December Teacher Feature: Mr. Dahnke
Photo submitted by Mr. Dahnke.
Evan Rosenau
Mr. Dahnke is a fabled teacher and a man of much experience, as well as this month’s teacher feature! He has three degrees, spanning from history to philosophy, and he studied at the University of Oklahoma, as well as in Wisconsin. Having taught for 12 years, three being at Hamilton, he loves cooking, baking, sports, the outdoors, and spending time with his family. Not to mention, of course, history. He has quite a bit of knowledge under his belt, plus a marriage of 14 years and two daughters. Before learning anything more about Mr. Dahnke, he wanted to share some advice. “You’re never too old to pick up new hobbies. I started learning how to play the guitar at the ripe old age of 38. After a few years, I’ve become decent.”
What song do you know all the lyrics to?
I played saxophone in a punk/ska band in high school. We covered a lot of songs by Less Than Jake. I still know all the words from their albums Pezcore and Hello Rockview.
What superpower would you like to have?
I’ve always been fairly slow, despite playing soccer my entire life, so I would have to say super speed would be nice!
If you won 100 million dollars, what would you buy first?
Maybe it’s the economics teacher in me…I’d like to say that I would pay off debt and invest… but I’d move to Vancouver and get season tickets to the Canucks.
What would your perfect room/classroom look like?
I’d definitely get rid of desks and get tables or some alternative type of seating. Desks really bother me. I’d throw them ALL out if Hamilton let me.
What would you change about Hamilton and why?
Four-day school week. I believe the pros would outweigh the cons.
Are there more wheels or doors in the world? Why?
I will not engage in these shenanigans!
What Crayola Crayon color are you? (The more specific the better!)
Emerald Green.
If you could trade classrooms with any teacher at Hamilton, who would it be and why?
I would trade with Heckman or Swanson. The views from upstairs are a premium.
If you weren't teaching, what would you do?
I would move to Europe and work in a bakery.
Describe yourself in one sentence.
Just an average guy who has lucked his way into a pretty awesome life, and who probably thinks too much about random things.
What weapon would you carry during the Zombie Apocalypse?
Negan’s barbed wire bat, Lucille. You need a blunt object that can be used repeatedly.
Who would you team up with and why?
Dominique Ansel. He is a famous French pastry chef and inventor of the cronut.
What unsolved mystery do you wish you knew the answer to?
The Voynich Manuscript—is it real or is it a hoax?
What’s your favorite college memory?
I studied abroad in college. I was fortunate enough to spend time at the University of Hertfordshire. It was an amazing experience. I made some lifelong friends and memories.
If you could meet anyone in history, who would it be and why?
I think about World War I a lot. It is my Rome. All of the senseless violence that took place and the lives of soldiers cut short. Give me a soldier at the Battle of the Somme who died as they ran across No Man's Land, full of either nationalist pride or the fear of being shot in the back by their own CO if they didn’t. I’m intrigued by what could have been and the stories left untold. I’d rather spend my time talking to your average soldier than the generals or famous leaders.
What is the weirdest thing you have done to get your students’ attention?
If you are playing games in class, I will put your screen up on the main screen and see how long it takes you to notice. Usually, I only have to do this once.
What’s the funniest or most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you as a teacher?
When my second daughter was a newborn, she was a terrible sleeper. On more than one occasion, I was so sleep-deprived that I would run out the door. At the time, I was teaching on the northwest side of Milwaukee at Carmen, I spent the good part of a semester teaching in either flip-flops or house shoes. The school didn’t have air conditioning, so it was actually quite comfortable.
What would you rather do: meet your future self or go back in time and talk with your past self? Why?
I’d like to meet my future self. As a history teacher, I am always interested in listening to people’s stories. There is always something we can learn from our elders. What do kids know anyway? Not only would I get to live my own history, but perhaps I could get a few tips and tricks along the way.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received/given?
My grandfather was a supply sergeant in World War II. He was able to bring back many artifacts from the war. As I grew up, he would give me various items every once in a while. From that collection, his compass is my favorite piece.
What do you wish you’d invented?
The snooze button… I have thoughts.
If you could go back in time to your childhood, what age would you pick to go back to and why?
I wouldn’t. No sense in messing with a good thing. The butterfly effect could change too much.
What’s your claim to fame?
In A Promised Land by Barack Obama, he tells a story about a time he was in Egypt for his 2009 Cairo speech. After the speech, he was on a tour of the Great Pyramids of Giza. In one of the chambers, a member of the staff joked that one of the carved faces looked like President Obama. As his staffers left, Obama took a minute and reflected on the face. In his book, Obama writes:
“Our guide couldn’t tell us just who the image depicted or even whether it dated back to the time of the pyramids, but I stood at the wall for an extra beat trying to imagine the life behind that etching. Had he been a member of the royal court? A slave? A foreman? Maybe just a bored vandal camped out at night centuries after the wall had been built, inspired by the stars and his own loneliness to sketch his own likeness. I tried to imagine the worries and strivings that might have consumed him. The nature of the world he occupied; likely full of its own struggles and palace intrigues, conquest, and catastrophes. Events that at the time felt no less pressing than those I would face when I got back to Washington. All that was forgotten now. None of it mattered. The pharaoh, the slave, the vandal all long turned to dust just as every speech I delivered, every law I passed, every decision I made would soon be forgotten. Just as I and all those I loved would someday turn to dust…”
I think about this excerpt often. It has greatly influenced my outlook on life. I don’t want or need a claim to fame. I’ll take being content with what I have and living a life that is worth living before it all turns to dust.
That might have been too much, so the short answer is that I can teach anyone to juggle.
What skill would you like to master?
I have a minor in French and at one point, I would have considered myself fairly decent. I wish I would have continued studying. If you don’t use it, you lose it… and I lost it. I would love to speak more than one language.
What’s your favorite place on Earth?
Vancouver, British Columbia
Cork, Ireland
Who are your teacher besties?
How can I pick just one? Let’s just say anyone I am eating frozen pizza with on any given Friday…
