Scott Dieckhaus' former students: We loved him

Several weeks ago, I tweeted that I was interested in knowing just what kind of a teacher Rep. Scott Dieckhaus was.

Of course, Dieckhaus, the chairman of the House Education Committee, has become known for his bills targeting teachers and public schools, including attempts to eliminate tenure, require evaluations to be based on standardized test scores, and open the door for educational vouchers.

Dieckhaus was also the one who extended the invitation to the misnamed Students First organization headed by Michelle Rhee to establish a stronghold in Missouri.

These are the two responses I received to my inquiry about Dieckhaus.

I'm emailing you regarding Scott Dieckhaus. I was a graduate of Hermann High School in 2006. I had Scott in several classes. He was one of my favorite teachers. I wasn't your average student. I was more of a trouble maker and my grades were horrible. Scott was one of the few teachers at that school that really tried to motivate me and was always positive about me and my future. I almost quit school and had to go for a fifth year. In May I graduated from the University of Central Missouri with a degree in Geography and now I'm working on my masters degree in biology at UCM. I still keep in touch with Scott and I actually wrote a paper about some of his ideas in a state government class. I agree with his ideas and views. Thank you for your time.
 
And this one:

I am writing you in regards to your request for any of Mr. Dieckhaus's
previous students giving you their opinion on him. I was one of
Scott's students my sophomore year at Hermann High School. To be
honest, he was one of the nicest, most intelligent teachers I had ever
had up until that point! Mr. Dieckhaus was an obviously intelligent
man, and he made social policy and government seem so interesting for
once! There was only a handful of teachers that I can say really made
an impression on me in high school, and he was by far one of them. I
am currently in the Masters of Public Policy Administration program at
the University of Missouri- St. Louis, and I can attribute my initial
interest in government and policy to Mr. Dieckhaus! I hope this has
helped shed some light on the impact he has made on his students.