Reggie Jones: New Teacher in a New Kind of School Year
Hailing from the Lone Star State of Texas, this is Mr. Reginald Jones’ first year teaching at Dana, and what a year it has been for new students and teachers alike. In addition to having to adapt to the move to California, Jones has been tasked with adjusting to an ever shifting learning curriculum at a brand new school.
Fortunately, he says the move “has been awesome.” When asked what he’s enjoyed about California so far, he stated he appreciated how much “everyone’s enjoying life,” and also that Californians “enjoy the outdoors a lot.” He added that the state coincides with his own personality: “relaxed and chill.” While Jones has surely taken a liking to California, there’s no doubt he will miss plenty of aspects of his home city of Houston. In particular, he will miss the “variety of good food” offered there. He will also greatly miss the “southern hospitality,” the kind of hospitality where “even if someone doesn’t like you they still speak to you.”
Coming into Dana, Mr. Jones has taken up the classes of Digital Media as well as regular and Advanced Video Production. He acquired his degree in digital media with an emphasis on video production. Originally going to school to become a video game developer, Jones opted for a path on digital media, as it provided a “broad spectrum of things to do with a degree in that field.” When asked why he wanted to become a teacher, Jones explained that he “really felt like he needed something purposeful” after working “corporate jobs” that did not feel purposeful at all. As Jones discussed his enjoyment of teaching, he highlighted that “when you’re working with students you see them learn and it makes you happy, and you feel like you’re doing something in the world, like you’re making it a better place.” Furthermore, he added he was thankful he could “have a life as a teacher” as opposed to having a corporate job where one may work upwards of 10-12 hours a day.
Jones admits that the biggest challenge of the year thus far has been adjusting from summer to online learning to hybrid learning. Amidst online learning, he says “the most challenging thing was making students stay engaged.” With cameras off on Zoom calls, it became difficult to constantly have to talk to a name you do not know attached to a face you cannot see.
When asked what his impressions of Dana were, Jones claims “this is the best school he’s ever worked at so far … [Dana] [has] this sense of community where it’s like we’re all family and we show support to one another.” As we progress further into this trial and error process of a school year, it is reaffirming to know that we have such dedicated teachers as Mr. Jones in our classrooms. Students and staff are extremely grateful for all his hard work, and welcome him whole-heartedly to the Dolphin family.