Geography teacher Maria Elizabeth Walinski-Peterson likes to call Omaha South High School home.
“It’s home, it’s home,” she said. “Like all families, sometimes it’s fantastic and sometimes it’s disappointing, but mostly fantastic.”
Walinski said she began teaching in 2003, when she taught two social studies classes and two math classes. She didn’t love teaching math, but she didn’t hate it either.
“I was so happy to be there. I had a job, I had a place, and it was temporary—and that was okay,” she said.
In 2012, she left South High on what’s called a “coffee break” to become a part-time adjunct instructor at UNO, teaching geology and geography for eight years. After those eight years, she returned to South High in 2021 as what she called a “new teacher.”
When Walinski came back, she quickly became involved again. Early in her teaching career, she coached the African American History Challenge, winning two out of four years. She also served on the principal’s cabinet and faculty senate, and she was active in the Omaha Education Association.
Although that association was outside of OPS, it gave her valuable experience beyond the district. She eventually stepped away from it, saying, “It was sucking up my life and not making me a better teacher. If it doesn’t make me a better teacher, I’m out.”
One project she was deeply involved in was One City, One School District, which connected to her union work. Through that, she said, she gained insight into “the human animal and how territorial we can be.”
Walinski is also an AP Human Geography reader, traveling to Cleveland each year to score free-response questions for the AP exam. She’s done that for 14 years and counting.
Throughout her career, Walinski has taught many subjects—all within social studies, except for that one year of math. Her classes have included regular, honors and AP Human Geography; World Regional Geography at UNO; Introduction to Sustainability at UNO; AP African American History; Mexican American History; Psychology; AP U.S. Government and Politics; and Honors U.S. History.
“Human geography is my baby. I love it,” she said.
Walinski said she believes in the idea of being the “first among equals.”
“We are on a team, and we are all equal, but someone must be in charge,” she said. “Human geography is the first among equals—it’s my baby.”
She added that for her, teaching isn’t just about the content. “It’s about the people, the relationships and the memories,” she said. “The stories, the little sound bites that come out of that. Those mini plays that play in my head—those five-minute movies—are sustaining. It’s human. That’s the stuff that’s memorable, way past the definition of political human geography.”
Apart from working at South High and UNO, Walinski also worked as a para at Nathan Hale Middle School, which helped her get back into teaching.
“This is not where I thought I would land in life when I was 18 or 19,” she said.
Walinski never planned to become a teacher. She grew up in the theater and wanted to be an actor. “Many thought otherwise,” she said. “My father thought I was going to be a museum curator.”
When she was 14, a freshman at South High, her counselor told her, “Maria, I think you’re going to be a teacher.” Walinski replied, “The hell I am.”
Years later, she’s a teacher at South High.
When asked if there was a moment she knew for sure she wanted to teach, Walinski said yes.
She recalled working with an immigrant student from Guatemala who was determined to graduate high school, take advanced classes and go to college.
“To see that piece of possibility—the American dream—there’s no way you can put a dollar sign on that,” Walinski said.
Grinnell College, located in Des Moines, has also played a big role in her life. Walinski hopes that one of her students will attend Grinnell and experience what she did. “It’s my passion,” she said.
Walinski’s father has been her biggest motivation. “I love my mom, but my dad…” she said with a smile. “I know I’ve disappointed him in ways I’m not proud of, but if he thinks I’m a decent teacher and that I’m doing good in the lives of young people, that means everything.”
Her father was a priest, and their family lived across the street from the church. That’s why she calls South High “home”—she grew up nearby, surrounded by teaching and community. “If he is proud of me,” she said, “then I’ve done well.”
When students look back and think of Walinski, she wants them to remember that she tried.
“She’s not perfect,” she said of herself. “I say things I shouldn’t, I get in trouble, I try experiments that go very wrong—but I try. I don’t sit back and say, ‘Oh well.’”
Her advice for students: “Figure out who you are and do that on purpose. Figure out who you are from the inside out, and be that person intentionally and passionately.”
And, as Walinski always reminds her students: “Pick your battles and win them.”
