Meet a New Teacher: Jennifer Johnston

— from Orcas School District —

Jennifer Johnston- 3rd/4th grade Teacher

My elementary school classmates would describe me as quiet and shy, but fun to play with. My high school classmates would say I was athletic, out-doorsy, and always ready to find fun.

My favorite teacher would be Mrs. O., my 6th grade teacher. She helped me to recognize my talents and feel confident. Besides teaching the necessary academic skills, Mrs. O. provided us many opportunities to play with art. I discovered I was quite successful in school when given an avenue to express what I knew in a creative way.

I decided to become a teacher when my dad told me I would starve if I tried to succeed as an artist. He suggested I find a field in which I could use my talents as an artist, as well as provide for myself. Though becoming a teacher was a happy accident, it has proved to be my calling and I feel lucky to have stumbled into it.

I first saw Orcas Island on a nautical chart, as my husband and I were sailing with our two small children one summer. I longed to go there and explore, but for some reason it eluded us. In November of 2017, I took my husband to Orcas Island (by car) for his birthday. We spent three days getting to know the island and repeatedly asked ourselves, “Why did we wait so long to come here? We belong here.” We both grew up on an island in Michigan, but adore the PNW. Orcas Island is the perfect blend of both.

We’ll be moving to Orcas Island soon. I am looking forward to being continually close to the water, meeting and getting to know the other residents, and exploring the surrounding areas. I am not looking forward to the day I may need to catch a ‘quick’ flight to Michigan. I have a feeling that getting anywhere quickly is in the past.

My husband, also an educator, and I are sailors. We have spent many a summer sailing the Puget Sound with our children, and now as empty nesters. Besides our two grown children, Taylor and Abbigale, we have a small, neurotic rescue dog, Gracie. Our leisure time is usually spent outdoors in some way (hiking, exploring, camping… ). We enjoy seeing the natural beauty of different places around the world.

My first day of teaching was full day Kindergarten in inner-city Houston, Texas. My supplies consisted of a box of white paper. I remember reading the book Fish Out of Water to the students and thinking to myself as their eyes and minds were glued to the story, “These are MY students!” I felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility and butterflies of excitement. I still keep a picture of those students at my desk.

The friends I’ve made in my career are too many to note. They have ranged in age from 5 to 97. One in particular was John Parker, a veteran who wanted to volunteer at the school reading with children. I invited him to work with my class. He had the brains of a scientist, the heart of a lion, and the mouth of a sailor. The students (and their parents) got used to his colorful language, and came to understand that the knowledge gained spending time with someone who has lived for nearly a century is priceless. He and I became close friends. He had no family and fortunately for my family, spent his last few Christmases and Thanksgivings with us.

Teaching is much more personal than I imagined it to be. It’s so much more about the relationships and the interactions, than the materials.

The country and world are often focused on the negative, but people (particularly children) are innately good. I have seen this over and over in my career as a teacher. One particular story that comes to mind happened very recently. One of my students, a student with special needs, was having his last day of school. His family was moving. On the way out to recess I asked one of my other students (often viewed by others as a bully) if he could do me a favor and make sure this student had a fun recess since he wasn’t going to get to play with us again. He said, “I’m on it.” Within minutes, without any guidance from me, this future leader had a posse gathered and a plan hatched for giving this student the best recess ever. The game was tag and they made sure that when recess ended this student felt FAST and very loved. Recess was only 15 minutes. They were successful. Kids are amazing when you let them show you what they’re made of.

I’d say my funniest moments in education have happened during Show and Tell. I have often said that these stories would make a great coffee table book. Over my career as an educator I have had the following items/stories presented by students; severed pigs ears, an alien, a dead duck, a baby bird, a wallet complete with a condom, the story of how a little bother was made, and the list goes on.

One of my favorite quotes was from a 2nd grader on the first day of school. “When are we going to learn to talk cursive?”

The thing that surprises me the most about teaching is how much of it is ME doing the learning. Each year I learn more and more about people, the world, and myself.

I want each of my students to remember me as someone who recognized their individuality, their talents.

The advice I would give myself as a first year teacher is this; Give the standards and the testing their due diligence and time, but never forget to nurture relationships and have fun.