Super Staff: Tuck Gionet, Government Teacher
Written by Briahna Gibson, Former Student on Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Tuck Gionet, a Government and Economics Teacher, Head Track and Field Coach, Panther Pal Advisor, Community Service Coordinator, and Key Club Advisor has been teaching in the Snohomish School District for 32 years. He started his career teaching PE, Science, and Social Studies at the original Snohomish Junior High for three years, which is now where the Snohomish Aquatic Center is.
Q: What made you want to teach history and government classes in high school?
A: I always had an interest in it; current events, what goes on in the world and how it develops, what happens in the past and how it has affected what is going on now and how it may affect the future. I’ve always had a real interest in that type of thing.
Q: Is there anything else you find interesting about our government and how it’s set up?
A: I find it all fascinating! What I find more fascinating is people’s reaction to it or non-reaction to it; non-involvement and letting it happen and figures it happens by itself when it doesn’t. It requires people to participate and unfortunately fewer and fewer people participate each year. But that’s ok; those of us that do participate have a little more power. Everybody has the same opportunity; if you don’t like it, participate.
Q: In your opinion what makes Snohomish High School the best?
A: It would definitely have to be the sense of tradition that our school has; the sense that we’ve always been the best; that carries us through. At times I question that; do the students understand how good they have it? But I think that any student that goes or teacher that goes to another school or district; I think they come back with the idea that maybe we are special; there is something special about this place. I think it’s because of the traditions; the Serpentine, the pride we take in just the little things we do, but again in some ways seem to be slipping a bit; the messiness of the campus. We ought to take pride in this great building the tax payers have given us and take a little bit better care of it. Some of those things really bug me; are we the best at keeping our campus clean? No, but are we probably still one of the best high schools in the state; no doubt about it, but we could be better. I’m not sure what we can do to make people understand that.
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I like to fish; that’s become more and more of a passion. I like to make things; I have a woodshop. I like to putter around my property. I like to watch sports on T.V, with the exception of tennis; no offense to the tennis players. I was thinking the other day, I loved watching the World Cup, but I don’t like soccer or NBA Basketball; I can’t stand those two (It’s all about me, it’s not about the team), and spending time with family; doing stuff with family. If it came down to going fishing or going downtown with my family, I’d choose downtown with family.
Q: What makes you interested in fishing?
A: My wife asks me that all the time; not sure what it is. It’s very relaxing (certain types of fishing), you’re outside, you’re outdoors, a tangible goal in mind; I want to catch a fish. Even though fish has a brain the size of a fish, there’s still a thought, “I gotta outsmart this fish; what can I do to outsmart the fish.” There’s a bit of a challenge, and I like spending time with my buddies; that’s always fun.
Q: Do you have your own boat?
A: Yep, I have three boats.
Q: Do you keep them at a marina?
A: Nope, I did this year for the month of September just because I fish so much and I do a lot of charity fishing. I took some veterans out this year, every year I take a blind person out, I have taken wounded warriors out; I did a lot of that type of fishing. I helped run the Everett Coho Derby so I kept my boat down their so I could just fish for a few hours and then come back, otherwise I keep them at the house.
Q: Do you coach any sports?
A: Yes I do, eighth grade football at Centennial and I’m the head coach for Track and Field here. I previously coached football for 19 years between the freshman campus and here. Then it got to be too time consuming and was taking time away from family. It wasn’t a tough choice to decide I’d rather spend time with my own family as my kids were getting older.
Q: What is your favorite track event and why?
A: That’s a good question. I remember when I first started coaching at the junior high; for some reason the triple-jump was that nobody really coached and thought; I’m going to learn how to coach this event better. I had a freshman set a freshman record; Coach Akins and he was my first state champion. I like that event; but my favorite event that I just think I enjoy watching is 4x4; it’s the last event, and you have four people working together, you have the whole team focused on it, because there’s usually nothing else going on, but everybody is focused and it’s a guts race. A lot of times it determines the outcome of the meet. I look forward to that event, but I like them all and I like watching even the distance races; the strategy, the perseverance, the guts it takes for them to go eight laps, four laps, two laps or whatever it will be.
Q: What made you want to coach track?
A: I ran track in high school, and I’ve always enjoyed track. My graduation present from college was tickets to the LA Olympics in 1984. I assumed part of teaching was coaching, the two go hand in hand. Definitely teaching first, coaching second. But I’ve never thought about not coaching. When I was diagnosed with cancer, someone mentioned I should just give up coaching; why would I give up coaching; it’s part of what I do. Something I just thought I would always thought I would do; it’s part of what I do.
Q: What college did you go to?
A: Western Washington University.
Q: What major did you pursue?
A: Political Science; and then I got my graduate degree from Idaho State University.
Q: Why Idaho?
A: They had a good program; Sports Administration. I’ve always liked sports, not wanting to be an administrator or athletic director. They had a great program, it was fairly inexpensive and it had a good reputation. I went to school with people all across the country; it was fun, I spent two summers there.
Q: What is the best advice you can give a high school senior for choosing college?
A: College gives you the opportunity to be who you want to be. In high school, you become who you think others want you to be. I see it all the time; students aren’t themselves because of that clique, that perception of them, etc. College is a great time to really be who you want to be. In college, nobody cares what you did in high school; and it doesn’t matter. College is a whole different time period in your life. Within five years of getting out of high school, you’ll be amazed of how little contact you have with your friends from high school. Your life changes dramatically, but because it allows you to be who you want to be, not who others want you to be. My best advice is pursue who you want to be. In college it’s amazing how diverse your network of friends become; it’s amazing.
Q: What are you going to say to seniors who have procrastinated on their senior hours?
A: Nothing! Not my responsibility to remind them again, right! If they haven’t gotten the message, they deserve what comes to them. I just think we take care of them too much around here. We’re not setting you up for success unless we make you face your inadequacies; there are consequences. I might send them a reminder, and then the administration might make me say something to them; but I think, why do I have to work harder than they do; I don’t get that concept.
