In 2022, a new member joined the Canyon High School staff as the video production teacher, but most importantly, he became the head of Canyon News Network. This exuberant teacher was none other than Kyle Jellings.
Although he was new to the school, he quickly became one of the most recognizable teachers on campus. As one of his first year students, I attribute this to his funny and energetic way of teaching his classes.
For one, he regularly starts classes by asking for good news from his students. The responses he gets are usually followed by some witty banter, which is a great way to start the day.
I got the opportunity to interview Mr. Jellings and learned a little more about him along the way.
To start off simple I asked, “Why did you become a teacher?”
He explained, “It’s kind of a long road, but I worked a lot of different industries. …I didn’t feel like I was making a significant impact on anybody. The juice was not worth the squeeze as I would say. It was very high stress, and I wanted to make a difference. And also family life. I wanted to be around my family, and teaching has been great for that.”
This answer is a great example of why Mr. Jellings has been one of the best teachers this school has seen. He wants to make a difference and he always walks into class with that same attitude.
I followed up by asking, “What is your favorite part of being a teacher?”
He stated, “The students are my favorite part. I really like the stuff I’m teaching, but ultimately, it’s the relationships I have with most of my students.”
My next question for Mr. Jellings was “If you weren’t teaching, what other kind of job would you want to have?”
He answered, “If I wasn’t a teacher, I would work in media somehow. My goal would be to work in sports media, so it would be PR or writing or something like that.”
To finish my interview I wanted to ask something non-teaching related, so I asked, “What is your favorite part of your day?”
He poetically said, “The beginning of the day is probably my favorite, just because it’s a blank canvas on the day. So long as I have the right attitude, I can make sure and make it a great day, even if it’s kind of a struggle sometimes, and sometimes it is, but sometimes the painting doesn’t look great. It’s our blank canvas that we can hopefully paint a masterpiece on.”
These answers are a great example of the upbeat and joyful personality that Mr. Jellings brings to his classes every day. He is always willing to lend a helping hand to his students.
My vote for teacher of the year would hands down go to Mr. Jellings.
