After 25 years teaching social studies in the Thompson School District, Daniel Lutz is certain of one thing:
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned over 25 years is that everybody needs a support system, whether it’s students in their home life or academic life, staff supporting each other in the buildings, or parents at home,” Dan says. “Everybody needs a support network. Nobody does it alone, but with each other, we can accomplish amazing things.”
Dan’s interest in history began when he was a young child, starting with a fascination with bigger events, such as World War II, and expanding into lesser-known information as he got older.
“I wanted to know what life was like for people who came before, what it was like elsewhere and in other times,” he recalls. “That grew into wanting to know why something happened, why the world is the way it is now, and you can’t understand that unless you understand history.”
Dan’s father was a clinical social worker, and Dan and his siblings were brought up volunteering and serving in their community. The combination of Dan’s love of history and a desire to help others created a natural fit as a teacher.
Dan Lutz spent 11 years teaching at various local colleges before making the shift to high school, where he has primarily taught World History. He has an avid personal interest in the topic, and he explains how he keeps things engaging for his students.
“One of the things I tell the kids is ‘History doesn’t change, but our understanding of it changes as we get access to more artifacts or documents,’” Dan says. “Our understanding constantly changes, and that’s the part of it that keeps me interested as well. I’m always trying to adjust my teaching according to that. What I’m telling them in class is based on our current understanding.”
Dan Lutz Pushes Student to Engage and Reflect
Dan Lutz describes himself as “kind of old-school” when it comes to teaching, and will admit he has a reputation for being tough.
“The expectation is you will come to class and you will do the work,” he says. “The idea of doing the absolute minimum is not something I accept. I will push you because otherwise I’m doing you a disservice. I’m not making the most of your time here.”
Dan holds himself to similar high standards and says that a typical work week for him during the school year is around 85 hours.
“I tell my friends, if you want to get a hold of me, summer is the only time,” he says. In addition to his teaching duties, Dan’s long hours include coaching the Thompson Valley High School Speech and Debate team, a position he has held throughout his entire tenure at TVHS. Dan enjoys teaching students how to communicate effectively and believes that critical thinking and communication are essential skills to possess.
“We live in a democracy, so our country doesn’t function without citizen input,” Dan says. “I love that my students can take a topic and research both sides, and they know where there are potentially good arguments on both sides.”
Dan says that connecting with students is one of the biggest challenges teachers face, especially when teaching a subject like history.
“Kids today are so present- and future-focused,” he says. “How do you get the broader group of students interested? You make them understand that every person that has ever lived and that we are going to study is just like you. Your technology may be more advanced, but they want the same things. People are people, and people don’t change.”
Common basic needs are what Dan says help students today understand the people they are studying in history class.
“They want enough to eat, a safe place to live, warm clothes to wear, good friends and family around them, and they want to have fun. That’s all people throughout history, so I’m constantly looping back to that,” he says. “The teens back then didn’t really want to listen to their parents either.”
