John Hartzog
Eyer Middle School
Macungie, PA

"I treat my classroom like real life. I promote the idea of learning a little bit more - the idea of satisfying the inquiring mind."

"John is one of those teachers that children love, admire and remember all their lives. He brings to every class a love for math and an understanding of children. He makes lessons come alive with his unique way of involving students in their own learning. John devised a complex organizational system that promotes participation and involvement. Students are given responsibilities that place them in charge of their learning, and it works!"

John's classroom is filled with posters, pennants, charts, game boards and polyhedrons hanging from the ceiling. Even his 7th graders learn how to figure what it will cost them to live on their own. They must figure apartment fees per month, food, bills, insurance, gas, car fees and present the information in a written report. John pays students for their jobs and their successes by using math moola. Challenges are given daily to introduce and reinforce objectives, to learn how to solve probability problems and to improve problem-solving strategies via real life puzzles. Former students and parents return to thank John for making math fun and meaningful to them.

Other Highlights:

• Coordinator of the Prime Factoring Contest at Eyer
• Coordinator of St. Jude's Hospital Mathathon-this year raised over $1600
• Coordinated the Pennsylvania Math League Contest for eighteen years
• Coordinated the Eyer Trivia Contest for 25 years
• Coordinated the Lehigh Valley Junior Scholastic Challenge for 7 years
  • Coached the Eyer teams to 4 grade-level titles
• Coordinated the Eyer Scholastic Challenge for twelve years
• President of Eastern Pennsylvania Council of Math Teachers 1992-1994
• Coached the Stock Market Game through Lehigh University
  • Eyer took first place in its division in 1991
• Coordinated the March of Dimes Walkathon for ten years
• Judged local MathCounts competition at Lehigh University in 1990
• Coached Olympics of the Mind for four years
  • first place regional in 1983 and second place regional in 1984
• Commencement speaker at Weatherly High School in 1997
• Nominee for the 1993 Presidential Outstanding Teacher Award
• Nominee for the 1992 Pennsylvania Outstanding Mathematics Teacher Award
• Recipient of the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award from the East Penn School District in 1985
• Created and coordinated the Super Bowl of Trivia for 20 years. Contestants hailed from NJ, NY, Conn., Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, and all over PA
• Hosted Trivia shows on radio stations WKAP, WSAN, WAEB, WHAM in the 70's and 80's.
• Met Clayton Moore, who famously portrayed The Lone Ranger on TV, and did 3 radio shows with him
• Performed as a DeeJay for about 7 years
• Hobbies include running, trivia, and attending events at Easton's State Theater and the Lehigh Valley's Civic Theatre
• HE LOVES TEACHING! HE LOVES HIS KIDS! HE LOVES LIFE!