Educator of the Week – Allen
Teaching social studies at St. Mary’s School isn’t John Allen’s first job. “I had been in the insurance business for 30 years, retired, went back to school and decided I wanted to teach, teach history,” said Allen. Allen says his shift in careers gave him a chance to express what he truly loves to do. “It basically woke me up. It gave me a purpose to come in. I can teach these children everyday and see them grow,” said Allen. “It’s something that I really enjoy, getting in there and just bringing to life the history and making it seem worth while to them.” But it’s not just history lessons that Allen hopes his students will gain. “If they can learn something in my class and use it in math or use it in science or whatever, that’s fantastic,” said Allen. “We don’t have a monopoly on history, we want to just teach.” He hopes to teach academics as well as life skills. “It’s being a good student, being able to learn, wanting to learn and being prepared,” said Allen. “That’s the main thing, if they can take that away, learn to be prepared – then everything’s okay.”
