Angola teacher Dave Panning credits sixth‑grade teachers, work ethic for success

Dave Panning, an eighth‑grade math teacher and coach in Steuben County, told a local podcast that two teachers in middle school inspired him to change his academic habits and pursue teaching.

Panning spoke on Season 2, Episode 9 of “Success Stories in Steuben County,” an interview recorded at Henry Park and produced by MSD Steuben County. The interview outlined his path from struggling student to educator and coach and emphasized the role of persistence and teamwork in his approach to teaching.

Panning said he currently teaches eighth‑grade math, algebra and geometry and has coached girls basketball. “I am a teacher,” he said. “So I've coached a lot. So I was the girls basketball coach, the past 2 years at Angola High School, and I teach eighth grade math and algebra and geometry at the middle school.”

He told host Ashlyn Glenn Wagner that two teachers — his sixth‑ and seventh‑grade instructors — helped redirect him academically. He recalled one teacher assigning a cumulative social studies exam "the only reason he was giving us a final exam was to see if he was a good teacher," and said preparing for that test motivated him to study differently.

Panning described a clear change in his grades after that period: “I went from not having an A or a B in fifth grade to having all A's, and my lowest grade was a 96% in seventh grade.” He linked that turnaround to newfound effort rather than innate ability: “I just started using it.”

The interview traced Panning’s career path: he began at Woodside Middle School in Fort Wayne, taught 12 years there, then spent about 17 years at Homestead High School. He and his wife later moved to Steuben County; he has taught at Angola Middle School for the last four years and said he coached girls basketball at Angola High School for two years.

Panning also described his upbringing in a large family with limited means. He said his father worked as a Lutheran school teacher and the family sometimes bought discounted or expired bread and used powdered milk. He recalled getting a paper route in second grade and buying his own clothes as a way to help the household.

On pedagogy and coaching, Panning emphasized practice and teamwork. “The only way to get good at something is to practice,” he said, comparing sports practice to math practice. He also said he refuses to give up on students who have struggled: “I won't give up on them,” he said, and cited patience and persistence as key attributes for teachers.

Host Ashlyn Glenn Wagner closed the interview by thanking Panning for sharing his experience and saying she hoped listeners would take his advice about hard work into their own lives.