Pete Galamaga has no problem with being in the spotlight. The Goffstown High School English teacher has delivered singing telegrams, did standup comedy and for a while performed in a Simon-and-Garfunkle- esque duo. Even teaching, he pointed out, calls for an element of performance.

It’s just afterward, while getting praised for his performances, that he’s uncomfortable. “I’m not good at taking accolades,” he said

Galamaga, or “Mr. G” as he’s referred to by his students, was recently recognized as one of four finalists for the New Hampshire Teacher of the Year award, although he was unable to attend the ceremony due to a bout of flu.

“Singular awards like that are a little uncomfortable,” he said. “You never accomplish something like that by yourself. There’s so many other people.”

He said that working at Goffstown High School really allowed him to develop as a teacher and to work with students and try new things. “It’s an incredible place to be,” he said.

“Peter’s one of the most dedicated teachers I’ve ever met,” said Principal Frank McBride. “Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, his mind is going 1,000 miles per hour and it’s typically about how he can do a better job in the classroom.”

Galamaga said his students make fun of him that the saddest day of the week for him is Friday. “I love my family, I love coming home, but I really love being in that classroom and hanging out with them and teaching and learning things from them.”

The father of three has been teaching for 14 years, starting out in western Massachusetts before moving to New Hampshire for his wife’s job as head coach of the women’s basketball team at Saint Anselm College.

Growing up in Rhode Island, Galamaga said he always knew he wanted to teach. His mother had been an English teacher as well. He graduated from College of the Holy Cross on an ROTC scholarship. He was in the Navy for four years before leaving active duty and getting his Master of Arts in Teaching Certification.

He said he enjoys teaching freshmen and sophomores because of their energy and receptiveness.

“I feel I can really make a difference,” he said. “You’re getting them on the ground floor of their high school experience. That’s when you really start thinking of yourself as an individual. It’s a tough time.”

Having Galamaga as a freshman made all the difference for Hollie Roma, now a senior applying to colleges. “I was really scared,” she said of her first year at GHS. “He would talk to me after class, one-on-one.”

“It was always such a breath of fresh air to go to his class,” she said. “It felt like he wanted you to be there. Not that you had to be there.”

She said she learned to like reading in his class. Before that, she couldn’t sit down and read a book, she said. She remembers discussing “Of Mice and Men” and learning how to relate to the characters.

“We just like talking with him because he’s so awesome,” said freshman Rosie Ouellet. “He knows how to talk to us.” She said if a student didn’t understand something, he would explain in a different way or schedule time after class to go over an assignment step by step. Both students mentioned his fondness for corny jokes. “By now, we understand the jokes,” said Ouellet. “At the beginning we didn’t. But now the whole class goes ‘Oh, ha ha,’ and stops laughing.”

Galamaga said he sees students facing challenges in being overloaded and wired. He said people would be surprised to hear him say that since he’s a “tech guy” and loves incorporating new tools and technology in his teaching.

“They’re being pulled in so many different directions,” he said. “I think kids today need help in getting organized, learning how to plan, what’s important and what’s not, and learning how to balance things.

“There’s something to be said about having a life and being part of the world around you,” he said.

He said he loves all his kids, but the difficult kids in particular push him to be a better teacher.

“I look at them, I think, ‘That’s somebody’s baby. That’s somebody’s everything.’ I feel that way about all of them. There’s a little story for each one of them,” he said.