Social Studies teacher Mike Weiss wakes up daily at 5:30 a.m. on his farm in Willow River, Wis. He gets to school at 6:30 a.m. and begins his day. Once school has concluded, Weiss always has more work to do, whether coaching football in the fall or baseball in the spring. Weiss finds new ways to influence his students daily.
Weiss has been coaching at Stillwater since 2001 and is still finding ways to influence his athletes. Weiss coaches football in the fall, baseball in the spring and helps with the weight room in the winter. However, for the first time at Stillwater, Weiss will also coach the basketball team.
Wide receiver-junior Antonio Kustritz explained his feelings on Coach Weiss. He said Wiess is “invested in…building relationships with his players and helping them get better,” not only on the football field but also in life.
Weiss influences other adults too. Coach Lucas Garbe is the assistant defensive line coach on the football team and has been coaching with Weiss for two years.
“Weiss has helped me tremendously ever since I started working here in Stillwater,” Garbe said. “Wiess has taught me how to enjoy coaching…and to not get over frustrated when coaching.”
Weiss also has an influence in the classroom. Four years ago, Weiss started the philosophy club with alumnus Sam Young. The club meets twice monthly to discuss current events and debate issues plaguing society. The club is a completely student-led organization which was the original intent. Weiss always brings breakfast for the group, which students will grab before they begin.
The club originally began when Young asked Weiss, “If I would be interested in doing something like having a philosophy club. I thought this [was] a great idea and this [was] the right person to do it [with].” With Young, Weiss developed what they would do and how days would run.
Through the development of AI and social media, philosophy is becoming more important in our schools.
“Philosophy classes are growing not just on college campuses, but also in U.S. high schools,” Weiss added. “The ability to think about complex problems and come up with solutions to those complex problems has…been lost along the way.”
Weiss explained that all education started with philosophy. People did not use different disciplines like mathematics or chemistry. It was all philosophy. Philosophy is at the core of everything.
Weiss also stresses to his students that everything in life except for themselves is out of their control. Weiss’s high school football coach, Colin Anderson, taught him this.
Anderson, “was a great leader and a great mentor…he was an Olympic thrower [for him…the United States], unfortunately for him…the United States boycotted the Olympics in 1980 and didn’t go to Russia,” Weiss said. After Colin Anderson missed out on that opportunity, he stressed, “You never know when things are going to be taken away from you.”
Weiss added that the words said to him, “really [had] me focus [on]…achieving my goals here and now and doing everything that I could to get…whatever it is that I wanted out of life.” Weiss said he has brought these words with him throughout his life. He used these words in his classroom and to help raise his children.
In the future, Weiss plans on teaching for another six years. Once he finally retires, he plans to expand his farm, hold more events and do much more with the community. In final remarks, Weiss said, “[The farm is] a lot of fun. It brings a lot of people together.”
