And while some locally complain Vance has been inadequately celebrated by his former community – he graduated from the city’s public Middletown High School before joining the U.S. Marines - that’s not the case at this private Christian school, which is one of the largest in southwest Ohio.
“It was inspiring for students to see hard work and determination elevate someone that played at the same (city) parks they do,” said Monica Gross, who teaches grades 6-8 at the K-12 school campus on the eastern side of the city, visible from Interstate 75.
Gross said former Ohio U.S. Senator Vance’s local roots and compelling story of rising from poverty and overcoming challenges naturally draws in young students.
“The average guy working hard, serving his country and rising to leadership is reflective of the founding fathers’ goal in creating a democracy. I think it’s important to celebrate the success of anyone who overcomes adversity and using that determination to lead others,” said Gross of Vance, who when sworn into office on Jan. 20 along with President-elect Donald Trump – will be first in the line of succession to be commander-in-chief of the United States.
“A few of my students have parents that went to school with Senator Vance, which connected them even more to the election. It is important for students to see themselves in leadership”
Students, she said, are grateful for the real-life connection to national leadership.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Paxton Clifford, an 8th grader at the school, said Vance is “a great example that anybody can do it (and) you don’t have to be from a rich place.”
Private schools such as Middletown Christian, unlike publicly funded schools, have more freedoms to incorporate outside sources of learning into their curricula as the academic subjects and topics are not dictated as stringently by Ohio or other accreditation organization standards private schools adopt.
Fellow faculty member Jedidiah Long, who teaches U.S. History, World History, Government, and Economics for grades 9-12, also took the Trump/Vance presidential campaign and election win as an opportunity to inject real-world relevance with a local flavor into his teaching curricula.
“Whether it is political ads interrupting their YouTube videos, their parents discussing it at home or, for the more interested, things like the debates they (students) are all forced to acknowledge the influence of politics in their life. This year in particular with all the controversy around Trump, the last-minute switch from Biden to Harris and the fact that Vance is from Middletown helped make class discussions lively,” said Long.
“The discussion specifically around Vance very much came in handy when discussing the Constitutional role of the Vice President and the idea of balancing the ticket when we went over political parties.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Long added “we also spent the entire day after the election going over results and when looking at Ohio results the fact that Vance was from Middletown and our senator was a major point of emphasis repeatedly.”
“The discussion specifically around Vance very much came in handy when discussing the Constitutional role of the vice president and the idea of balancing the ticket when we went over political parties.”
“I was able to point out the choice of both coastal (presidential) candidates to choose someone from the midwest as a running mate and while some did not know who (Democrat Vice Presidential candidate) Walz was, everyone knew Vance was Trump’s pick and that he was a former Middie.”
Gross said: “Anytime we see the democratic process play out it serves as an opportunity to encourage and inspire the next generation of leaders.”
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