This article was a winner of Lookout’s 2026 Journalism Scholarship Challenge, which invited high school students to highlight an unsung hero in their lives. Learn more and find all of the winners here.
It is up to the parent if they want their child to learn politics at a young age. Luckily, there are some teachers who specialize in just that without giving in to a specific political party. American politics has been a forefront topic for centuries in the United States, even globally. With the modern world evolving, the divide in the “land of the free” has been greater than ever before, no matter what issue. Matt Bruner, a teacher and educator at Soquel High School, teaches a morning class that allows students to fully immerse themselves in up-to-date American government, with pure intentions to educate the youth while giving unfiltered takes. In all, Mr. Bruner has developed a skill of being able to prepare teenagers scrupulously as they move on to the next chapter of their life, adulthood.
From teaching an AP U.S. government class for seniors to honors world history classes for sophomores and being co-president of the teachers union at 35 years old, Bruner’s desire to teach stems from his skills of formerly coaching a water polo team and leading clubs, with an early thought of being an educator since second grade. “I like being useful,” he said. “All the benefits that I [had] growing up … gave me opportunities to pay back to the community and students who go to [Soquel High].”
While his profession revolves around history, it is always inevitable for human events to be hemmed in by a larger power, politics. That is why Bruner aims to explore past, present and future events with political comparisons to help students overall understand the concept and how important the integration is between them. “I love history … but it doesn’t mean anything if it’s divorced from experience and people,” he said. “I gravitated towards that as a subject of politics … philosophy and humanities in general, I think that interests everybody.”
As we start to see a shift in younger generations applying social media into their lifestyles, it is impossible for teenagers to accurately learn their authority without a sort of bias and persuasion. Bruner has utilized his professional method of collaboration to help his students comprehend the complexities of politics. When asked if partnerships achieve sustainable community development, he believes they’re “integral. … It’s a lie to say that anything can be done without partnership. The thing that separates humans from our attribution to our success is the ability and willingness to work together.” This even goes with the idea of disagreeing with one another. “If somebody challenges your idea, that’s great. That means you are forced to defend your perspective [and] claim. That makes you a more rigorous, intellectual person and a critical thinker,” he said. His approach allows people to have doubt and curiosity, helping sustain growth and get opinions on both sides of an argument.:“We [should] encourage curiosity, listening and argumentation, with a desire not to just win people over to your side but also to hear what other people have to say.”
Allowing a sense of association with others helps bring accurate claims to light. “In terms of teaching, I try my best to remain as neutral as possible. It’s literally my job in terms of politics,” Bruner said. It’s merely impractical that growing up, people do not have opinions of their surroundings. We should have some sort of beliefs, but ensure that these principles are accurate. “Make the argument and support it with evidence,” he said. “One qualification that we have is that [claims] must be supportable by evidence. … If you don’t have sources, let’s not immediately dismiss it, let’s interrogate that idea.”
By allowing arguments on either end to come about, Mr. Bruner remains fair to help students learn how democracy works. The purpose of his classes supports students to exercise their freedom by willingly expressing their opinions while undergoing professional help with regard to veracity and credibility. Bruner’s ideas of collaboration differentiate from individualistic thinking to make enhanced initiatives when handling politics. “The project of making Soquel High a more rigorous and academic institution would be the thing that I’m most proud of,” he said. “I really oriented my whole life around education, I can put all of my energy and focus here … that will inevitably have ripples in the community.” Thanks to Mr. Bruner, students can effortlessly advocate for authenticity, benefitting their awareness of rights, while being able to stick to the truth, and only the truth.
Ryan Groyon is a student at Soquel High School