He may be the “King Henry” of the English Department, but to most, Mr. Luke Henry is the funny and quirky English teacher.

From the Shakespeare action figure (with removable quill!) to a Dwight Shrute bobble-head, and from the artworks by his former students to the occasional display of his three-year-old daughter’s crafts, the eclectic decorations in Henry’s classroom reflects a sense of lightheartedness as well as a passion for literature.

Such unique vibe also rings true of his style of teaching.

“Mr. Henry is probably one of the most entertaining teachers I’ve had the chance to meet at North Penn. His first period class always jump starts my days on a good note!” said Vivian Nguyen, a student in Henry’s first period AP Literature class.

“Mr. Henry is diametrically opposed to the normal actions of an English teacher,” remarked Matt Zarenkiewicz, also a pupil of Henry’s first period. “He is quiet and reserved with a sarcastic undertone unheard of in high school English.”

Perhaps less well known than his sarcasm and wit is his interesting start at North Penn – a start that coincided with the beginning of a new chapter of his life.

He had been teaching in Maryland for 8 years, and in 2007, he moved to Pennsylvania, took up a teaching job at a school in center city Philadelphia, and was also getting married. But he wasn’t happy at that school. “It wasn’t a right fit for me,” said Henry.

So he took a chance. And what followed is, in the words of Henry, a “whirlwind of events.”

He was getting married on a Saturday, but a job opening came up at North Penn, so he had an interview on Thursday, just two days before his wedding. On the evening of that Thursday, he was offered a long term substitute position at North Penn. On Friday, he quit his job in Philadelphia. The following day was his wedding.

“I was leaving a sure thing for an uncertain position,” said Henry. “I was willing to take that risk because that’s how much I didn’t like my job. It all worked out; I’m happy where I am right now. In retrospect, it was one of the best decisions in my life.” This is his sixth year at North Penn.

Although he has always loved books, he was also once a biology major at American University. It wasn’t until he stumbled upon an education course that he discovered his calling – to become an English teacher.

“I love books,” said Mr. Henry, “and my job is to talk about books and to help students get a deeper understanding of literature. It’s a lot of fun for me. And when I see kids who are inspired or develop an appreciation for something they didn’t seem to have in September, it’s nice.”

Henry now juggles with the responsibilities of not only a teacher and the head of the department, but also those of a father. But fatherhood has no doubt had a significant impact on him as a teacher.

“My priorities in life became really clear,” he said. “Taking care of your daughters trumps everything. When your daughter has to have surgery, creating a batch of vocab quizzes no longer seems significant. I used to be the guy who never takes a sick day and would trudge through everything; I would wake up on Saturday mornings at 7 a.m. to grade papers for hours, just to keep pace constantly. Now I’d rather take Ella to dance class on Saturday morning. I still get my job done; I’ve just become a much more efficient teacher.”

His eldest daughter, Ella, 3, is already famous among Henry’s students. Her feisty personality and newfound love for the Star Wars series make her one of the favorite stories Henry’s students like to hear. The newest addition to the family, Zoe, is only 6 months old.

Of course, a feature of a literary wonk would not be complete without mentioning his favorite book. Henry answered without any hesitation – The Count of  Monte Cristo.

He likes it not just because it is the ultimate revenge story, but also because what it has taught him:

“The first 950 some pages [of the book] is all about revenge, and literally the last ten pages, everything changes. I won’t reveal the ending to anyone who wants to read the book, but ultimately, the main character, who feels for 950 pages that he can control  his destiny and can play God, suddenly realizes that he can’t,  and that in life, you do your best and hope that things turn out nicely. There are a lot of thing are out of your control; you can worry about them but it would be pointless. Why would you worry about something you can’t possibly change? I have taken that idea and applied it to my life quite a lot.”