John Steiner tells his last joke: Why does the teacher leave?
He’s leaving.
Pack up your lab books. Take off your goggles. Put away the Bunsen burner. Drain the water from the beaker. Breathe in some oxygen. Forget what you know about molar mass.
The famous Steiner stare will be no more; just like the years passed — in the blink of an eye.
No more funny jokes that take you 10 minutes to get. No more playing with matches.
Chemistry at Stagg just won’t be the same without him.
John Steiner is leaving.
But he is not retiring.
The former Science Depart
ment Chair will be taking on the role of president for the Stockton Teachers Association after serving as the treasurer this past year.
“It’s different,” Steiner says. “Nothing can ever be more important than teaching and I’ve been blessed to have such good students.”
Born in Oakland, Steiner moved to Louisiana where he eventually graduated from the University of New Orleans, launching his teaching career.
He has taught at Stagg for 28 years.
In order to further the possibilities, like he hopes to do as president by having “a school within a school,” Steiner wrote and got approved the AP Chemistry course that is currently offered.
English teacher and former student of Steiner, Thongthip Duangsawat says, “Juan-UNO’s (John- University of New Orleans) class was very unique.” She goes on giggling as she remembers, “Now that we are colleagues his sense of humor has amplified and I appreciate it way more than when I was a kid.”
Senior Sami Nand, inspired by Steiner, has been in his class a year and a half, but the experiences he lived will last more than that. “He guided me through this journey that is high school,” Nand says.
“I’m excited (to leave),” Steiner says. “When you have done what I’ve done for so long, you see the student body changing; it’s more challenging.”
Leaving doesn’t mean that no one will see Steiner again. He will still be around.
In fact, you could catch him at a hardware store picking up supplies for his garden or at the gym for his evening workout, leaving behind his teaching persona to face the more mature you. No matter the ridiculous things you might have done while being his student, whether that was getting an F or accidently leaving the sink running, he won’t hold a grudge. But he might stare.
John Steiner is leaving. His legacy isn’t.
