Teacher-turned-author releases novel imagining a future of privatized education
Teacher-turned-author Gene Bans (not pictured) released his debut novel, "Sips of Hemlock," which was the center of the Momco Book Club meeting June 20 at Matchwood Brewing Company in Sandpoint. From left: Ally Dray, Scottie Dray, Noelle Bastow, Angelina Smith, Laina King and Jennifer G. Bartels.
Courtesy photo
The cover of "Sips of Hemlock."
Courtesy photo
What happens when schools are run more like corporations than classrooms — and teachers are suddenly the highest-paid celebrities in the country?
North Idaho businessman and author Gene Bans, a former teacher, dives into that provocative question in "Sips of Hemlock," an imaginative, fast-paced satire that hurls readers into a near-future where education is almost entirely privatized.
Told through the eyes of two teachers navigating an era of tech-driven classrooms, corporate profits and sky-high salaries, the novel asks: Are schools more efficient? Are students better educated? And what happens when teachers become stars?
Bans began writing "Sips of Hemlock" in 2022, blending speculative fiction with real-world trends.
“As a teacher and a parent, I couldn’t help but wonder — how would society really react if teachers earned millions?" Bans said in a Saturday news release. "Would people celebrate it — or resent it?”
Inspired by Idaho’s evolving education policies and the rapid rise of classroom technology, Bans saw a path toward a future that feels eerily plausible and not necessarily desirable. The result: A novel that’s thought-provoking, engaging and a conversation-starter.
Bans brings an insider’s perspective to the subject. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communication education and a master’s in educational administration from Northern Illinois University. He taught in Illinois and Indiana before moving to Bonner County in 2017. Bans worked as an adjunct English professor for North Idaho College.
With a career that spans full-time teaching, college lecturing, tutoring and entrepreneurship, Bans has spent decades at the intersection of education and innovation. Today, the father of three substitute teaches for Lake Pend Oreille School District and mentors a group of millennial parents eager to imagine what lies ahead for their young children. Their book club recently chose "Sips of Hemlock" as its inaugural read.
Published March 24, "Sips of Hemlock" is available at the Well-Read Moose in Coeur d’Alene, Auntie’s Bookstore in Spokane, Sandpoint Books and Book People of Moscow.
The cover of "Sips of Hemlock."