Mr. Ernie Ruble |
My name is Ernest L. Ruble. I was born at Greensburg Memorial Hospital in Decatur County, Indiana, on July 27th 1966. I was raised in nearby New Point, Indiana, the son of Archie and Wanda Ruble. After attending New Point Elementary School, I attended, and graduated from North Decatur Jr./Sr. High School. Upon graduation, I attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana as a Social Studies Education major. I received both of my college degrees from Ball State University (B.S. in 1989, M.A. in 1995) in Social Studies Education and Secondary Education respectively. While a student at Ball State, I earned my commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army/Indiana National Guard and served in the Armored Cavalry for 10 years and retired with the rank of Captain. I have also worked with Indiana University, Purdue University, Vincennes University, and Franklin College in professional associations and mentoring of their students as future educators. I am in my 3rd year of teaching at North Decatur High School in which I teach World History, Sociology, Economics, and AP Macroeconomics. Previously, I taught 23 years at Jac-Cen-Del Jr./Sr. High School, grades 7 -12 with subject matter that included Economics, Government, United States History, World Geography, World History, and Anthropology . I also taught dual credit United States History as an Associate Professor in conjunction with Vincennes University. Finally, I taught on line for the Indiana Virtual Academy using courses I developed for the Academy that included Government and Geography. I am blessed to have an amazing family that includes my wife, Ann, who is a Kindergarten teacher at Parkside Elementary School in the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation, my oldest son Adam (who dreams of being music education teacher) who is a Junior at Columbus North High School and my youngest son, Christopher (whose goal is to be an engineer), a Freshman at Columbus North High School, both in Columbus, Indiana. I serve our school as a co-sponsor of the high school Student Council and National Honor Society, coaching our high school Social Studies academic team, serving on the Decatur County Community Scholarship Committee, Maverick Challenge adviser, and head coach of the Jr. High Boys Track team. Additionally, I have served on Team Ripley and Eco15, been a Dream It Do It Champion, participated in the Project Based Learning Academy, on the Southeast Indiana Insurance Consortium Board(serving as the Consortium’s Vice-President) and have served the Indiana Department of Education as a member of the ISTEP Cut Score Committee and Editing Committee for Social Studies. I have been awarded numerous honors in education. Those which seem to be the most relevant include the History Department Award from Ball State University, Dean’s Citation for Academic Excellence from Ball State University; Best Teacher Award for Ripley County, Indiana, my former principal’s recommendation for both Indiana Teacher of the Year and Ripley County Teacher of the Year, and, perhaps my greatest honor, I was the featured speaker chosen by the North Decatur Senior Class of 2014 for their commencement. Perhaps the two greatest collaborative efforts outside of my teaching assignments that I have had the fortune of working with include Ball State University and the United States Department of Education in the “Bridging the American Experience” grant that spanned four years which brought a deeper study and understanding of United States and Indiana History to rural schools and the Indiana University TICKIT program whose goal was to incorporate many forms of technology into curriculum for the classroom. The process and resources gained from these experiences will continue to be valuable assets to myself and students as I move into the latter part of my teaching career. The day I stop learning and using innovation in my room is the day I need to step down from my position and leave the teaching profession. I do not see that happening anytime soon. I have been blessed to work with great students and colleagues over the years. The greatest honors I receive are from my students, particularly when I am asked to write recommendations, serve as a reference and shaking each graduates hand as they graduate and commence to the next stages of their lives. I cannot imagine the day when I am not around them, they are a critical part of my life and I am honored to have been a part of theirs. |