News Photo by Julie Goldberg Alpena High School Teacher Jason Luther, right, shows Principal Tom Berriman how the robotic arm works in the school’s Mechatronics lab on Dec. 13. Luther is a new teacher for the school’s Career and Technical Education Program.

ALPENA — A teacher at Alpena High School is learning what it’s like to be a teacher for the first time.

Jason Luther is a new teacher at the high school, teaching Mechatronics, Building Trades, and Geometry in Construction in the school’s Career and Technical Education Program.

He replaces Jason Loyer, who retired in November.

Luther always wanted to be a teacher, and, though he’s been a carpenter for most of his professional career, he’s happy to be a teacher now.

“It was a position I wanted,” Luther said.

Principal Tom Berriman said Luther comes to the school with lots of knowledge everyone is excited about.

“We really couldn’t have picked a better person to come in than Jason Luther with the skillset and the knowledge and experience in the field to kind of step in and teach the kids,” Berriman said. “We were very lucky that we were able to find somebody like Jason, because, when we first knew that we had to fill the position and we had to design a perfect candidate, Jason Luther was the perfect person.”

When Luther started last month, he had to adjust to 30 students all wanting his attention, but he’s enjoying passing on his knowledge to the students.

“They’re eager to learn and really dedicated to what they’re doing,” Luther said. “A lot of them haven’t used these tools before, or some of them have and think they know what they’re doing. But it’s nice to give them the confidence and the skills to make what they want to make safely.”

Luther’s been at the school for about a month and knows it will get easier.

“Every day is much easier than the last day,” he said. “The kids are understanding (that) I’m not just a substitute for them, I’m their long-term teacher now.”

Luther has the ability to work with 21st-century equipment in his classes and he said that’s something from which students will benefit, since future employers use the same equipment.

He’s looking forward to next school year and building his teaching career.

“I can set my own tone, my own course, and tweak it a little bit to how I want to do it,” Luther said. “It’s a big change. I’m always on my toes here. I’m always interacting with a student or another staff member, and I really enjoy it. My days fly by.”

Julie Goldberg can be reached at 989-358-5688 or jgoldberg@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jkgoldberg12.