Social Studies Teacher Mr. Gannon Pursues Doctorate at VCU
By: Maryam Mohamoud & Larae Lansdowne, Staff Writers
For a large amount of people, four years of college is the highest level of education they’ll reach. Some are content just with their high school diploma. However, Mr. Gannon, a history teacher here at Herndon High School, decided to go back to school to earn his doctorate degree. He originally earned his undergraduate from James Madison University, and eventually moved to the University of Iowa.
Mr. Gannon has been teaching for 16 years, and has always kept a positive outlook on bringing the best out of his students. As a high schooler, he always felt that he could recognize which teachers were passionate about what they were teaching; seeing those teachers’ enthusiasm was an inspiration to him. And beyond that, being a teacher is in his DNA. “My grandfather was a school superintendent, my dad taught at the college level for years, and my brother’s a history professor,” Gannon explained.
Managing being a full-time student and teacher is no easy task. Currently enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University, Gannon is studying Educational Leadership, which focuses on how educators can go above and beyond to help students. Now, Gannon has to constantly make sure that he isn’t procrastinating doing work, a struggle felt by students just the same. “I have to be much more conscious about time management,” Gannon said, “Before, I could be like, ‘Oh I can do this thing in an hour,’ and now I don’t have that extra hour to spare. It takes a lot of planning out my day, realizing what I need to accomplish, and then setting aside time for it.” Being both a teacher and a student has made him more empathetic towards his students. “I hadn’t really thought ‘Wow! you guys are balancing seven to eight classes. On top of what I’m asking you to do, you also have math and science.”
Gannon believes that communicating with teachers is a major part of students learning to advocate for themselves. Now armed with a stronger sense of perspective, Gannon aims to make the most out of his experiences, to better help his students, as much as he can.