Unearthing a World of Knowledge: Teafatiller and Jackson Spark Scientific Synergy

By: Donya Hassanshahi

With nearly 2800 students, the evergrowing Redwood population presents an obstacle for teachers to serve students uniformly. The Redwood Science Department welcomes two teachers to Ranger Staff: Mrs. Jenna Teafatiller and Mr. Timothy Jackson.

Given the growth of the Ranger population, Mrs. Jenna Teafatiller and Mr. Timothy Jackson are this year’s newest editions to the science department to aid in accommodating the needs of all science scholars.

Located in room 84, Teafatiller is an Earth Science teacher. Her students are primary juniors, though she also teaches freshmen and seniors.

Teafatiller says she was drawn to Redwood due to its “…culture, the large campus, and the diversity”.

Throughout her seven-year teaching history, this school year marks her first year teaching in Visalia. Previously, she taught in Lemoore.

Teafatiller says the experience is “really exciting” as she enters the Ranger environment.

Considering her enthusiasm, she says she looks to achieve personal and academic aspirations throughout the school year. For instance, this is Teafatiller’s first year teaching as a mother, so finding a balance between inspiring science while maintaining family life is a priority.

With numerous years of involvement in the field, Teafatiller has encountered different students and uncovered unique ways to pique their interests.

“I try to do as much hands-on as I can because I feel like most people learn best by doing, and I try to apply or have discussion with them and talk to them about how what they’re doing applies to different jobs, what they like to do, or how this matters,” she says.

Rather than pursuing a career with younger students, Teafatiller says, “I really like the high school age group. You guys have a really great energy, and honestly, I want to spark a love for science in at least some people.”

Her passion for science is encapsulated through her ambition to ignite interest in her students. “The kids I’m teaching, I feel like, are in a place where most of them just don’t like science. So, a personal goal of mine would be to get even some of them to have a spark—-enjoy the class they’re in some of the time,” she says.

Given Teafatiller’s fondness for the subject, she says she has always been interested in science and math.

As she was deciding whether to enter the educational field as a science or math teacher, she says, “I studied kinesiology in college, which is the study of the movement of the human body, and it was the love from the science I have.”

Throughout this school year, Teafatiller says, “I would love to build some relationships with kids. I want to try to go to one of the football games; my goal is homecoming. Volleyball is my sport, so I would love to go and watch some of the games of the girls.”

With homecoming having recently passed, she says she had looked forward to seeing, and encouraging, students to participate in school spirit by getting involved.

“I feel like this school, compared to some schools I’ve been at, you guys have a really strong energy…I’m really excited to see that aspect of things and hopefully talk with the kids about their experience with it. I try to push them to join as much as they can,” says Teafatiller.

Her colleague, Jackson, teaches Earth Science and Biology in room 92 to freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. In the future, he aspires to teach chemistry and physics.

The 2023-2024 school year marks his seventh year of teaching. Prior, Jackson was a teacher at Valley Oak for six years at the sixth and seventh-grade levels.

Despite his experience in the middle school department, he says he has always wanted to teach kids at the high school level. “High school, for me, was where I found who I was as a person,” Jackson says.

Prior to entering the educational profession, Jackson was in preclinical medicine in the science field. Assuming this role, he conducted research in San Diego, where he grew up, moving to Visalia around 2016.

With his wife getting a job at the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, he says he found difficulty in working on science outside of a lab setting. However, his former place of employment was supportive of his long-distance circumstances.

Still keen to the science field, Jackson says he looked for other careers in Visalia that corresponded with his previous line of work “…but it wasn’t really something that I enjoyed doing. I enjoy difficulty”.

As he began a new chapter in his life, Jackson sought a career in something that lacked redundancy and welcomed challenges on a daily basis.

Jackson says, “Teaching is something I’ve always wanted to do, but it wasn’t something that I pursued in San Diego. I felt like I finally had an opportunity when I didn’t like the career I was going towards. I went to a meeting at the Tulare County Office of Education and I learned about the IMPACT program where you can literally learn and teach on the job,” pertaining to his mindset during October of the 2016 school year.

Contrasting from a middle school division, Jackson says, “I think what I’m try to do, from a personal level, is interact with my students and not treat them so young, treat them like young adults because they are. At the same time, from an academic Lebel, I’m teaching Biology, which my degree was in Molecular Bio[logy] and Biochem[istry], so I get to teach something I really understand at a level I understand.”

Not only does he seek to improve for the benefit of his students, but he aspires to be a better version of himself for himself. “For me personally, my goal is that I can teach other subjects as well. I passed my tests so I can teach chemistry next year or the following year. I want to pass my tests so that I can teach Physics,” he says.

As of now, Redwood does not offer Physics at a general level, though Jackson says he wants to grant the availability of that course to Rangers, “I think Physics is one of those classes that students should have the opportunity or choice to take if they want to. My goal, academically, is so expand on our department here at Redwood.”

Each student has a different approach to learning. In thought of this, Jackson says he is considerate when lesson planning. With every topic, he says he enjoys the flexibility of bringing the book to life.

“When I see kids bored, it bothers me. So, I just try to look at my students and, if I can make an activity fun, I try to make it fun. If we’re going to do something boring for a little while, I try to add weird things in just to keep them interested and engaged because there are some boring parts, like memorizing words and things, but I try to be silly with them a little bit and have fun with it,” says Jackson.

Redwood has numerous activities and events to offer. With Homecoming in mind, Jackson says, “I’m excited to experience it again. I haven’t been to Homecoming since junior year of high school, so it’s something new to me.”

The Ranger community is more than just a school, but a family. In addition to Homecoming, he says, “I hear a lot about Cowhide, but I’ve never experienced it, so I guess I’m just excited to see the energy I hear all about. I’m excited to take my kids to one of those games and see what it’s like.”

During college, Jackson was involved with his aquatics program as a swim coach. When he had initially transitioned to teaching, he said, “As much as I enjoyed teaching those little littles who don’t know, I really enjoyed teaching kids who already knew how to swim and get them better. Kind of the same thing today: I want to teach kids that kind of know science, but take it to that next level—I love doing that I love seeing that growth.”

Redwood culture embraces all interests and niches. Considering Jackson’s past with athletics, he says he is “…really excited to see sports. I never played football, other than watching the games, but I was a swimmer and a water polo player, so I can’t wait to see these games and I’m really excited to, eventually, get back into coaching.”

Although he balances teaching with his personal endeavors, he says, “It’s hard to teach different things, you have to plan, but it makes it so much more fun and rewarding for me.”

Jackson says he has passion in all activities he partakes in outside the school setting. In November, he will run his first ultra-marathon race, which is 63 miles distance-wise.

“I try to challenge myself everyday because it makes life rewarding. I tell my students: when you graduate, that’s not a finish line—-the race is just starting and there is no finish line. And, I try to really model that for them as well.”

Mr. Timothy Jackson

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