Gibson Co. pre-K teacher retires after 30-year career

MEDINA, Tenn. — We are recognizing a local teacher this week who has been in the education field for decades and is now retiring.

At a young age, teaching came naturally to Jenny Yates, a pre-K teacher at South Gibson County Elementary School.

“Always knew I wanted to be a teacher growing up,” Yates said. “You can ask my cousins that I grew up with, because we played school every time we got together.”

Thanks to the influence of her former teachers, she was inspired to become one herself.

Yates has taught for 30 years and is retiring at the end of the year.

Although technology has changed over her career, she says her students haven’t.

“To me it’s basically the same, because you’re still teaching small children and the love for reading, just the important values that they need to learn throughout school and become an adult,” Yates said.

Because she works with young children who are just beginning their education, it’s important to make it an easy transition for them.

“You can instill in children that school is fun, that learning is fun, and influence them throughout the rest of their school years,” Yates said.

Yates says she enjoys seeing her students develop their own personalities.

“It’s neat to see who’s really interested in reading, who’s interested in science. It’s just neat to see their own personalities,” Yates said.

Yates says she’ll miss seeing her students and working with her faculty. She says if she had the choice, she’d be a teacher all over again.

“God has blessed me with a career that if I went back 30 years ago, I would not change,” Yates said.