During the 2023-2024 school year, we will highlight our AMAZING Martinsville District Staff! Each one of our staff members began teaching for a reason and we've asked them to walk down memory lane and "REMEMBER YOUR WHY"...here is Ag teacher, Mallory Jenness’ “why”...
Mrs. Jenness attended the University of Illinois Champaign- Urbana with a field of study in Crop Science. When asked what she loves about the Martinsville School District, Mrs. Jenness noted: “I'm not sure I could pick one thing. Everyone cares about others and there are always extra hands. Our size is small so we can care about each student as an individual and can tailor our approach to help each and every kid succeed. The adults support one another regardless of any background or title. I truly believe God led my family here. It was a hard adjustment all around, but felt "right" and it still feels right. There is no other place I want to teach or enroll my children.
She went on to say, “I love it when students have the ah-ha, light bulb moment when something taught makes a correlation to real life.”
Mrs. Jenness said she became a teacher because, “my mom is a teacher and I always wanted to be like her. I had great high school ag teachers and I wanted to make that impact on students like they did. I then changed my major when I went to college, worked in the agriculture sector, and then realized I knew where I was always meant to be."
She shared one of her favorite memories... “a former student found trouble as much as he attracted it, in our small village and in the larger towns in the county. Other teachers struggled with his attitude and even some compliance. He and I got along well, or well enough at first. I used to say the kid had a heart of gold, we just couldn't see it through the black wall around it. I am a firm believer in RESPECT. I'll give it until someone stops earning it. I think that was all it was. I joked with him and was a nonjudgmental place for him to turn to. I don't really know how that student-teacher relationship grew, but it did. One day, he went after a kid in the hallway outside my door. His brother jumped on his back to try and break it up. I heard the commotion and came out of my room. At first glimpse, I thought the brothers were fighting until I saw a tuft of hair and another kid wrapped in the mess on the ground. After I stopped prying the brother’s hands off of the other’s throat I put my hand on his shoulder and just made eye contact. I can still feel/see that contact today, probably 10 years later. It may have lasted 5 seconds or 2 minutes. He let go and we went for a walk out in the parking lot. He was mad and yelled and let it all out. It probably looked hideous to anyone looking out their windows. A lot was going on inside him. My admin was thankful (no blood and quickly de-escalated the altercation) but also reproachful; I was 8 months pregnant and ginormous. To this day, those brothers stay in contact with me. I get wrapped in a huge hug. Sometimes the one young man just gives me that same look from all those years ago (maybe not as intense) and just says “thanks” as we part ways. Those boys will always stick out as an ‘ah-ha’ moment because it has solidified that building the relationship needs to come first and the learning will come right along...sometimes when you least expect it.”
Thank you Mrs. Jenness for teaching students to be respectful and for being that safe place for students to turn to!