Cristina Nesta

Feature Story: SSC teacher John Fitzgerald

 

 

            Most of your life you’ve heard people say, you’ve got to take every chance life gives you, and when John Fitzgerald, 34, was approached with the opportunity to teach at Salem State College there was no way he was going to let the chance pass him by.

After spending eight years in school earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from U Mass Lowell and master’s degrees in both rehab counseling and sports psychology from Assumption College and JFK University (respectively) John left without ever having any intentions to teach. 

Currently working as a customer service representative at a private company in Wakefield, Mass, John was taken by surprise when he was asked to teach a Sports Psychology class at Salem State College. He had never taught anything before, never mind a college course for actual college credit. John however looked at it as a way to experience something new in his life and do something he’d never done before. He also saw it as an opportunity to experiment with a different style of teaching, reminiscent to what he would have liked his classroom experiences to have been.

“I understand that for some teachers it seems there’s no other way to teach a subject other than to lecture,” John explains. “But I believe students are not going to actually learn anything by staring at a power point presentation.”

He wants his students to do more than memorize a few definitions for a test, only to forget them five minutes after the test is completed. He wants his students to leave his classroom confident with the subject manner of what Sports Psychology actually is; he believes students will learn through application which is why he encourages his students to voice their opinions partaking in class discussions.  

            Most of the students taking Sports Psychology play varsity sports or are connected to team events in some way whether they be a coach or an SFL (sports, fitness and leisure) major. For their classroom experience, John hopes to make it more interesting by asking them to share their own real-life sport experiences in class to be able to apply the theories of Sports Psychology and make it more understandable and realistic.

            John also hopes that what they learn in the classroom can and will be applied out on the field or in the pool or on the ice. “Teachable moments happen when you least expect them and that’s the reason I teach my class the way I do. I base my teachings on real life and hope that my students will be able to relate to that and hopefully put it to use when they leave my classroom.”