Frequent visitors to the SHS Arts and Science building may have noticed a new face traversing the hallways. John Aguirre, chemistry teacher, joined the staff earlier this year when a position opened up after the first semester concluded. Despite the difficulties of jumping in while the school year was already well underway, Aguirre saw an opportunity not just to teach, but to learn.
“I knew Shorewood had a reputation of being one of the best public schools in the state, let alone the city of Milwaukee, and I was looking to improve my pedagogical [teaching] skills,” Aguirre said. “Being a part of such a great school community with lots of great teachers would help me do that, so it was a pretty easy decision for me.”
Before his time at Shorewood, Aguirre studied at Marquette University, where he was considering pursuing a career in chemistry or entering the medical field. As he dabbled in biomedical science, the right path soon became clear.
“During that time, I was doing some biomedical research [and I] didn’t really enjoy it,” Aguirre said. “It was a lot of computer work and math, and long hours in the lab by myself.”
In contrast, the more interpersonal aspects of education, which he discovered through being a teacher’s assistant in honors and general chemistry labs, appealed to Aguirre.
“I’m more of a people person, and I really enjoyed the TA-ing aspect,” Aguirre said. “I just really enjoyed teaching the students about what you can do with chemistry and helping them understand the concepts, and that’s where I fell in love with teaching. So once I graduated with my master’s in chemistry, I decided to go and get my master’s in educational policy and leadership.”
As a teacher, Aguirre prioritizes catalyzing students’ interest in science and helping them understand how scientific concepts are interconnected within the world around them. He knows firsthand that these skills can benefit students interested in studying the field further.
“I know what colleges, or at least Marquette, are looking for in those students and what they’re [asking of them],” Aguirre said. “So really building up lab skills, but then connecting those lab skills to what we are learning in class and having students apply it to their everyday knowledge.”
In the future, he might expose students to these ideas through projects that address local, real-world issues.
“I’m looking forward to doing more project-based and research-based learning next year and hopefully getting the community involved, maybe trying to solve some problems we have in our local community,” Aguirre said. “There’s lots of different ways that we can solve [local] problems, whether it’s the flooding that we’ve been having or air quality or something with our Great Lakes, or ways to change the AI cooling systems. Those things aren’t going away and we need to solve those problems as the next generation of young scientific minds is up and coming.”
For Aguirre, an essential part of teaching is getting to know, understand and interact with the youth, especially since he has the opportunity to impact them profoundly.
“You don’t always see it right away, the impact that you have on students,” Aguirre said. “It might be 10 or 15 years down the line. They [might] say, ‘hey, I’m now a chemist because of you’ or something like that. Even if it’s not that, but maybe a little piece of advice or something along the way that helps them get through the day, that’s really, at the end of the day, what makes it all worth it.”
Building these relationships is difficult when starting at a new school midyear, but Aguirre rose to the challenge.
“I didn’t have that background or the ability to truly build relationships with the students as they’re learning, so [doing] that has been the biggest challenge for me, but I love challenge and it’s been a lot of fun to do so,” Aguirre said.
While these challenges were somewhat unforeseen, and made the past few months an unprecedented experience for Aguirre.
“[It was] definitely a unique experience,” Aguirre said. “I would say I was a little overly confident with how easy the transition would be. My parents, who are both educators, told me it was going to be very difficult, both picking up for another teacher, trying to figure out where students were in their chemistry knowledge, and also getting to know students with three to four months left of school.”
According to Aguirre, Shorewood students have handled the change in stride and continued learning with vigor.
“I love the fact that students are really willing to ask the ‘why’ questions and try to gain a deeper understanding of the chemistry concepts, challenge my thinking, try to understand the reasons why and have a deeper explanation,” Aguirre said.
Going forward, he will continue to participate in and further integrate himself into the Shorewood community, expressing admiration for the many avenues there are to do so.
“I’m trying to find where I fit in [and] see what clubs I can help out with,” Aguirre said. “I was the founder of our chess club at the last school, so I love chess. I’m helping the JV baseball team this year, so getting a little bit of a bigger role in that would be awesome […] but also seeing all those different theater productions that they have, and I still haven’t been to any of the musical productions yet, which I would love to see.”
Outside of school, Aguirre has many hobbies to pursue this summer.
“I love to golf in the summer,” Aguirre said. “I love to do anything outside. I’m really looking forward to getting my kayak down here and doing some kayaking on Lake Michigan this summer. I’m always looking for new hobbies, I love to try new things. I’d like to play a lot more music this summer. I have to read Project Hail Mary, that’s on my to do list.”
He will also be keeping up with some fellow SHS staff members during the break as he continues his educational and musical pursuits.
“I’m looking forward to working with Ms. Schindel this summer, hopefully in being able to teach physics next year,” Aguirre said. “Mr. O is teaching me guitar a little bit.”