Imagine your teacher is in the White House.
For some former students of Tim Waltz, this theory could be coming true — and they’re excited.
The Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate was a teacher in Nebraska and Minnesota before running for Congress in 2006. He has frequently cited his time as a teacher during his campaign. In his reignHe approved legislation to provide school lunches for all and increase funding for education.
He and his wife, Gwen, were teachers at Mankato West High School in the town southwest of the Minneapolis area.
Jillian Hiscock, a former Mankato West student, said Hiscock’s classes were in high demand. “It was hard to get into world geography. Who would have thought students would be fighting to get into world geography?”
“If you’re talking about strictness, you have to talk about Mrs. Waltz,” she added. “I don’t think there was anything strict about Tim at all.”
Mankato West alumni gather on Slack channels to share memories, excitement and find camaraderie in the surreal idea that a former teacher could become vice chancellor. Alumni often cite the Waltzes as memorable and influential educators who made an impression on them for different reasons.
In addition to his teaching duties, he was a member of the football coaching staff and served as an adviser to student organizations, including the founding of the school’s first gay-straight alliance in a small Midwestern town in the late 1990s. Students were instrumental in establishing the chapter..
“What we really needed was a football coach who was a soldier, who was straight, who was married,” Waltz said. He told the Star Tribune 2018.
For Kamala Harris, the titles of teacher and coach were a big factor in Waltz’s chances as a running mate, with Harris repeatedly calling Waltz her “coach” during their first rally together.
Hiscock, 41, had been a teacher with Waltz and had known him through volunteering as an adviser to a youth government program and planning proms. Waltz was a fun-loving teacher with a strong student-centered approach who was known to play Jeopardy games in class.
She said Waltz also paid attention to students who weren’t in his classes, knowing their interests, wishing them luck at a softball game or asking if the choir was ready for a concert. “Most inspiring” teacher It was featured in the school yearbook one year.
Waltz was passionate about teaching the root causes that lead to atrocities like the Holocaust. One oft-cited 1993 story describes how Waltz taught his students at Alliance, Nebraska, to study those factors and identify which countries were most at risk of genocide. They landed in Rwanda. The New York Times reported in 2008:accurately predicted genocide in that country before it happened.
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Laura Moom, 40, was taught by Mr. Waltz in 2001 when she was in the 11th grade. She said Mr. Waltz encouraged open discussion and would toss out lesson plans when necessary. He tried to expose his students to different cultures, even inviting Muslim students to speak about their culture.
When Waltz was selected as Harris’ running mate, she was thrilled. “I felt like I had five espressos,” she said. “I had so much energy. Too much energy.”
Mankato, the Minnesota town Walseth claimed as his hometown, “is buzzing with excitement right now. Everybody’s like, ‘We know this guy,'” Moom said.
Hiscock owns A Bar of Their Own, a women’s sports bar in Minneapolis, and hosted a watch party for Walz’s first rally as vice presidential candidate. The bar was standing-room only and served tequila-based “Blue Wave” cocktails and nonalcoholic Mountain Berry Blast Powerade. Walz himself hasn’t drunk alcohol since his 1995 DUI arrest, preferring Diet Mountain Dew.
She said she spoke with a reporter this week who pointed out that it’s unusual for so many people to have good things to say about a high school teacher, who isn’t necessarily well-liked among teenagers.
“I’m not trying to be Pollyanna with you, but I’m not at all surprised that no one’s saying anything bad about him,” she said.
