New Sixth Grade Teacher Loves the Family Atmosphere at St. Joseph School

After only a few weeks as the new sixth grade homeroom and junior high social studies teacher,  Tinley Park native Brian Wetherald said what he loves best about the Homewood school so far is “the family atmosphere.”

A recent graduate of Western Illinois University in Macomb, Wetherald chose to teach at a Catholic school because he attended both a Catholic grade school and high school.

“I found the experience very beneficial for my education,” he said. “I thought I would enjoy teaching in the same environment, and so far I love it.”

It was Wetherald’s junior high social studies teacher that made him want to become a teacher.

“(My teacher) inspired me with his energy and passion for the students and the subject,” Wetherald said. “My favorite class was social studies, of course, because I have always enjoyed learning about history and different kinds of people and places.”

To make his classes fun, Wetherald gets the “students as involved as possible. The more the students share their ideas and thoughts, the more interesting and fun the class becomes.” He added that he would like his students to remember him as “an energetic and enthusiastic teacher that taught them many things across many subjects.”

Aside from his teaching job at St. Joseph School, Wetherald has been a SCUBA diving teacher for the past 12 years and plays both the trumpet and guitar. He said if he couldn’t be a teacher, he would want to “be a police officer, because not only is my dad one, but also because I would enjoy being able to help people on a day-to-day basis.”

He also enjoys reading books with his favorite book of all-time being Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut. Currently, he is reading Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson which is about a sunken Nazi submarine off the coast of New Jersey and all of the adventure, mystery, and danger that is involved in exploring it.

But what he is most passionate about is being able to help build a strong foundation for the future success of his students.

“Every student has the ability to learn and needs to in order to become an active citizen in the community,” he said.