Dr. Jackson has been dubbed by the students as “an amazing teacher with a teaching style like none [they’ve] seen before,” “a teacher who teaches how to think thoughtfully,” and a teacher who is, “teaching us how to make our own conclusions.” What makes Dr. Jackson such a unique teacher?
Let’s start at the very beginning; he has come from teaching at the college level down to the high school level and has brought a unique perspective on teaching along with him. He has been teaching for nearly twenty years—first as a graduate student at Vanderbilt and then as a lecturer and professor at various other colleges, before making his way to JLA. In an interview with him he mentioned that, “I started getting fed up with higher education a few years ago… nobody seemed to be having a good time; nobody laughed.” For Dr. Jackson, laughter, a sign of joy, is an extremely important element in a classroom. He also had been saying that, “I’d long complained that nobody was teaching high school history right, and – if I’m honest – I spent most of my time as a college history instructor undoing habits people brought with them from high school.”
Both Dr. Jackson and the JLA community have appreciated this move down to the high school level. He commented on his favorability for JLA’s high academic standards and “intellectual atmosphere” similar to the past institutions he has been a part of. He regularly inspires discussions and elevates the learning experience of all. Shaina, a 10th grader, notes that “Dr. Jackson prioritizes thoughtful discussion and allows everyone the opportunity to talk to one another and attentively refute each other’s points.” In an interview, he described the enjoyment, challenge, and reward of discussing various topics with members of the JLA staff and he didn’t stop there. He continued to highlight the gratification of working with the JLA students. He said, “Working with you students has been a delight. I love it when your eagerness to learn shines through your natural teenage-tendency not to want to.”
10th grader, Arlan Bartfeld, appreciates Dr. Jackson’s emphasis on life long learning; Arlan explains, “While also learning much about history, we learn useful skills like how to have meaningful conversations, and detect bias.” He then goes on to quote Dr. Jackson’s main philosophy: “this is what I [Dr. Jackson] think education is ultimately for – not for getting good grades, not for getting into college, not for getting a job, but for getting a life.” Additionally, multiple students mentioned Dr. Jackson’s unique grading system. Unlike many teachers, he grades on effort. However, teaching in this manner wasn’t always a staple for Dr. Jackson. He said, “My approach to teaching has changed in a number of ways over the years. I used to … come into the classroom with the goal of demolishing lots of things that my students thought they knew.”
Now, as many students explain, he is increasingly dedicated to slowness, to doing less. Julia, 10th grade, elaborated, “At the beginning of the year, he asked us what we know and what we are interested in learning. We then had conversations on what makes things interesting.” When asked what motivates him to continue teaching Dr. Jackson responded with, “I’m motivated to teach by how much learning has made a difference in my own life. My personal mission statement as a teacher is to be the person I needed when I was … [the] age my students happen to be.”
Dr. Jackson’s class is well summed up by Jake, 11th grade, “Dr. J’s style is very unique in the amount of emphasis he puts on deep understanding and metacognition. He is absolutely dedicated to making each and everyone of us understand the materials deeply.” Thank you Dr. Jackson!
