WARREN, Mich. – What makes an amazing teacher? Well, one of the most important qualities to have is passion -- and John Masi is definitely passionate about what he does.
He’s been teaching for more than 50 years. The past six have been at Warren Woods Tower High School, and before that, 35 years at nearby Cousino High School. He’s also an adjunct professor at Macomb Community College.
“I love to teach Spanish,” Masi said. “It’s not only the language, but also the culture: the people, the food, the art, the countries, the sports and the literature.”
When Local 4′s Kim DeGiulio met Mr. Masi in his classroom to congratulate him on his 4Frenzy nomination for Favorite Foreign Language Teacher, he thought it was a prank.
“I was completely overwhelmed by the nomination,” Masi said.
Mr. Masi said he’s of Hispanic origin, but was born in Detroit and lived there ever since, earning a master’s degree in Latin from Wayne State University and a bachelor’s degree from University of Detroit Mercy.
His greatest experiences in teaching have been sponsoring student trips to Mexico and Spain. And photography, golf, swimming and skiing are some of his other interests, in addition to traveling, which he’s done extensively, visiting 10 different countries in Europe, South America and Australia.
Mr. Masi said the staff and students at Warren Woods Tower High School are what keeps him in teaching after all these years and makes him feel likes it’s his second home.
Congratulations to Mr. Masi on being part of 4Frenzy!
Watch his feature story in the video player above.