Downers Grove North social studies teacher a role model for success

Helping students uncover material on their own has been Mike Roethler’s philosophy for as long as he’s been teaching and it is because of that philosophy and the impact he has left on students that Roethler has received a prestigious award.

Roethler was named this year’s Outstanding Educator by the University of Chicago.

Roethler has been the social studies department chairman at Downers Grove North High School for five years. His career spans 27 years overall. He has taught global connections and personal economics during that time.

The award is unique in that the University of Chicago incoming class determines the nominees. Students are asked to submit an application nominating a teacher who has had an impact on their lives and a former student in Roethler’s 2019-20 Global Connections class submitted his name.

“Anybody who goes into education wants to make a difference in kids’ lives, so to know one of my students nominated me is very rewarding and makes it even more special,” Roethler said. “I’ve received awards and been nominated for awards before and those were all nice, but for this to be coming from someone who saw me teaching on a daily basis for a year is very validating.”

Dennis Rogalia, who teaches some of the same classes as Roethler and works alongside him in the social studies department, said he is not surprised Roethler’s students would nominate him for such an award. Rogalia said Roethler has a way about connecting with students.

And it’s not just in the classroom that Roethler shines, Rogalia said. Roethler is not only willing to share his experiences to mentor colleagues, but he is willing to hear new ideas and collaborate in a way that makes colleagues feel respected and validated as much as mentored, Rogalia said.

“He is a good role model for what it looks like to be a successful teacher and truly care for kids,” Rogalia said. “He puts in the extra work and time to connect with people and goes the extra mile in a lot of ways for kids.”

Rogalia said Roethler’s way of teaching has impacted him greatly and he believes there is a lot of value in letting students discover material in a hands-on way.

For Roethler, that means looking at content to determine what students can learn on their own such as budgeting skills and what they need to be taught more directly such as how to file their income taxes.

It’s all about finding the “40-year idea,” Roethler said, meaning as an educator he has to be honest about the fact that not everything he teaches is going to stick with students 40 years down the line, but some things can. Roethler applies this by developing hands-on activities and in his 2019-20 class, which had gone remote because of the pandemic, that meant giving students an engaging way to learn about the history of dictators by asking them to create visual representations of their “super villain origin stories.”

“I really believe in the idea that my role as an educator is to help students uncover the material and let them discover it for themselves,” Roethler said. “It’s my job to create that environment for them and then see them have these a-ha moments and light up and internalize something you know is going to stick with them forever now.”