Excited for a new day, World History teacher Vincent Thur clutches a mug of coffee tightly as he awaits his students’ arrival at the door each morning. Over the course of his life, being a World History teacher and pioneer of the Teaching and Training program, the thrill of teaching has never receded from Thur’s heart.

“In education, this is my 36th year,” Thur said. “As far as countries, I’ve taught in the United States and Guatemala. I’ve also taught in: Washington, Illinois, and Nevada. For subjects, I’ve taught math, science, social studies, English, reading, library science, and computers. I’ve taught elementary, middle school, high school, community college, university, and graduate school.”

Having taught almost every grade level and subject that there is to teach, Thur may seem like he was born to be an educator. However, as an early teen trying to figure out what to do with his life, the idea of becoming a teacher was almost unthinkable. 

“I was fifteen, sitting with my mom at the table and I told her I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Thur said. “I’ve always been a future oriented person and so she started asking me what I’m interested in and as she was listening she goes, ‘Why don’t you become a teacher?’ and I was like, ‘Who wants to be a teacher?’ [Then], she started making connections, and that’s when it was like an epiphany of just, ‘’Whoa.’”

As he aged, a career in teaching cemented itself into Thur’s mind as he took advantage of every available learning experience he saw. This open mindset eventually led him outside the country, to the impoverished suburbs of a town in Guatemala.

“When I was teaching in Guatemala, I lived out in Pueblo in the countryside, and none of the people that I lived around spoke English,” Thur said. “After a while, about ten of [the kids in the area] would come two days a week and I’d be teaching them English in my kitchen. And, you know, I wasn’t getting paid anything, but they just lit up. They were so respectful and worked so hard, it was really rewarding.”

These out-of-the-ordinary experiences have not only shaped Thur’s mindset towards teaching, but have also led him to curate an entirely unique and constantly evolving teaching style. Students agree that this trait, among others, distinguishes him from other teachers. 

“Mr. Thur has an incredibly unique teaching style because he would really push you to your limits creatively and logistically,” senior Celeste Baumgartner said. “He always strived for us to be the best and he was goofy and bonded with the kids. But, he was still very professional about it in his way. It was weird, you had a friend, but also a strict, almost, boss.”

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Thur poses with his seventh-grade students outside of their school in Guatemala

The uniqueness of Thur’s teaching style not only shines through in his personality and interactions with students, but also in the ways that he manages rowdy classrooms and restless students. 

“My class was really rambunctious, we were the last class of the day,” junior London Burt said. “And he would take us on the road outside [E building] and we’d just go for a walk. I always thought that was kind of cool because most teachers don’t really do a whole lot to get us to actually calm down. I don’t like sitting in a classroom all day, so getting up and being able to walk around in that class was really cool.”

In addition to teaching opportunities, Thur has also garnered the respect of leadership figures around the world through his ability to take initiative and put himself out there. The arguably most impressive of these was when he presented a research paper at Oxford University to an array of world leaders. 

“I was one of only two American representatives [at Oxford]. [The paper] was on failed states around the world, and mine focused on Afghanistan,” Thur said. “After presenting it, I got a standing ovation because these were people who understood the challenges that students throughout the world were dealing with. And for me to step away from tenured positions and go and take that challenge and give back, it was very rewarding to have that acknowledgement.”

Years later, while most of the world was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, Thur was invited to help start up a Teaching and Training program. This job would require him to take a pause in teaching World History, a subject he has a great passion for, but was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. 

“Teaching and Training originally started here as an elective,” Thur said. “The school was looking at making it a new program … I love my job, and the idea of working with young people who might be interested in it was really exciting. So, they’ve been doing that for a few years here in the valley, and to be a part of the beginnings of it was cool.”

Teaching and Training has grown over the years and built up its own reputation. Many students graduating from the program feel fulfilled and more prepared for life. 

“I think the teaching and training program benefited me. And learning about the actual logistics behind being a teacher, with making lesson plans, the grade books, and different programs that we use,” Baumgartner said. “It also built my confidence and empathy. Most people don’t get to learn what your teachers go through, or what your career path goes through until you’re actually in it. We had such amazing hands-on experiences that I feel very prepared for when I have my own classroom.”

Despite all of his experiences and knowledge, Thur’s classroom is still ever evolving and changing based on his current students’ needs. As he continuously tailors his teaching style to new students, to Thur, the past few decades have been a blur. 

 “It’s all still new and fresh and exciting,” Thur said. “I don’t look at things like I’ve taught all these years or like I know everything. Teaching is very humbling because it only works if the kids are learning; if they’re not, there’s something in you that needs to change.”