Social studies teacher John Barry is retiring at the end of this school year after 31 years of pushing students to reach their highest potential while building personal relationships with students and faculty alike. 

Originally a political science major, Barry discovered his passion for history from an influential professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, who inspired him to switch his major.

“When I was in a US History class with a history professor named Robert Dunbar, I couldn’t wait to get to this guy’s class,” Barry said. “He was engaging, he was funny and he would connect to what’s going on in the world.”

When Barry came to Algonquin, he was initially offered a part-time position teaching AP United States History (APUSH) and advising the Student Council (which he went on to advise for 30 years). Barry took the job immediately, and APUSH soon became his favorite class to teach, although he also taught US History II and Sociology. 

Barry takes pride in his ability to push his students to their full potential, and does everything he can to help students succeed. This hard work has been reflected in APUSH exam scores at Algonquin over the years. 

“I will put my AP US History scores up against anybody,” Barry said. “Take these schools that make it so hard and only the genius kids can get in, put my scores up against theirs, and mine are better.”

Barry has found that by encouraging students to challenge themselves, he is able to build personal connections along the way. 

“Sometimes it’s not the teaching, it’s just the fact that you’re in a room with basically young adults,” Barry said. “They’re funny, and they really make your day better.”

Barry has especially loved getting to know a diverse group of students with a wide range of personalities. 

“Teaching is something that every single day provides something that society needs: educating people,” Barry said. “I get to come into a school every single day, and engage with interesting people. Then, the bell rings and a whole new group comes in with different attitudes, perspectives and senses of humor.”

Social Studies teacher Amelia Braun was a student in Barry’s US History II class when she was a sophomore at Algonquin. Braun enjoyed his vibrant personality and humor. Barry was one of the biggest reasons that Braun became a history teacher. 

“Although there were some other career considerations, I ultimately found my way back to history and found my way back to Algonquin as a student teacher, and [Barry] was my supervising practitioner,” Braun said.

Braun acknowledged that Barry has very high standards for his students, but believes it is a key reason that students are so successful in his class and beyond. 

“He is a challenging teacher,” Braun said. “He pushes his students because he knows they are capable of so much more than they know they are capable of. By the time you’re finished in his class, you are a better student because of the time you spent with him.”

Barry’s impact extended beyond the classroom through his leadership with the Student Council. He is especially proud of the several charitable drives he helped organize.

“The Algonquin Student Council, the Algonquin student body, fed more people in need when I was in the Student Council than any other source that was having food drives,” Barry said. “It’s not a competition, but when we put our minds to a charitable drive, we were the best at it.”

Barry is also proud of the success of Algonquin’s annual carnivals, emphasizing that they had to be earned with consistent effort and effective charity work.

Beyond events and service, Barry will also miss working with new groups of students each year in Student Council.

“I miss that meeting, when a new group of kids come in and I say that I’m not just going to do what the Student Council always does,” Barry said. “I’m going to try something different. I miss that brainstorming and trying to make a hard thing happen.”

Through Student Council and the classroom, Barry’s mentorship impacted many students, including Braun, who is now one of the Student Council advisers.

“I still have papers and the things that Mr. Barry wrote in his comments,” Braun said. “He is not one to mince words in his comments; he tells you everything he is thinking. As a starting teacher, when I was feeling most vulnerable, I would go back and read some of those comments that he wrote. They were just inspirational, and knowing that someone believes in you wholeheartedly will get you to try almost anything.”

Barry’s favorite memory of teaching was when he fought alongside two other students for Algonquin to change the school mascot from “Tomahawks” back in 1998. 

After a school-wide assembly and student vote, students chose to keep the Tomahawk mascot, but Barry is proud of the effort and passionate conversations in the community decades before the change ultimately came to light.

“If I were retiring after 31 years from the Algonquin Tomahawks, I’d probably have a bad taste in my mouth about that day,” Barry said. “But, we aren’t the Tomahawks anymore.”

Although Barry is retiring from Algonquin, he isn’t ready to end his teaching career completely. He plans to work part-time or full-time for a couple more years at a school closer to his home, to be near his children. 

“I have a kid in middle school, and a kid in elementary school,” Barry said. “Their lives are going to get much more exciting and different. I want to be closer to them, and being an hour away, or some days two hours away, I can’t be there for some of the things that they do.”

Barry will be missed by the entire school community and will be remembered for the legacy he left behind. Barry is incredibly grateful for everything that the school has done for him. 

“I met fabulous people, and they offered me the job, and it was the luckiest day of my life,” Barry said. “The school honors good teachers, and the way I’ve been treated, they made me feel like I am a good teacher.”