Mr. Jeffrey Jones MEd.

“No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks!” This was the song I sang as I rode me bike away into that glorious summer following sixth grade. I had no real love for school and the following school year I came to know the cruelty that students are capable of toward their own. I wish I had a “Cinderella” story to tell, but then that is just not my style. I only seemed happy when I was active or being mischievous. It is my love for wisdom and a calling to teach that I discovered as my pastor put me in charge of a classroom of teenagers. When this man took a chance on me and believed in my abilities, that I did not know I possessed, I was deeply excited to seek out an opportunity to teach.

My name is Jeff Jones and I grew up in the small community of Wellsville, Kansas and started on one end of my school, Wellsville Elementary, in kindergarten and progressed to the other end, Wellsville High School, until graduation. “Salt-of-the-earth” people surrounded me, and they taught me about hard work and how to play hard. In sixth grade, my teacher paid my way to a field trip to a Japanese steak house and I agreed to repay her by mowing her lawn, which I only mowed half of when her husband gave me a bottle of Coke and sent me on my way. School was not just about good grades, even though I pushed myself and took challenging classes it was knowing what to do with the knowledge I was accumulating. I will never forget what my math teacher Mr. Wright said as a fellow student quipped about his algebra assignment, “Are we ever going to use algebra again in our lives?” Mr. Wright said, “It is not about knowing how to do algebra, it is about learning how to think.” I know that I have forgotten way too much subject matter that I learned in high school, but I know that I have developed an ability to think. Don’t get me wrong, subject matter is important, but it is the ability to use that knowledge as wisdom that sets people apart. I guess what really excites me about teaching is when my students begin to understand my lesson, and then they take the knowledge that was just passed onto them and reword it in a way that perfectly explains it to their peers. When the student becomes the teacher, I realize that the student has learned the lesson. It is exciting to watch student after student begin to understand the lesson and intrinsically desire to know more.

My experience in school taught me my standard fundamental subjects, but I learned more than just knowledge. I learned that applying hard work and dedication, resulted in a person experiencing state runner-up in football, state champion in basketball, state champion in wrestling, and two time state champion in track-and- field. I began to understand that it is all right to stop and grieve when you loose someone you love, you will never be forgotten Mr. T and Mrs. Rush. I can never forget the exhilaration I felt when I discovered that learning is always fun when you can shoot a car, that I designed and built, down the hallway with a carbon dioxide canister. I recognize that passing on Tradition sets us apart and makes us who we are. I realize that School is but a short time in our lives that we attempt to become not only an educated human being, but we strive to become responsible adult citizens that are capable to carry on a society that is the greatest in the world.

One of the delights of my high school career was being able to play for my high school basketball team. I had awesome experiences, but the average observer would disagree with my experience. See, I was introduced to basketball half way through seventh grade. I did not play for the team till my tenth grade year. I started my very first game, on the freshman team. That was the only time I started. I rode the bench probably 95% of the time I played basketball. In fact, I was asked if I would like to be the manager my senior year since the couch knew that I would not get much playing time. I love basketball and I never quit. But that story is not over. A few years later my little brother began to complain to me, “I am sick of hearing about you.” “What?” I said. “Yeah, Coach keeps talking about you as a player that never quit and always gave it his all even if he did not get much playing time.” My even younger stepbrother repeated this story years later. Finally, I approached my coaches one day and thanked them for the opportunity to play for them. “No, no, no, thank you Jeff for playing for us, we learned from you and the commitment you made to the team,” said coach. I guess that I did not realize my importance to those teams. Every team needs commitment, or it is not a team, it is just a group.

I have been working with teenagers for about twenty years and have no desire to change. I began attending Rockhurst University so that I can become a teacher of students and have the opportunity to observe, as they become responsible men and women. Teenagers are at a pivotal point in life as they develop new bodies, create social skills, learn multiple subjects, and enhance their wisdom. It is my desire to be available to help students discover their destiny and purpose in life. A student who desires to learn continuously has developed a life style that will promote him or her forward in life. I should know that this is true, it has propelled me into a life style of confidence, ambition, and charity.