Authored by Niko Byron
Most kids know John Gillis as the funny, caring history teacher here at Oliver Ames High school. But underneath all that there’s “Gillis the man” who is always trying to do more and be better, empathetic and understanding of other people’s situations and feelings, and his curiosity certainly stands out as he is always in search of more knowledge from students. Born in Stoughton Massachusetts, Mr. Gillis grew up around what many would say, a fortunate situation.
“I was very lucky. My parents were wonderful. Two sisters who I am very good friends with. Stable, fun and I had a lot of good friends too. Lot of pranks…everyone was a comedian”.
His next chapter in life brought him to Boston College where he studied history and graduated in 1993. Gillis did some exploring about himself and what he wanted to do in life here, where he tried out a few options that Boston College offered.
“I went in to be a lawyer and go to law school and I realized it was not for me. I was going to do business then I realized it was not for me and I did not get into teaching until my junior year”.
From this point his teaching career took off and he taught in many different places around the globe. His first teaching gig was in Tokyo for about a year. He then moved onto Ecuador for about another year. “Ecuador was my favorite,” he recollects.
Finally, Gillis was off to Egypt where he learned so many fascinating things over in the middle east.
“The middle east for me was fascinating because it gets a lot of bad press”. Usually this would discourage many people to turn away and look elsewhere for work but not for Gillis. “I’m like, I got to go and see this. And the people on the ground were like the nicest people to me. I couldn’t walk down my street without having a cup of tea with someone.”
However he did learn a lot about the culture in Egypt and realized the cultural difference between what he is used to.
“The culture itself was restrictive. We try not to have second class citizens. I would take Arabic lessons from this woman and she was from Jordan and I met her husband and they were very western like. But she was not allowed to drive, he drove her to the class and picked her up.”
He quickly learned this foreign atmosphere and gained a different perspective from this that he takes with him through life today.
When asked what grade level he prefers teaching he did not hesitate to say. “I think I’m better at teaching High school. I was ok at elementary school, it was like, the little kids I like but after a whole day with talking with kids you know…”
I think his students can certainly agree as he is one of the most empathetic teachers that this school has to offer. He is always trying to be better at his job and compassion is a strength that he has that is put at the forefront of his abilities.
He used these experiences when starting his new job at the Easton Middle School where he faced breaking the barrier with teachers that have been working there for over twenty five years.
“I was a 9th grade teacher and that’s where I met Schussler. First day I walked in there I’m like ‘what is this?’ and Schussler was like dude here you go…” and proceeded to give him all of the necessary materials.
“Sometimes in schools where you have an established older crowd who have been there for twenty five years they like to do things a certain way and here comes a new teacher…”
John Gillis briefly taps into some adversities and challenges that he had to face in life. When asked what that may be, he pondered for a while to think clearly.
“Biggest challenge in life is realizing that he is not the best he would like to be the best at. Realizing I’m not the best at things I want to be the best at. I’m not the best at teaching, I’m not the best parent in the world. The biggest challenge of understanding and realizing to put your strengths at the forefront and then being ok with it.”
These words make it evident that John Gillis is an extremely charismatic person that inspires others that it is ok to not be the best at certain things as long as you are happy with what you are doing.
Currently sitting at the age of forty seven, John Gillis has already established a legacy in the town of Easton for students that have had him in the past, he has never failed to give students their own platform to speak their mind freely in order for himself to gain new perspectives each and every day.