When John Megathlin was a little boy, he absolutely hated school, doing whatever he could think of to avoid leaving the comfort of his own home for a hallway of intimidating classrooms. With his mother catching on, a tradition developed allowing him to have the occasional "mental health day," a practice he fondly recalls: "Some mornings I would be able to muster up a few tears in my attempt to convince my mother I needed to stay home for the day. Being the baby of the family, my tears were my 'go to' when the thermometer trick failed and when the thought of having to go to school was just too overwhelming. 'Do you need a mental health day today, John?' my mom would ask. Mental health days were my religion. I LIVED for mental health days! I would stay in bed, play video games, and eat junk food all day long until my mom and sister came home from school and work. That time at home alone helped me get through the grueling days, weeks, and months of school until summer vacation finally arrived."
The confession is hard to comprehend considering Megathlin is a middle school language arts teacher at Carrollton Junior High.
"I find it pretty amazing that I decided to become a teacher. For a kid who spent his entire adolescence avoiding school, nobody could have guessed that I would end up spending my adult life in a classroom. Yet, when I reflect upon my early feelings surrounding school, it starts to make sense. As a classroom teacher, I care about all of my students, but my heart truly goes out to those kids who hate school like I did. I see myself in them, and I understand how rough it can be. This is why I became a teacher: to help those who struggle to find a place to fit in, to bring a little bit of happiness into the lives of those who dread the confining four walls of a school building, and to help lift the burden of learning for those who have difficulty accessing it naturally."
His commitment to the classroom paid off early for him, noticing right away he was changing lives. "While I may not be every single student's favorite teacher, I know I have made a difference to those who struggle to love school and who sometimes find it hard to love themselves. It is because of this I have chosen to teach."
Megathlin says his success can be illustrated with test scores, but he says the satisfaction is deeper than that.
"I find my contribution is illustrated in ways that are more challenging (than test scores) to measure. My contribution can be seen when I get that fist bump in the hallway from the student who started the year unable to make eye contact with me. It can be evidenced when I call that parent to tell her that her daughter just made an 'A' on her poetry project, and the mother bursts into tears, telling me, 'I've never gotten a phone call from the school that wasn't about my girl getting into trouble.' I know I've made a difference when that high school student sheepishly walks down the hallway, finding his way to my room, to hand me his graduation announcement, five years after I have taught him. I am grateful for these moments. They are not moments that can be captured via a data spreadsheet or evidenced by curriculum mapping tools. These are moments of the heart."
Megathlin’s impact on his students – as well as other faculty members – led to his selection as Carrollton Junior High School Teacher of the Year for 2022-2023 last spring. He and Teachers of the Year for other district schools – Michael Harvey, Carrollton High School; Stefnie Crites, Carrollton Upper Elementary; and Tamara Wooten, Carrollton Elementary School, are now vying for the district honor to be announced next month.
Original source can be found here.
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