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Jeromy Payne’s ancestors farmed in Senatobia, Mississippi, so he’s always had a connection to the land.
Today, Payne is using his ancestral ties to teach reading to third graders at John P. Freeman Optional School in Memphis.
The 30-year-old English Language Arts (ELA) kids wanted to get outside more, so they renovated a learning garden, and the social studies teacher is making that happen through project-based learning (PBL), meaning students develop projects that address real-world problems related to their learning.
The students read “The Windmill,” a book about a Malawian boy who built a windmill to bring electricity to his village. With electricity, his family was able to pump water to irrigate their farm, helping to end famine. The book also emphasized the importance of agriculture.
Payne, who earned a degree in social work from the University of Mississippi and began her career as a teaching assistant, said the assignment led her to help her students develop a farmers' market that would allow them to learn about how food is grown and invigorate their reading classes.
His work recently earned him the John Larmer Lifelong Learning Award from PBLWorks, a Baltimore-based organization that recognizes teachers for outstanding work in project-based learning.
“I am so honored to receive this award,” said Payne, one of three educators to receive the honor at last month's PBL World Conference in Napa Valley. “The ceremony was moving and heartwarming.”
Freeman Principal Kee Coleman told Chalkbeat that Payne is a humble person and an inspiring educator.
“He contacted the local Department of Agriculture, he contacted farmers in Sledge, Mississippi, and we took the kids to a restaurant called Berry Acres that serves locally sourced food,” Coleman said.
“The kids wanted to get outside more, so we renovated the learning garden. We're teaching them to think globally and act locally.”
Payne, who is married and has a 2-year-old son, recently spoke with Chalkbeat Tennessee about his approach to work.
My teaching method: Interview
How do teachers engage their students? In our “How I Teach” interviews, we ask leading educators about how they approach their work. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Your degree is in Social Work. How did you become a teacher?
I think I was always drawn to teaching, and I thought I'd be able to have a bigger impact as a teacher, so I took the opportunity to work as a teaching assistant to see if I was ready to enter the classroom.
Tell us about project-based learning and how you and your students came up with the idea for the farmers market.
Project-based learning is an educational strategy that allows students to learn while solving problems within their community. JB Freeman offers specialized programming for students interested in STEM, project-based learning, and advanced academics.
[The Farmers Market class]was about students learning about farm to table and understanding where their food comes from, because we know there is a lack of students and adults who know where their food comes from.
If you ask students where their food comes from, they will likely tell you it comes from their local grocery store, not the agriculture that comes with it. Many of them live in food-insecure areas. There may be a Dollar General or a Kroger there, but the quality of the food at that Kroger may not be the same as at other Krogers in their area.
How did this project come to fruition?
We received the grant and we've been able to do some amazing things with the learning gardens. We've revamped the entire learning gardens. Now they have some crops growing there and they're getting ready to harvest.
The initiative was led by third graders, but it was a project that the whole school could participate in.
How did your background in Mississippi influence the project?
I'm an English and social studies teacher, but I have a natural love for earth sciences. But I'm an outdoorsy person. I love gardening and being outside. My paternal grandparents actually owned land where they grew crops to feed themselves, so I have that natural background.
What has been your greatest accomplishment as a teacher so far?
We bring experts into the building to watch students grow over time, see them develop, understand that every child is different and learns differently, and use that to their advantage, not for our own gain.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Teaching is a calling and we should treat it as such.
Your heart must also be involved.
How do you spend your free time?
Although I am somewhat of a recluse, I love the outdoors, I enjoy exercising outdoors, cycling outdoors, and if you see me doing anything, it's probably an outdoor activity.
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Tonya Weathersby is the former bureau chief of Chalkbeat Tennessee. Prior to Chalkbeat, she was an urban columnist for the Commercial Appeal daily newspaper in Memphis and an opinion columnist and editorial board member for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla. Her work has appeared on Black America Web, The Root, CNN, The Undefeated, The Bitter Southerner, The Marshall Project, Children & Nature News and other sites.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering education reform in public schools.