“The other day, a kid was flying down the stairwell. ‘What’s up, Ruda?’ he shouted. ‘I’m not Mr. Ruda,’ I replied. The kid goes, ‘Ha, good one,’ as he looks up at me. Then he turned and walked away horrified,” said Mr. Dewar.
This is one of the many circumstances that two of the English department members face on a daily basis. They understand why students often confuse them – they not only look similar, but act similar as well.
“It’s not so much that we look alike; there’s something in the attitude and mannerisms that leave people confused,” said Ruda.
Mr. Matt Dewar is an English teacher with a passion for wellness, meditation, and philosophy. He loves a good laugh and doesn’t hesitate to share personal anecdotes from his childhood and high school years. On the other hand, Mr. Brad Ruda is known as an English teacher who has a passion for literature as well as aviation. Although different, many students find it hard to tell which is which.
Dewar claims that he started the trend of the “paperboy” cap that both teachers have initiated as their signature look. Ruda implemented the hat into his appearance, and Dewar claims he had designed it for himself. Little did they know that many would take this trait as believing that they are the same person.
“I’ve worn these hats for 20 years, and Ruda just decided to wear them now,” said Dewar.
“Until I came along, Ruda had no idea how to dress in a coherent manner. He saw me as a model of how he might present himself to the world, and this confused the innocent people of Lake Forest High School into thinking that we are the same person,” said Dewar.
Their similar looks have created confusion with students and colleagues who have consistently mistaken them for each other. Dewar recalls the first moment when he was approached and mistaken as Ruda.
“The earliest incident I remember is talking to a teacher in the hall who came up to me and was all excited to tell me something and just started rattling off all of this information, and I had no idea what they were talking about. I just thought, I’m not tracking this conversation, but maybe it will click in a second and get to the punchline,” Dewar said. “As the person went on, I realized that there was some disconnect; it wasn’t just me having a slow brain. At some point they said something, and all of a sudden I realized this was a case of mistaken identity. ‘I’m not Ruda,’ I said. They looked at me so confused and terrified. I just smiled, and they walked away.”
Dewar is not the only one who has left other teachers disoriented. Ruda was faced with a similar situation when a teacher offered him a ride one day after he missed the teacher’s shuttle to the train station, thinking that she was doing a friend a favor.
“A faculty member recognizes me and says, ‘I’m on my way into town; I can drop you off!’ On the way, we sit in the car, and she’s making small talk. I have no idea what she’s talking about; I’m being polite, so I keep it going. We got to the train station, and I said, ‘This is great; I’m getting out here.’ She was so confused and replied, ‘You live in town! You moved out?’ ‘I moved out a long, long time ago,” I replied. It then occurred to her that I wasn’t Matt, and her face went white. She was terrified that she drove a complete stranger into town. ‘You must think I’m Matt Dewar. I’m Brad Ruda.’ She was horrified. Almost like she was about to break out into a cold sweat,” Ruda said.
Their colleagues are not the only people making this mistake. Even their own students cannot tell them apart. Their similar mannerisms, teaching strategies and appearances can often be misleading. This has occurred on too many occasions to comprehend. The two teachers cannot believe that even after teaching their students for many years, students cannot tell the difference.
“Kids in the hall would pass me and say, ‘Hey Mr. Ruda!’ without even second-guessing themselves,” said Dewar.
Ruda is repeatedly greeted in the hallways, confused as to why students are saying hello to him. “Kids always look at me, so happy to see me, but I just have no idea who they are,” said Ruda.
One thing that sets them apart from each other is the way Ruda tends to blurt things out, while Dewar is more measured with his speech. This has left Dewar concerned that people will believe that he is saying these unhinged comments. Ruda continues with the act, amused by Dewar’s anger.
“I have no filter,” said Ruda. “I just say whatever comes to mind,” he said. “And then people think that’s me saying those things! Do you see what I’m dealing with here?!” Dewar said.
The two decided to take action. On the first day of the 2019-2020 school year, Dewar and Ruda decided to have some fun with the situation by creating an elaborate plan to confuse Ruda’s new crop of English 3 students.
Dewar recalls the moment when he formulated the scheme. He had come to Ruda with an idea, and planned to execute.
“I went to Ruda a week before school started and said, ‘Let’s mess with one of your classes and dress exactly the same and see if anyone notices that we’re not the same person.’ So, I looked at his roster and found a class of his that had no students who I previously had—which ensured that none of them would catch on to our little trick.”
Photo Courtesy of Matt Dewar
“I come into his English 3 class on the very first day of school, pass out the syllabus, and put them into groups to do icebreakers. And then, when they started talking to each other, I grabbed Ruda’s coffee thermos and walked out the door and handed it to Ruda in the hallway. Without missing a beat, he walks in and picks up where I left off. I waited in the hall to see if any kid would notice, but nobody said a word! After a couple of minutes, I thought this is too much. I walked back into his room and stood in the doorway, and the whole class looked back and forth at each of us. They were totally baffled. I then looked at Ruda and said, ‘Who are you? He said, I’m Mr. Ruda. Who are you? I then said, ‘No, I’m Mr. Ruda. Who are you?’ At that point, a kid put his hands up in the air and said, ‘I’m so confused. What is happening right now?!’”
The two of them laughed as they relished retelling the story.
The confusion of the two teachers for each other has even caused awkward interactions with members of the community. One community became particularly angry with Ruda, while believing that she was catching up with Dewar.
“The most disturbing situation was when I was pulling out of West Campus. A woman rolled down her window, and we weren’t in a place where we could really have a conversation. She says, ‘Hi, how have you been?’ ‘How’s the high school?’ I had to stop and say, ‘This is not registering with me; I’m not quite sure who you are.’ She gave her name to me. When I replied saying, ‘I’m sorry I don’t know who you are,’ she got extremely angry with me. She was so enraged and felt insulted, so she rolled up her window and drove away,’ Ruda said. ‘I came to school and told Dewar that I think I made a woman in town upset with you, just so you know.’”
Dewar was irritated by the fact that Ruda had unintentionally created tension between himself and one of his former students. Looking back, they find the situation amusing. Though the circumstances create unease and uncertainty, the two are lucky that they are mistaken for their closest colleague and friend.
To clear up any confusion, Dewar and Ruda have compiled a list of questions to ask yourself the next time you’re unsure about who you’re speaking to:
- Is this person old? If yes, it’s Ruda.
- Is this person walking up the stairs? If yes, it’s Dewar.
- Is this person in an elevator? If yes, it’s Ruda.
- Is this person discussing breathing? If yes, it’s Dewar.
- Is this person carrying coffee? If yes, it’s Ruda.
- Is this person randomly saying things without segway? If yes, it’s Ruda.
- Is this person looking like they just woke up? If yes, it’s Ruda.
- Is this person checking his oxygen saturation with his Oura Ring? If yes, it’s Dewar.
- Is this person walking with a plate full of food from the cafeteria? If yes, it’s Ruda.
- Is this person talking to himself in an empty room? If yes, it’s Ruda.
