For Matt Joseph, wearing Chicago Bears gear on a Monday is a given, win or lose.
That loyalty made him a natural candidate for a Bears honor. But for John David, Matt’s commitment to his students made the decision to nominate him easy.
Joseph, a Life Fitness teacher at Grayslake Central, was recently named a Chicago Bears Classroom Legend, a recognition that came as a complete surprise during a schoolwide Homecoming assembly.
David, GCHS, Life Fitness Department Chair, nominated Joseph after learning about the Bears program and thinking immediately of his colleague.
“I’m going to take five minutes of my day and nominate somebody who’s a huge Bears fan, who deserves it,” David recalled.
The reasons went well beyond football.
Joseph teaches strength and conditioning and behind-the-wheel driver education. He also serves as head wrestling coach and an assistant boys football coach. Across those roles, David said Joseph prioritizes building relationships with students.
“He’s always encouraging people,” David said. “When we’ve got difficult students, he doesn’t get down on them either. He talks to them like they’re human beings, and they enjoy being in his class.”
Joseph said those everyday interactions are simply part of how he approaches his work. Behind-the-wheel instruction, for example, gives him extended time with just a couple of students, creating opportunities to ask about their days, their weekends, and what is happening in their lives. In the weight room, he makes a point of connecting with as many students as possible.
“Sometimes I don’t really realize the amplitude or the depth that goes into it,” Joseph said. “It’s kind of who I am, I guess, as a person every day.”
After more than two decades in education, Joseph said the Classroom Legends honor was unlike anything he had experienced before.
The surprise unfolded during the school’s Homecoming assembly, where approximately 1,400 people were gathered. Chicago Bears Chairman George McCaskey and former Bears player Anthony “Spice” Adams joined the celebration, while Joseph’s wife and children, who had kept the secret for weeks, waited nearby.
“I had no idea it was coming,” Joseph said. “When they said my name, I was like, ‘Is this real?’”
The recognition included a personalized Bears jersey, football, $1,000 for Joseph’s classroom, and a Bears game experience for his family. Joseph and his family attended a Bears game following the recognition, complete with a pregame field visit and seats provided by McCaskey.
For David, seeing his colleague celebrated by the school community was just as meaningful.
“To hear 1,400 people cheer for him was so cool,” David said.
For Joseph, however, the recognition comes back to the part of his job that matters most: his students.
“That’s not why I became an educator,” Joseph said of receiving an award. “It’s more to make an impact on all the lives we touch in a positive way.”
That impact inspired the nomination in the first place.