Those who have taken German and biology teacher Josef Neumayer‘s classes know that he is no a stranger to telling long stories about his experiences: it seems that there hasn’t been a moment where his life wasn’t eventful. He’s also done a lot more for the German program at West, North, and several other schools than many people realize.

“He makes German class a fun and productive environment,” junior Katarina Letica said. “Mr. Neumayer lets us interact with each other in many different ways that keep us interested, all while learning the German language and culture.”

Neumayer has been teaching at West and North for 19 years, and actually taught another German teacher, Natalie Rodriguez. Despite his youthful appearance, many students were shocked to find out that he’s 41, and graduated from West in 1994. He graduated from Miami University with a triple major and later earned his master’s degree in educational leadership and German.

Neumayer grew up in Skokie with first-generation German parents, meaning English is technically his second language. His parents spoke so much German around him that by the time he was four, Neumayer hardly knew any English, and they had to cram it all in before first grade.

When he was younger, Neumayer fell in love with the outdoors and biology. He fed caterpillars until they turned into butterflies and had his fair share of spiders, too, though they had to stay outside. His grandparents owned a large farm in Wisconsin, where he got to experience all the nature he could handle, in addition to finding a pet, Marty the Duck. At one point, Neumayer considered being a marine biologist.

Teaching wasn’t lost to him however, as he frequently forced his younger brother to play school, making him be the student while Neumayer played the teacher.

When he was first hired at West, Neumayer taught both biology and German, but as the German department grew, he began teaching German full-time. He didn’t leave biology at the door, though, bringing his hydroponic gardening system to the German classes for several years, growing his own cabbage and checking up on his house’s solar panels.

After a few years of only teaching German, Neumayer realized that the program as it was just wasn’t working for students. When trying to make small talk in German with one of his students, he realized a fourth-year student couldn’t answer a basic, “How are you?,” and instead responded with, “My name is Jason.” To Neumayer, this meant it was time for a change.

With support from the other teachers at the time, Neumayer decided he wanted to implement a lot more conversation into the program.

“We’re constantly experimenting with new things,” Neumayer said. “It’s important to me that I’m having fun in the classroom because if I’m not having fun the students are definitely not having fun. The kids want to have a good time, be actively involved and engaged. The focus is just to get the kids talking, and giving them opportunities to be able to use a language, instead of just sitting there, writing and memorizing. We have a number of students from our program who go on to be German teachers, and that’s very special.”

He added verbal testing, as well as sharing some long-winded stories entirely in German, which to the students seem like tangents, but were totally intentional. Telling stories in German, whether they be about angry French women or horrifying German fairy tales, builds vocal comprehension in the students. Even if they can’t speak fluently, students can follow the flow of a conversation, which can be a lot more valuable than writing down vocabulary sheets.

“Herr Neumayer always makes class a blast, and his enthusiasm is a big pick-me-up. He creates games and activities that are fun and help out with German skills. I couldn’t have gotten where I am in my language skills without him,” sophomore Lorelei Wernecke said.

Neumayer and his brigade of German teachers have added a number of things outside the classroom to the program too, including a number of club trips to German restaurants, camping trips, German seminars at Northwestern, the German exchange program, getting a famous German band to play live in the auditorium and most recently, the Oktoberfest held at Niles North, sponsored by FC Bayern München.

With numerous initiatives always developing in the German Department, it’s no wonder Neumayer sometimes doesn’t leave work until 6 p.m. and continues working from home just to keep everything organized. The German department at West as we know it just wouldn’t be the same without him working endlessly to give back to the students.