Northern Illinois native turned Benton Ranger, John Krieger is—by all accounts—a truly influential veteran educator. Steadfast and committed to kids, John has consistently delivered on both his teaching career and his optimistic approach to enriching the lives of students for the better part of thirty-five years. This conviction he has for the work, over which he and his eager 8th-grade students positively obsess, palpably washes over the room as we take a peek.
JOHN KRIEGER
You can feel it from the moment you enter the room. If you already know John, then you already know this about him. But if you haven’t had the pleasure, we encourage you to go introduce yourself. You’ll quickly see that his interest in student outcomes is hardwired into who he is, not unlike the circuitry and coding that guides the small robots he and his students design and construct.
Speaking with him, the wellspring of his passion as an educator becomes clear to us: He genuinely wants to unearth and shake loose curiosity in his students, He wants to be a part of equipping them for success beyond his classroom. He is both moved and supported by his family, and his pursuit of robotics and science in education are inextricably tied to his belief in the post-secondary value of a clever mind.
Since his move downstate, John has poured half a lifetime into teaching children from all backgrounds and walks, a sometimes bumpy and challenging path I suspect he’d never trade for a more evenly paved one. “I like to say ‘people are people’, no matter where you go,” John shares. “Their backgrounds may vary a little bit, but the nuts and bolts of it are that we’re all the same.” Even in this, his preferred, hands-on environment, though, John earnestly confesses that he was struggling with student engagement at the high school level in another district before making the professional move to Benton Grade School. He says, “So, when an opportunity arose to be closer to my family in a new school, I welcomed it.” A change John hasn’t regretted, saying, “[The kids] are dynamos, as far as energy is concerned… and that’s awesome.” And since his move to Benton ten years ago, John has gone on to see this teaching re-boot as a reinvigorating professional moment, saying, “I don’t think I would be the type of person to get too stale in my approach. But I think this change… allows me to [contribute] with the appropriate amount of enthusiasm for the kids and the community here.”
With his renewed passion for the academics in hand, John has rushed head-first into the fray to match his students’ energy for the subject, something he describes as ‘boundless’. However, the STEM field is far more than just wires, nuts and bolts to John. Rather, he believes that “robotics… helps them understand that there’s always going to be problems, and there’s always more than one way to solve that problem if you just take a step back and refuse to give up.” Resilience in the face of adversity is the greatest thing that can be taught to a generation of students, and John does it every day.
John’s dreams for his aspiring scholars go beyond the classroom. While he can teach them every day about the basics of robotic problem-solving, John hopes that this exposure serves as the spark for endless possibilities beyond their time at BGS. “My greatest hope for [these kids] is obviously that they live a happy, healthy life… that’s about the epitome of what any of us could ask for,” he says. “Beyond that, as far as education and schooling goes, I hope that they are able to keep an open mind. I hope they’re open to all possibilities for themselves.” For a great many traversing their middle school years, having a fighter in their corner like John Krieger can make all the difference in their formative years. For John himself, it’s clear that his passion for education and willingness to reset is an inspiration for his students.
And for all of us, regardless of age or circumstance, it is indeed helpful to always think back to John’s solid advice aimed squarely at those working to resolve a robotics problem, but just as apt in the living of life. “Just take a step back, consider your options, and refuse to give up.”
The kids are dynamos, as far as energy is concerned… and that’s awesome.
