David Eik teaches chemistry, biology, and the “Anatomy and Physiology” elective. Eik’s also an assistant coach for Nueva’s cross country team and runs marathons in their free time.
What’s your favorite memory from teaching?
Last year at the end of the semester I was covering for Paul’s chemistry 101 class and I gave them the challenge of putting a fixed amount of water in a little tube test tube and increasing the temperature of the water using just their bodies. It was a really silly, fun, and hilarious thing to watch all of the students take different strategies. Some were putting it under their elbow creases, some were running up and down the stairs, and some were breathing on it. There was a lot of joy in it, and I just remember cracking up the whole time seeing all the students crazy different methods for how they’re going to transfer heat from their bodies to this little tube of water.
What’s the most memorable place you’ve ever been?
El Chaltén, Argentina.
What’s the funniest story behind one of your tattoos?
So I’ve loved Ariana Grande since I was in high school, and me and my high school friends have this inside joke around how she says “yuh” a lot. Three or four years ago, me and one of my good friends from high school were home visiting family for Thanksgiving, and we went on a run in the morning and over the course of the run we somehow came to the conclusion that we should get matching tattoos that say the word “yuh” on them. And so when we got back from our run, we looked up all the tattoo parlors in Santa Rosa near us and found one that was open. We went straight over in our sweaty running clothes and got the word “yuh” (with a period) tattooed on the back of our legs.
What’s a piece of advice you wish you had heard when you were in high school?
I don’t know if I would’ve listened to it, but I wish someone had really sat me down and told me that you don’t have to do everything 100%.
The bio pod’s really iconic at Nueva—what’s your favorite bio-pod-specific experience?
I have a lot of earworms, one of which is the song “Firework” by Katy Perry, which has been stuck in my head for about 15 years. Several times a day, without realizing it, I sing the initial verse that starts, Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?
Sometimes I do it knowingly and sometimes it just happens. Lindy hates it. She has a sign that says It’s been X number of days since the last “Do you ever feel?” and it’s become a running joke that me and Lindy have this little spat going.
We also often have little surveys asking students random questions like, Do you ever hug your bros? Yes or no? And they write in a column. The first one of the year was Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? We actually took data from people and broke it down by age to figure out if there is a generational difference on who does and who doesn’t feel like a plastic bag. Generally older folks never feel like a plastic bag but folks in their twenties or younger did at some points in their life.
What song always hypes you up for running?
“Boss B*tch” by Doja Cat. I can be a pretty anxious person and in moments before racing, I try to turn that anxiety into excitement and confidence because I tend to respond better to that during the race. That song makes me feel like a boss which is how I want to feel when I’m racing.
What was your biggest takeaway from high school cross country?
I think my biggest takeaway from high school cross country is also one of my biggest mantras and mentalities in life as a teacher, coach, and runner: process over product.
What do you think is unique about cross country compared to other sports or activities?
I think one of the things that I think is great about cross country is that it just fosters a really important community with people of all different genders and I felt really at home in that and accepted as someone who is not gender conforming.
Other than running, what’s your favorite pastime?
I really like hanging out with friends, reading, and watching TV. I enjoy cheesy reality TV, but I also love dramas. Right now I’m really into “The Diplomat.”
I’m going to be in Santa Rosa (Eik’s hometown) for the next 72 hours, what should I do?
First step, go to Annadel State Park, and go on a hike, run, or mountain bike ride. It’s the most amazing state park ever and where I learned to love nature. After you’re done with your activity, go to Sunny’s Boba downtown and get a delicious boba drink then walk around downtown Santa Rosa for a bit. For dinner, you should go to Goji Kitchen and get their crispy tofu.
The next day I would drive out to Guerneville, where there’s a beautiful redwood grove and then float down the Russian River before spending the rest of the afternoon at Goat Rock Beach. After that, you’re going to drive back through Sebastopol and stop at Screamin’ Mimi’s ice cream shop. You should also go to Lepe’s Taqueria for dinner. The next day before you head out, stop by the Charles Schultz Museum.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
My grandma’s macaroni salad.
What was your biggest academic disaster as a student, if there is one?
In my senior year I wrote my AP literature exam on a book that I didn’t actually read. It was a really reading-heavy class, and I am a very slow reader, so with all my other classes and my commitments I simply did not have time to finish all the books and ended up using SparkNotes.
What is your opinion on AI-use in the classroom?
I think our biggest goal as teachers is that students are able to learn how to critically think and my biggest concern is that if we use AI as a crutch, it will limit our ability to think critically and to use the skills that we need to navigate the world. My biggest blanket policy is that AI should not be doing thinking for you. I always want my students to be thinking critically about their assignment and producing an artifact that’s from them. But AI can be really helpful for initial understanding, broad understanding of topics, and for organizing thoughts.
How has it been teaching anatomy and physiology for the first time?
It’s been so much fun and so much work. It’s a dream of mine to teach a class like this because it’s very aligned with what I did professionally before teaching. As an overthinker, there’s about a trillion different permutations of which I could teach different content in different orders and in different ways. It feels like I am actively trying to keep up with the lessons while I’m adjusting the learning goals and the direction that we’re going. It’s really chaotic, but the thing that’s getting me through is knowing that at the end of the semester I can reflect on it all and figure out how I would adjust the course depending on how each of those lessons or projects felt.
What’s one thing you hope students take with them long after they leave your class?
I hope that they remember that science doesn’t happen in a vacuum. What I mean by that is that there are very real human effects of what we’re learning about in the classroom. I want students to understand that the things that we’re learning aren’t just isolated concepts that exist outside of a social context.
