Tough, Vietnam Vet Math Teacher is Not Who He Seems - Student Discovers His 20-Year Secret (VIDEO)
"It drives me crazy when people say school should be fun. You can't make school fun."
That quote from Jim O'Connor reveals what students think about the math class he teaches at St. Francis High School in La Canada, Calif. The 70-year-old Vietnam veteran is all business in the classroom, and your typical teen would think him to be nothing more than a grumpy math teacher. They would think wrong.
Last November, senior Pat McGoldrick was setting up a student blood drive at a local children's hospital when people were amazed when he told them he went to St. Francis High.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"Oh, you must know Jim O'Connor. Isn't he wonderful?" they said.
'Wonderful' would be a rare reply if students were surveyed. But as Pat browsed the hospital, he uncovered the teacher's alter ego, finding O'Connor's name on a plaque listing the top blood donors. The teacher was the record holder.
Even more surprising, Pat found out that three days a week for the past 20 years, O'Connor has volunteered at the hospital as a baby cuddler, holding and feeding babies when their parents are unavailable.
And with that, the tough teacher's veneer was dissolved. The students' view of O'Connor has flipped, though they should probably expect the same, no-nonsense math class.
