Eric Jackson

RET Teacher of the Week!

Week Three:

A devoted ninth grade Physical Science teacher from Dracut High School in Dracut, MA, Eric Jackson expresses his desire to be a role model for his students. It’s clear his students’ success is equally as important to him as their learning experience.

“I like to guide my students through ‘Problem Based Learning,’ where the journey to the solution is just as important as the solution itself.”

Eric talks about his eclectic work history before he found his way into the classroom. A toy store; an Administrative Assistant at Brigham & Women’s Hospital; he ran a database for non-profit fund raising (i.e. junk mail); and he worked as the Science and Nature expert at a day camp for little kids. His wife pointed out that these positions shared a consistent theme; they all involved training and teaching other people he worked with. After a few months of being unemployed, his wife encouraged him to try being a substitute teacher. Being a teacher was never part of Eric’s plan. His parents, both teachers, had always encouraged him to stay away from a career in education, as there was little money and respect. Despite this, after just a few sub placements, he knew this was the career for him.

Eric earned a Bachelors degree in Neuroscience from Drew University, and a Masters in Biology with a concentration in Emerging Disease from the University of St. Joseph’s in Connecticut. . His science background, outgoing personality, and his passion for his students created the perfect foundation for an encouraging High School Science teacher.

Eric expresses the importance of inquiry in the classroom.

“It gives students a chance to explore other ways of coming to a conclusion….That’s what that inquiry thing does . Where you can start out with something and go all over the place and that was what I got to do here (in the photonics center). It was nice to have my own ‘Problem Based Learning.’”

He is currently working in Prof. Jillian Goldfarb’s lab with REU Stephanie Emenyonu, on using biomass as a fuel source and nano-template.

“Stephanie has been so great and has helped me out, she gave me some structure and has really taught me a lot. She knows way more than I do….and I am definitely going to be working with Jillian as the year goes on. She is a great resource to have,” Eric says. “I can’t wait to go back and work with the kids. I have a nanoparticle project that I want to do with them….It’s nice to know that we have $1000 that goes towards this project when we are done, so I know that it’s not just for me, we can bring it back to the kids.”

His afterschool programs bring Eric great joy. He says they provide a place for kids to go who may not have many other places to go. He runs a “Dungeons and Dragons” group that meets and plays once a week, as well as the Junior Engineering Technology Society (JETS), an Engineering program that has different topic of study each year, allowing the students to explore topics not necessarily covered in the standard curriculum. The JETS teams “…brings the best of the best. Those are the kids that want to be there, so we are able to make a lot of progress and have a lot of fun.”

Also the elected trustee of the Dracut Public Library, and a union representative for his teacher’s union, Eric is involved in making education a number one priority for his community.

“I love it,” says Eric, “I can teach kids truths about the universe! And I think that is pretty great.”

Watch Eric discuss his research: