People Column

Tired of looking out on a sea of bored faces in his civics class, Wayne Kolb decided to make the political process come alive for his students. He is running for president of the United States.

"This is something I've thought about for several years, and finally this year I decided it was time," said Mr. Kolb, a 48-year-old teacher at Doss High School in Louisville, Ky.

In the beginning, he said in an interview last month, his students greeted his decision to run for president with skepticism and, perhaps, some mild enthusiasm. But when he called a press conference to officially announce his candidacy, the students...