John Stehnach, Little Falls High School teacher, spoke at a recent meeting of the Little Falls Rotary Club.

Stehnach’s subject was the process of decision making. He spoke about his personal experiences from the time he switched his major in college to his taking up a teaching position in Little Falls. His philosophy as you make a decision is to start your journey with small steps down unknown paths and never tell people that you can do the task of which you are asked, but tell them that you can learn how to do that task.

Following this approach, he learnt how to market rare coins made of precious metals, became a professor of Organic Chemistry in a local college in Boston, and a director at the John Stobart Gallery at Lewis Wharf in Boston.

With two young children, Stehnach and his wife Norma decided to return to Little Falls in 2000, where he took a teaching job, subsequently obtaining his masters in Education while he taught. Because you can never have all the facts to make a decision, it is important to follow your decisions until proven otherwise. If the decision was wrong, be prepared to accept that you were wrong, not because you made a mistake but because of new information that has presented itself.

Stehnach’s maxim in life is that “The truth is always defendable and will never harm you personally or socially, although it may teach you some important lessons. A lie is a permanent fixture on the landscape of your life and while it may crumble with time, the pile of rubble left behind will always be present. Education is an investment in yourself, which can never be lost or stolen”.

Pictured second from right is John Stehnach with Rotarians from left to right Wendy Mucica, Larry Sargeant, Barbara Smith, and Linda Wagner.