Creston High teacher finds his, and other students’, way

It’s safe to say a teacher has made a connection with a student the moment the student understands the concept or shows growth during a school year.

But one Creston High teacher can make a personal, deeper connection with his students that can be seen more than just on a daily assignment.

Todd Jacobson is a 1987 Stanton High graduate but grew up in a family that “didn’t have a whole lot of money growing up,” he said. “If I ever was going to go to college, I was going to have to find another way to get some money to do it.”

Jacobson joined the National Guard, based in Red Oak, to fund college and started his college years at Northwest Missouri State. “But I would have considered myself not mature and disciplined enough to handle it,” he said about college. “I was a good soldier. I knew what to do but to have the discipline when nobody is telling you what to do; I was not very good at that.”

He said he wasn’t thrilled with his performance his first year of college. After another summer of Guard training, he returned to school for year two and was “kicked out” after the first semester.

“It wasn’t because I wasn’t intelligent enough to do it. I didn’t have he discipline to do it,” he said.

The next fall he said he had the motivation to return. He needed a C average to stay enrolled, which he did. Factory work when not in school wasn’t the life he wanted to have. The Guard called as he was needed in Operation Dessert Storm in late 1990.

“The first night we were hit with missiles, walking through mine fields and there were jobs of picking up dead bodies,” he said about America’s defense of Kuwait from and Iraq invasion. “All of that for a 21-year-old kid.”

A lesson learned

“There is nothing like as I tell the kids the threats of dying to make you focus on you getting your life in order,” he said. “It should not have taken that, but it did.”

Jacobson was released from his Guard duties in spring 1991 and his plan was to return to classes at Southwestern Community College. His wife Paula is from Creston. Todd credits math instructor Dee Ann Stults for improving his academic skills.

“I took her class. She just had a way she could look up from her overheard projector. She could tell the kids who had the look,” he said about students who were struggling. Stults would rework the strategy for the benefit of those students. He also credits former Southwestern coach and instructor Bill Krejci for his influence.

Jacobson was attending Northwest Missouri while Paula was teaching at South Page, a rural school south of Clarinda. He graduated in 1995.

“I’m open about having a tough upbringing, kind of a dysfunctional family,” he said. “I’m open with them,” he said about sharing with his students.

Jacobson’s teaching career includes Stanberry, Missouri, South Page and Shenandoah before coming to Creston.

“I needed a change of scenery,” he said about the early days of teaching including coaching. But even when he was home, he admitted he was not accessible as phone calls and watching game films were constant. Family informed him of opportunities in Creston and has been here since 2005.

Jacobson said he wants his students to be “curious skeptics.” Part of his social studies curriculum includes creating a political party from platform to name. Students review various, typical political issues which helps determine where they stand on each issue.

“I’m not here to help you pursue one direction or another. You are your upbringing, morals and values. I am hear to only guide you,” he said he tells his students. “I’m here to disseminate.”

Creston senior Jacy Kralik has been in a Jacobson classroom. She said she enjoyed his class because of the “positive” way he presents the material.

“Jacobson knows how to teach,” she said. “I feel like I grew as a person by learning things that take place in Iowa and around the country. He did a great job teaching students about things that are going on outside of the classroom. He did a daily news every day to inform us what’s going on in the real world.”

Jacobson said one student informed him of receiving a jury duty notice. He said students can opt of of possibly serving because of still being in school, but the student told him she was not going to back out. He also offers students an opportunity they might not get until later in life.

Jacobson finished his 14th trip sending interested students to New York City and Washington D.C. emphasizing education and culture. The trip is typically schedled every other year, although COVID changed the routines.

“There are kids who would never have that opportunity,” he said about attending a Broadway show, multiple museums and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He said the trip has been a first-time flight for some students and even first time out of state.

Knowing his own history and what some of his students have faced personally, he hopes what he offers his students is something life altering.

“When I got here, every kid said Randy Hughes is my favorite,” Jacobson said about the retired Creston High teacher. “I can do this too.”

But he knows how his life and career has changed, his students and education have too.

“You keep evolving. It never stops even after 28 years. I really feel a purpose of trying to evolve; kids change, educations changes. I keep evolving with it. But my core principles are still the same; like greet every kid at the door. I am very open with them when I start the school year. Respect is not given, it’s earned and it’s a two-way street. This is a safe place for all students and somethings will not be tolerated.”

Kralik has similar feelings.

“Jacobson is the definition of character. He cares for every student that walks into his classroom and he leaves an impact on every student that leaves his classroom.”