Mr. Callanan, also known as the “school dad”, is a well known teacher here at TMHS. He started his career here three years ago in 2016. Currently, Callanan teaches AP Economics, CP Economics and U.S. History. I asked him a few questions to get to know him a little better.

What made you want to be a teacher?

“About 10 years ago, I was unhappy in my profession. My wife pushed me to take some classes and go back to school and I took a couple education classes and I really fell in love with the coursework and really saw myself in the role of teaching. One thing led to another, and I became a teacher.”

What was your career before teaching?

“I was at a manufacturing company in Fitchburg called Avery Dennison and I had not planned that to be my career. I had worked for New Balance for five years after college. I left there to make more money and found myself unhappy.”

Where did you go to school?

“I did two years of college at University of Maryland, but I got my undergraduate degree at UMass Amherst. I majored in sports management. I got my masters in education at Salem State.”

Can you talk a little about your family?

“I have a daughter, Taylor, in 5th grade, she’s 11. I have two boys in kindergarten, their names are Ben and Zach and they are 6. My wife, Karin, and we’ve have been married almost 13 years.”

How has your experience been at TMHS?

“It’s been terrific. It’s been great. Every day is a good day, and I’m not just saying that. I like that teachers are provided with materials to make it better for the kids. I appreciate my coworkers, they work really hard to help each other. It’s just a positive environment.”

How do you feel about your superlative this year- most likely to be called dad?

“I liked it. I guess people either think that I have really good, dumb jokes, or that I look like a dad, well I am.”

What is your favorite memory from working here at TMHS?

“The civil war museum that Ms. Murphy and I put together. We were in the LGI room and the students built dioramas and I thought that it was one of the most successful on-hands learning that I’ve done as a teacher.”

Do you plan on staying here for a while?

“Yes!”

What is one fun fact about yourself?

“I think that I can take anything that is happening and relate it to “The Office.” And I can say the alphabet backwards faster than I can say it forwards.”

If you could give your students one piece of advice, what would it be?

“I think about this a lot, because I think this is what I was missing in high school. It’s okay to be unsure of your future, but it’s not okay to not know what your skill set is. If you can identify what makes you happy, what your personality is, and what your skills are, then there’s a career for you. I didn’t think much about that in the beginning of my career and, it took me a while to figure that out, but I think that’s important to understand.”