Since the 1980s, Caldwell students have studied politics and economics not in textbooks but through discussion. While not a novel concept — Socrates championed it thousands of years ago — this method made retiring teacher Steve Hauge beloved, and feared, at Caldwell High School for 40 years.

Colleagues and former students are celebrating Hauge this month as he prepares for retirement after four decades in public education. Hauge’s career stands apart not just for the “extremely uncommon” length of his tenure, said former Caldwell High School principal Julie Yamamoto, but also for his ability to engage students and show them how to think for themselves.

“What a gift he has been to public education over that 40-year span,” Yamamoto told Idaho Education News. “The number of people’s lives t

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