John Perricone was a Health Science Educator and Psychology teacher in the Maine-Endwell School District in upstate N.Y. for thirty-one years. His love and passion for teaching have made him the recipient of local, state, and national “Excellence in Teaching” awards, and he has been the recipient of Maine-Endwell's Distinguished Teacher Award for twelve consecutive years since its inception. This award is voted on and presented by the Senior Class. He is the best selling author of "Zen and the Art of Public School Teaching" and is a nationally sought keynote speaker, having been invited to speak in all fifty states.
He was the instructor of Hidy Ochiai's Karate of Cortland for sixteen years and in addition to teaching High School he is currently involved in training teachers throughout N.Y. state in the nationally recognized Educational Karate Program - a character education program emphasizing non-violence, mental and physical fitness, and universal values of integrity, self-respect, and respect for others. After forty years of training, Mr. Perricone has received his 7th degree blackbelt -- the highest rank that World Renowned Master Ochiai has ever awarded in his forty-eight years of teaching.