It started off as a distant dream, a surreal endeavor into what I would soon realize was my calling.
I remember a brief moment my senior year in college when it struck me: I am going to be a teacher. However, at that time, it was a little bit too late to change my major, and I eventually allowed the thought to slip out of my mind. Graduating with a degree in communications, I pursued some other dreams of mine first– college ministry, photography, traveling, a graduate degree. Then, a standstill occurred in my life, you know, one of those one-door-closing-after-another string of events that left me discouraged and pondering what on earth God wanted me to do with my life.
Then, an opportunity arose, a different and foreign one, in a small school in southwest Fort Worth. Application submitted, interview conducted, job offered– in a matter of a few days. I experienced that “knowing” feeling, that inner confirmation from myself, that, “Jenny, this is what you are supposed to do.”
So I did.
House packed, goodbyes said, a decade of memories left behind me. This new city, new school, new career, all in front of me– it was so exciting! My first few days as “Miss Van Dyck” teaching AP English confirmed in me that this was exactly what I would do with my life from here on out. Never before had I sensed fulfillment like I had in the classroom and especially at the end of the school year as I watched my first class of seniors receive their diplomas.
So here I am three years later preparing for a new class of students, reading up on my new curriculum, and praying for some insight into this next generation of students. Little did I know that in the summer of 2011 when I landed my first teaching job that I would be where I am now, teaching juniors and seniors, training other teachers in best practice, working for a national ministry that is impacting communities across the country, and even getting married to my soulmate (hence my new name: Jenny Blair!).
We teachers need help. I remember those days of feeling so alone in preparing for my classes and wondering if what I was doing was good enough. Then some other English teachers helped me out here and there. This website is my contribution back to the teaching community. Even if it helps one teacher out, that is worth it to me.
Follow your calling and don’t give up, teachers. This generation of students needs great teachers who will equip them to overcome the challenges of the future and to be learners for the rest of their lives.
Mrs. Blair 