Dr. Anthony Armstrong
By Adriane Fraser (Whetstone Staff Writer)
Dr. Anthony Armstrong has an office full of things any student might expect in a political science professor’s office – books on political science and history, as well as personal memorabilia, including pictures.
But one item sticks out, a thin, rectangular piece of wood that reads, “To teach is to love,†beside the drawing of an apple.
It was a gift from a student.
“Teaching is creative, challenging and meaningful,†Armstrong, 63, said.
Creative because it requires a lot of thought and imagination. “How you teach is creative engagement,†he said.
Challenging because teaching takes a lot of energy. “When students are not getting it, I have to figure out ways of connecting it, which can be challenging.â€
It becomes meaningful when he is able to “turn on the lights of understanding.â€
“Everything that he teaches is straight forward and understanding, so that when exams come all I have to do is refer back to my notes,†said junior Ahjee Davis said.
When Armstrong was in graduate school, he said he had a “relevance crisis.â€
He had formulated a political theory, but said he knew that nobody would listen to what he had to say.
“I realized that scholarship would make little difference, but teaching might make a big difference,†he said.
This is when he knew that he wanted to become a teacher.
Armstrong was born at an Air Force hospital in Sacramento, Calif., and moved around a great deal until his family settled in Emmett, Idaho, for 10 years. Armstrong and his family also spent two years in Ontario, Ore., and finished his last two years of high school in San Clemente, Calif.
Before adolescence, he wanted to be a rancher, a skin diver and a quarterback. He played football until tenth grade, and played the organ and guitar in garage bands.
“Since it was the 1960s when I was growing up, of course I wanted to be a rock star,†he said.
Armstrong is Professor of Political Science, and chairs the department of Political Science, History and Law & Justice. He teaches courses in political science, international studies, and happiness.
“One of my favorite classes of his is Model United Nations because everybody got to be a specific nation,†senior and SGA president Fred Sottnick said. “It gives students the first hand experience on how the United Nations works.â€
In 1977, Armstrong earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Boise State University. He later received his Master’s in Political Science at Phillips University and his PhD in Political Science at the University of Washington.
Davis said she likes that Armstrong is always available to help her with assignments and papers or answer any questions.
Before Armstrong started teaching, he joined the Army because, he said, he didn’t want to be drafted so that he could choose his job and location for the first 16 months, and not get deployed to Vietnam.
While stationed in Germany, Armstrong met and married a German girl named Marlies. They eventually had four sons; Shawn, 42, Nico, 32, Timo, 30, and Cary, 28.
During his free time he reads and plays guitar. He is in a band called Sage, which includes former Media Arts professor Mike Nielsen, English professor Jeff Gibson, and science professor Jon Kidd.
In the band, Armstrong plays guitar, writes songs and sings.
But his first love is teaching.
“I think he is an awesome teacher and he looks like he enjoys the subject that he is teaching, which makes me be more into the class,†Davis said.
“All of his classes are insightful and encouraging and they make you want to learn more and I continue to learn more in all his classes,†Sottnick said.
