Right Reverend Dr. John Timothy Ruckle, PCS’s resident AP Gov and World History teacher, was born in Leavenworth, Washington, a mountain town in East Washington. His birthday remains a mystery. His family moved to California shortly thereafter, and he grew up in Davis, California as the eldest brother to 3 little sisters, two of whom are twins. He described them as female versions of himself: talking too loud, laughing often, and being very funny.

His first official job was washing dishes at a seafood restaurant in Davis called The Bounty when he was barely 18, the beginning of what would come to be an exceptionally diverse and impressive career.

Dr. Ruckle worked at a software company called Santa Cruz Operation during the 80s and 90s. He enjoyed it, because the internet was fairly new and wasn’t widespread yet, so new tech updates and developments were frequent and exciting. Of course, Dr. Ruckle’s most infamous occupation was that of a rock star. When he worked at SC Operation Tech, they’d hold a talent show every year of satire skits that’d make fun of the company they worked at. He and his friends made a low-budget fake rock video called “Anarchy at SCO” which was a parody of “Anarchy in the UK.” They realized they had the potential to form a rock band, and so they did, and they named it Deth Specula. They played at parties at first, then bars and restaurants, and then eventually started finding real gigs around the Bay Area and even in places like Las Vegas. Their big breakthrough came in 1994, when the internet was starting to become more accessible. The band made history that year when they broadcasted the first live concert on the internet ever during a conference at UCSC, where the technology was being developed. There had been a few practice livestream videos before that, but this was the first live concert. They released only one album called Weasels and Cream. They wanted to eventually release CDs, but they didn’t.

His passion for history was an unexpected one. As a kid, he didn’t like history classes. This may be because of the way it was taught back then, and because he had teachers that he personally found uninteresting or did not suit his learning style. However, he’s always liked history because he’s fascinated by the crazy things people do and loves storytelling. After going back to school to become a college professor, he had two really funny and entertaining history teachers, and it was then that he knew that he wanted to become a history teacher. 

He was introduced to the calming manatee when he was creating his masters’ thesis. His friend recommended the website calmingmanatee.com, saying it always helped her when she was stressed out. Dr. Ruckle took to it immediately, saying that the calming manatee and other sources of internet cuteness really helped him finish his project. In fact, he  uses the calming manatee memes to this day. He’s had previous students come back, who forgot APWH content, but still remember the calming manatee. 

He’s built a legacy.

Dr Ruckle’s Ultimate Opinions

His favorite…

• Color: Dark green forest like his eyes
• Holiday: Thanksgiving
• Food: Berry pie
• Drink: Organic clouds & mist green tea
• Hairstyle: Buzzcut
• Animal: Mostella family (otters, minks, weasels…) “I like long tubular mammals.”

• Dr. Ruckle’s favorite APWH fun fact: The Diet of Worms is not, in fact, a diet of worms. Diet means meeting, and it was a meeting during the Reformation at a city called Worms.