Join me on a journey I recently shared with a pair of extraordinary Trico Science teachers, where science education is more than labs and textbooks—it’s a relay. Sixth graders begin with Tim Hostert, who introduces them to life and earth science, patiently guiding them through microscopes, measurements, and the habit of asking questions. By seventh grade, they move to David Goetting, class of ‘83, who builds on that foundation with physical and earth science, pushing students toward the deeper “whys” that science demands. Together, the two teachers form a partnership that gives Trico students not just knowledge, but a way of thinking.

Both men arrived at Trico from different paths. Hostert taught for 14 years in Okawville before joining Trico five years ago. The son of a superintendent and nephew of a teacher, he followed family footsteps into education. “My interest in teaching comes from an interest in learning,” he said. “To teach, you have to be prepared to learn—it’s a big world.”

Goetting’s path circled back home. A Trico graduate from Willisville, he spent six years teaching at a Catholic school in Chester before his dream job—junior high science at Trico—opened up. “This was always the job I wanted,” he said. “I sat in this very classroom as a student, and when Mr. Eldridge retired, I knew this was the role I was meant to take.”

Together, they see their work as more than just content delivery. Hostert “softens the clay,” easing sixth graders into scientific thinking and equipping them with the basics—like how to use a microscope—before handing them off to Goetting, who shapes that clay into critical thought. “The hardest part is getting kids to embrace the abstract,” Goetting admitted. “They want the answer, but they don’t always want to figure out how to get it. Science is about connecting what you can see with what you can’t.”

Technology and AI have added both promise and challenge. Hostert notes that tools like apps and online simulations give students ways to engage that didn’t exist a decade ago. But Goetting worries that shortcuts risk erasing curiosity. “The sense of wonder has diminished,” he said. “We’re trying to bring it back, to show them it’s okay to ask, ‘What happens if…?’ and not be afraid of being wrong.”

Their classrooms reflect that philosophy. Roller coaster projects, labs with microscopes, and hands-on experiments take time, but the payoff is seeing students finally click with the process of problem-solving. “By the last couple of days, they start engineering,” Goetting said with a grin. “They realize it’s not just about finishing—it’s about figuring it out.”

Both teachers credit Trico’s culture with making their jobs meaningful. “This is a resilient community,” Hostert said. “Families here know what it means to work hard, to adapt, to figure things out when you have to.” That grit, passed down through generations of farming and rural  life, underpins the persistence they want their students to carry forward.

Between them, Tim Hostert and David Goetting represent two stages of the same journey: sparking curiosity, nurturing resilience, and teaching kids not just what science is, but how science thinks. And in a district as spread out as Trico, that shared commitment means every student gets more than a class period—they get a handoff in a relay that shapes the way they’ll see the world; through Tim-and-David-shaped-lenses of curiosity, imagination, and exploration.