By Lisa Carolin
For Chelsea High School English teacher John Zainea, his job goes way beyond the hours of the school day. He says that to do the job well, his investment in students has to go beyond school hours.
“There are so many evenings and weekends dedicated to lesson planning, essay grading, collaboration with other teachers, and more,” said Zainea. “It is an immense amount of work that requires constant creativity and problem solving.”
Zainea is teaching AP English Language and Composition, American Literature, and Introduction to High School English this year. This is his tenth year on staff not including a semester that he student taught with Paul Terpstra as well as the time that he spent as a substitute teacher at CHS the semester after that.
“John possesses a quiet confidence that I believe pushes him to excel at his craft,” said CHS Principal Mike Kapolka. “He loves teaching and it shows in his daily interactions with his kids and our staff.”
Parent Shannon Kelleher said, “As a mom, I feel like without him, Mary would not be as driven as she is today. He has a way of finding the students’ best attributes and convincing them they are destined for greatness.”
Zainea says that the students are what make his job enjoyable.
“It is always rewarding to see the students I work with become more confident people, more capable readers and writers, and more well-rounded citizens as a result of the work we do in class,” he said. “I get to be a part of that process on a daily basis, and that is a responsibility in which I take great pride.”
Zainea is also the yearbook advisor and a basketball coach. He says that everything they do in the yearbook club is student-driven, and he likes watching the students put together such a thorough account of the school year from scratch.
This will be his eighth year in the Chelsea basketball program and his first year as an assistant coach for the varsity boys team under first-year head coach Josh Tropea.
“As is the case with yearbook, coaching gives me an opportunity to see kids thrive in areas beyond English,” said Zainea. “The bonds that grow as a result of competition are special, and I still enjoy reminiscing with old players when they make their way back to the high school.”
Kapolka says that Zainea is always willing to take on new challenges.
“John is a modern day Renaissance Man, as he has great passion and knowledge for teaching, literature, sports and music,” said Kapolika. “I believe that John is able to relate to all of our students given this unique quality.”
Zainea grew up in Grand Rapids and attended the University of Michigan majoring in English, though he started out as a music major. He says that music has always been a big part of his life and that he’s recorded two albums of original music.
