.

In his current English 11 class, students were assigned the task of writing the next chapter of the novella they were reading, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They were given bullet points of events that would actually happen in the next chapter they were about to read, but not in chronological order, and they would have to include those events in their own chapter. All the students were engaged no matter if they were a part of the conversation or not, and I could tell they were focused and wanted to make their work the best possible.

“He has a passion for specific pieces of literature that many teachers don’t and makes sure those passions are conveyed to his students,” Deborah LaBrake, a fellow English teacher, said.

Always making sure he is tending to his students' needs he explains, “Sometimes I need to spend more time helping them break things down, so if I have to start my next unit a couple days later, I never panic because something was given attention that needed to be.”

The main task as a teacher that Mr. Ruane focuses on is growth. In the beginning of the year he provides his students with a folder that will hold every assignment that they will write throughout the school year. At the end, he hands them so students can look at their past work and hopefully see growth in their writing. “You might not be 90+ in my class, but no matter what it is you’re going to do, you’re going to be prepared,” Ruane said.