By: Nicholas McGrath

A Westborough High School teacher since 2001, Mr. Noonan has been applying a vast array of skills to his teaching since 1991. Having taught in Florida, Philadelphia, and Japan, Mr. Noonan brings both his and others’ ideas to his English classes.

“My first job was in Nagoya, Japan. I taught English to businessmen from Toyota who were hoping to come to America,” he explains. From there he taught logic in Tallahassee and reading in Philadelphia, but it was in Japan where the English, Logic, and Speech teacher was most influenced. He remarks on his lack of absences from school. The Japanese surprised Mr. Noonan with the work rate they displayed. “The people there always seemed to come into work with a positive and calm attitude. They impressed this on me and I try to communicate that to my students. Showing up is an important part of life.” He took the job because America was in bad economic shape at the time, stayed for a year, and returned to Florida.

Mr. Noonan then taught logic to undergraduates at Florida State University while attending graduate school. From there he taught in Philadelphia and UMass Boston in Dorchester before coming to Westborough. “I applied here on a whim,” he says. “I didn’t think I would get the job because I didn’t have the right public school qualifications. But through a series of accidents I ended up with the job.” In his first year, Mr. Noonan taught both Freshman English and Special Education while obtaining public school qualification, and has since committed to English, Logic, and Speech. “I had not taught in public school before,” he reflects. “So I was guided by a man by the name of Bob Kaplan.” A former teacher at the high school, Bob Kaplan was Mr. Noonan’s mentor for two years until he retired. Mr. Noonan believes that Mr. Kaplan’s ideals have helped shape the English department to the state it is today. He remarks “I was always told to give a large amount of grades to my students each quarter. Every student deserves the chance to succeed.”

Mr. Noonan is a man who pulls from the Japanese way of absolute fairness. “In Japan we had no janitors so everyone took turns cleaning the building after work. It was great for office morale to see everyone take turns cleaning the bathroom,” he comments. The well travelled teacher claims it was good for genki, the Japanese term for good energy for and from work.

Mr. Noonan also draws on his time in Japan in his free time. He enjoys oil painting, something he picked up in the land of the rising sun. He also enjoys trail running and reading. To him, the free time is one of the most interesting and fun parts of being a teacher. “If I had my way, we would go for 180 days straight and then have the next six months off,” he explains. “That way you could go camping and have a real vacation.”

Looking forward to the future, Mr. Noonan doesn’t have many plans. He does not think he would return to Japan, but does believe that if they had the resources that America has, they would be the greatest power on the planet. With his focused and positive attitude in school every day, Westborough High School students are privileged to have Mr. Noonan as a teacher.