Whoever said you only go around once hasn’t visited the teachers’ lounges of Oakton High School recently. In the last 10 years, several of our best teachers have come to the classroom after long careers in law, government or in the military. And they are all men.

If Oakton is at all typical, men are no longer scarce in classrooms. I have watched Eliot Waxman’s first teaching years, and his background as a political consultant and government employee makes him a better government teacher. His years running focus groups for various campaigns have given him a special skill in facilitating discussion — a skill I see in practice daily, since we are an interdisciplinary team.