John Meyer, U.S. History teacher, was named Distinguished Teacher for 2013 at the May Honors and Awards assembly.
According to Stacy Flannery, fellow U.S. history teacher, the passion and unique qualities Meyer brings to the classroom to engage students and push them is what makes him a deserving recipient of such an award.
“For him, coming to work isn’t work,” Flannery said. “[…] It’s almost like spiritual practice, like it’s in his DNA. […] He is not one of those guys who says ‘thank God it’s Friday!’ It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is for him. [Teaching] is something he really, really enjoys. There is something about it for him that is a type of play that everybody gets to benefit from.”
The Distinguished Teacher Award is an annual award given by the GBS Parents’ Association, started in 1984 and is presented at the Honors and Awards Assembly. The process is solely student-based, as students nominate classroom teachers for the award every spring. According to the Parents’ Association, a distinguished teacher is one who, along with displaying a mastery of their subject material, “inspires a lifelong passion for learning.”
Meyer has been at South for 18 years, ever since he left Bennett Academy in Lisle, Illinois after teaching there for 10 years. On top of teaching two classes of U.S. History at the regular level and U.S. History in the Glenbrook Academy of International Studies, he has been a Peer Group adviser for 17 years, and was the head coach of the varsity boys basketball team from 1998 until 2006. While coaching, he accumulated the most wins in South basketball history.
Meyer said the students as well as the teachers at South inspire him to continue teaching.
“I think we’re fortunate that we get to hire very good people here at [South],” Meyer said. “[…] The end result is you have a lot of great teachers to work with. I think that’s stood out to me along with the students. If you have great students and great teachers, it’s going to be a fun job.”
Meyer’s former students, the graduated Glenbrook Academy class of 2013, took an active role in nominating Meyer for the honor. They had Meyer as teacher during their junior year and spent two weeks in Germany on a study abroad program with him, according to Faith Savaiano, Academy class of 2013 graduate.
“Through those experiences a lot of us got to know him and his family very well, and [Meyer] became a mentor in many aspects of life for a lot of my class[mates] […] We were really motivated to secure him Teacher of the Year,” Savaiano said.
Savaiano believes Meyer’s most important lessons were not only in history, but in humility, responsibility and leading by example. She describes him as always being available to offer advice and support.
“Whether it was dealing with a stressful day of Peer Group, recovering from capsizing a canoe in Germany or just having a rough day, [Meyer] was there to help me with any and every problem I ever had,” Savaiano said.
The idea of leading by example is one of Meyer’s standout characteristics, according to Joy Cooper, Peer Group adviser. She believes this positively affects both his colleagues and the students whom he teaches.
“He’s definitely not someone who is going to say one thing and do something else,” Cooper said. “[Meyer has] taught me not to compromise my beliefs. He’s taught me to fight for what I really think is right.”
In addition to his strength as a leader and the integrity he brings to the classroom and Peer Group environment, Cooper believes that Meyer’s care for his students fuels the Peer Group program.
“He genuinely believes in the power of kids to positively influence other kids,” Cooper said.
Ben Widner, fellow South social studies teacher and Peer Group adviser, agrees with Cooper. Meyer and Widner have known each other since Widner was in seventh grade, when Widner had Meyer as a teacher and basketball coach at Bennett Academy. Widner believed Meyer influenced him both when he was a student and now as a colleague.
“I try to model myself after the idea that you don’t take a class period off, you plan for everything, you prepare for everything, you work through everything and that’s the way [Meyer] conducts it,” Widner said.
Widner remained Meyer’s student when he student-taught for Meyer at South and was an assistant basketball coach during Meyer’s run as head coach. Widner has since become head coach, and believes Meyer helped him get there.
“He did teach me a lot about how important that [position as a teacher and coach] is and how you can make an impact on someone,” Widner said.
Widner believes Meyer’s strength as a teacher lies in his ability to ask questions and strong lecturing ability.
Atticus Hebson, former U.S. history student and current Peer Group leader, agrees with Widner and believes Meyer’s teaching has changed his views of the subject.
“He’s influenced me to become a better person in all aspects of life, and instilled in me a passion for history that I hadn’t known before,” Hebson said.
Flannery believes another important attribute of Meyer’s is humility, which he displayed after winning the award.
“He really recognized that his greatness as a teacher was a product of a lot of contributions from others, and that speaks to me of something I love about him, which is humility,” Flannery said.
Meyer conveyed such humility in his description of his approach to teaching and goals he has for himself.
“The Teacher of the Year Award was very nice, but you don’t set goals for that,” Meyer said. “[…]I just want to be the best teacher I can be every day […] It’s the coach—the competitiveness—in me that wants to be the very best. The way I look at it is that […] I want to win every day in the classroom and have it be the best class it can be.”
His enthusiasm and leadership are all recognized by Widner as qualities that allowed him to win the Distinguished Teacher award.
“[Meyer’s win] was deserving as the award could ever be,” Widner said.
