William (Bill) Fink, retired high school social studies teacher and former Iowa State Senator.

Many superb educators also become excellent politicians. One of these is Bill Fink, a high school social studies teacher who also served as a state senator for Iowa.

Bill was born on May 5, 1955. He was raised in Ringsted, Iowa. Following his high school graduation from Ringsted High School in 1973, he enrolled in Iowa State University. There he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and his teaching certificate in 1977. He earned his Master’s degree in Education from Drake University in 1984.

Following his college graduation, Bill accepted a position teaching social studies at Carlisle High School. He also coached the school’s debate team. During these years, he was instrumental in founding the Iowa Debate League, which still exists.

In 1992, Bill was elected on the Democratic ticket to represent the 45th District in the Iowa State Senate. He left the classroom to devote his energy to the legislature full-time. Bill spent a total of ten years in office. While in the legislature, he spent four years as the chair of the Natural Resources Committee. In this role, he was instrumental in establishing clean energy sources throughout his state. For his efforts, Bill garnered a prestigious legislative honor when he was named a BILLD Fellow. He was even invited to the White House in 1995.

In 2001, Bill criticized an attempt by the Iowa State Legislature to make Iowa the first state in the country to base its salaries for public school teachers on their performance in the classroom. Bill called the proposal “…tragic and misdirected.” He felt that teachers had been allowed too little input on the proposal.

Following his career as senator, Bill returned to the classroom at the high school level, where he taught government and economics. He served as a well-respected educator for the next three decades.

During his career, Bill joined many community organizations. He was a member of the Carlisle Community Education Association, the Polk Suburban Uniserve Unit, the Iowa State Education Association, the National Education Association, and the Iowa State University Alumni Association.

Bill’s 36-year career as an educator came to a conclusion in 2015 when he retired. The veteran educator left with sage advice for those who are new to the profession. His best advice, he says, is to know what you’re teaching. “New teachers will learn more by teaching than they ever will by being a student,” Bill asserts. “If you really want to learn something, teach it. If you do that well, you expand beyond just a text book. You expand beyond your own knowledge and that broadens your horizons,” he says.

To read more about Bill Fink, click on this link from the Des Moines Register.