Westonite of the Week: Dan McNeill

What brought you to teaching?  I’ve been teaching for seven years. This is my fifth year in Weston and prior to that I was a special education paraprofessional in Norwalk for two years. It’s sort of a funny story about how I became a teacher. Back in 2004, I had just sold my small business and was exploring the next steps for my career. I was out to lunch with a friend one day and I ran into one of my high school English teachers, Bob Gillette. To put it simply, Mr. Gillette was “that” teacher. He was the one whose classes filled up first; the one that made you love learning; the one that after 20-plus years still personified passion for teaching and learning. It’s been 20 years since I’ve been in that class and I remember parts of it like it was yesterday. Essentially, it was one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve ever had in school, and he was my all-time favorite teacher. We were catching up and he asked me about my career. I shared my story with him and he paused for a minute and said, “You know, I always thought you would make a wonderful teacher.” I was enrolled in the graduate program at Fairfield University a month later.

How did you come to Weston? The answer to this question is another funny story. Well, maybe more “make you think” funny and less “laugh out loud” funny. I was at a job fair for teachers in Fairfield. It was a long and trying day and I had met with people from close to a dozen districts. I was not able to go to the Weston booth because the line was tremendous all day long. As I was leaving I thought that I should go and check back with Weston. When I got to the front of the (now shortened) line I must have said something really great, because they gave me an interview on the spot. That’s how I initially found Weston. From that point on, what really drew me to Weston was the reputation that the district projects. I was looking for a small district with a high level of parent involvement and commitment to education. For me, Weston seemed like a perfect fit.

How do you stay motivated? One of the best ways to stay motivated is to enjoy what you do. I love teaching, so that really helps. It also helps to have such wonderful colleagues. They continuously push me to improve my practice every day. In the end, however, I have 22 children who are depending on me to create and help them navigate their way through a meaningful educative experience. If that isn’t motivating, I don’t know what is!

What's the most challenging part of your job? Well, I am constantly challenged by the fact that I have not learned how to stop time. Seriously. I have 22 students, each one of whom I want to give as much individual attention to as possible. Parents with more than one child can understand this—if you’re playing baseball with one then you’re not riding bikes with the other. And that’s a challenge. Now multiply that by 11. The most challenging part for me is finding the balance so that I am meeting the learning, social and emotional needs of every student, every day.

What do you like best about teaching? My favorite part of teaching is when students from previous years come back to visit. That’s how I know that I have really had an impact on someone else’s life, and that’s pretty cool. Hopefully I can eventually be someone else’s Bob Gillette.