A Northwest Indiana Life in the Spotlight: Andy Kaplar

For Andy Kaplar, teaching at Merrillville High School is more than just a job — it’s a return to the place that helped shape him. A 2008 graduate of Merrillville High School, Kaplar now teaches World History in the same building where he once sat as a student.

Kaplar credits his own high school experience for inspiring him to pursue teaching.

“I had a teacher named Mr. Stamper when I went to school here. He was my history teacher, and I just remember how fun the class was,” Kaplar said. “He seemed like a person as opposed to just a teacher, and that kind of put a little thought in the back of my head.”

After graduating, Kaplar attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, where he, ironically, did not study teaching. He later earned his teacher’s license at Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting through a year-long program that required Saturday classes. The program also allowed him to earn his master’s degree.

Before becoming a full-time teacher, Kaplar spent several years working in different roles at Merrillville High School while completing his certification. In 2012, a former counselor helped him get his foot in the door. His first job was as an aide in the Freshman Academy, a program designed to support incoming freshmen who may be at risk academically.

Kaplar later supervised the school’s in-school suspension program and eventually worked in the after-school alternative program, which serves students who cannot attend traditional classes due to personal or academic circumstances. Among his many “odd jobs,” he also filled in as a substitute teacher for maternity leave positions.

“The community, the teachers, the principals, and the kids – that’s what made me want to stay here. That’s what made me want to continue for five or so years just doing odd jobs and continuing to work my way up the ladder.”

In 2017, he finally got his own classroom and began teaching full-time.

In addition to teaching full-time, Kaplar also served as director of the Merrillville Alternative Program (MAP) for three years.

“I was in charge of around 200 of Merrillville’s most at-risk students. It was a very long day but worth it in the end. It gave me an entirely new perspective on life and made me realize how good I had it growing up.”

Kaplar said the most meaningful moments of teaching often come years later when former students return and reflect on what they learned.

“The most rewarding part is when I have freshmen who come back to me as seniors and tell me, ‘You taught me that life isn’t that easy.’ We’re all going to have problems, but we have to help ourselves be the best version of ourselves to be successful in life.”

Outside the classroom, Kaplar enjoys simple hobbies and spending time with his family. He’s an avid golfer and says he’s at a point in life where he mostly enjoys being at home with his wife and young son. In typical history teacher fashion, he never misses an episode of Jeopardy! He watches it with his wife and two-year-old and even has a clicker to count how many questions he gets right and wrong.

Kaplar also emphasizes perspective and resilience in the classroom, something he says took time to learn as a teacher. He recognizes that life isn’t about avoiding bad days; it’s about remembering to have a better tomorrow.

“If I could give advice to my younger self about teaching, it would be that it’s okay to have a bad day, because tomorrow is always a brand new day. Whatever I’m going through in my life — whether I woke up on the wrong side of the bed or got into an argument — these kids are going through the exact same thing,” Kaplar said. “If a student isn’t super smiley or super nice to me, I shouldn’t get offended, because they might have things going on in their life too. Bad days happen, and we follow those up with good days. That’s something I try to live by.”

When students are struggling, Kaplar has a simple approach he uses to help them calm down and think through the situation.

“I have three things that I ask them, and usually by the third question it kind of calms them down,” Kaplar said

The first question asks students to consider whether the problem will still matter in the near future.

“Is whatever you’re going through going to still affect you a week from now? Many times, the answer is no — maybe their PlayStation got taken away or something minor. This helps them realize the situation is temporary,” Kaplar said.

The second question encourages students to reflect on their character and how they respond to challenges.

“Is this affecting your character? Is it changing how you act as a person?” Kaplar asks. “This question encourages them to reflect on whether the situation is really impacting who they are or how they treat others.”

Finally, Kaplar asks students to think about the broader perspective of their situation.

“Is there anybody in the world today who has it worse than you? There’s not a single student that can answer no to that question. Even if their day feels bad — like if they’re going through a breakup — they still have clothes on their backs, shoes on their feet, and clean water to drink. It might suck right now, but at the end of the day, people would kill to be in your position,” he said.

Ultimately, Kaplar says he hopes students remember something deeper than the history lessons taught in his classroom.

“I just hope that the kids remember me,” Kaplar said. “They’re not going to need to know who built the Great Pyramids of Egypt when they’re a 45-year-old accountant, but they do need to know the important life lessons that I try to teach them.”