Seniors in Matthew Herbert’s government class learn the importance of citizens’ participation in government. They will now be provided with a real-world example as they watch their teacher run for office.

With spring elections right around the corner, Herbert is working overtime — teaching his classes during the day and campaigning for the Lawrence City Commission after school.

“I would love to have the opportunity to teach students government during the day and actually create change in the government at night,” he said.

While Herbert has discussed the possibility of running before, he decided to pursue the position this election to bring change to recent commission decisions.

“I have always been a very opinionated person,” he said. “The trouble is, up until my run for city commission, I didn’t really have a soapbox to stand on. The biggest change the city commission would bring for me is the ability to actually put my words into action and affect change around me.”

Along with getting authority in city government, Herbert hopes that being an elected official would make his lessons more impactful by setting an example with his candidacy.

He wants students to see “democracy coming alive before their eyes.”

“The ideas I teach them are not just words in a textbook,” he said. “With my campaign, I hope they get to see politics come to life.”

Current and former students have heard extensively about Herbert’s campaign. Senior Lynne Oyler had him as her civics teacher freshmen year and recalls him discussing his plans even then.

“I would be really excited for him [win],” she said. “He seems really excited to run and he is putting in a lot of effort.”

Students notice his dedication to both the campaign and the City of Lawrence and say that his experience in a combination of different fields would make him ideal for the job.

Senior Alex Ginsburg has Herbert for her government course and said he is an ideal candidate, and she “would vote for him if [she] had the chance to.”

She also sees the benefit of his campaign to the classroom.

“I think it’s really interesting because I feel like you get a first-hand experience seeing how it works,” she said. “I feel like it’s a positive influence on everyone taking the class.”

Herbert knows first-hand the positive influences that having elected officials as educators can have.

His own freshman civics class was taught by former Lawrence mayor Sue Hack and he had former senator Christine Downey as his fifth-grade social studies teacher. He said having politicians as examples made his lessons seem more applicable to the real world.

“I hope that by seeing me campaign and actively taking part in representative democracy they [my students] get a greater sense of buy-in to what I teach in my classroom,” he said.

Herbert hopes that even if he doesn’t win, both him and his students will be able to take a lot away from the process.

However, if elected, will donate all of his commission salary to local charities. He would also continue to teach, and will maintain his position at LHS as long as possible.

“I am very blessed to have so many supportive people surrounding me in this community. There is no place else on Earth I’d rather live than Lawrence, Kansas.”