Educator of the Week: Dr. James Allen
It’s time now to recognize our Educator of the Week, brought to you by the Tennessee Education Lottery.
Dr. James Allen is a 6th and 7th grade social studies teacher at Northeast Middle School in Jackson.
Allen started off with a career in finance, banking, and municipal government. However, he shares that he got bored and ended up teaching college world history.
“I just changed directions,” Allen said. “People thought I was crazy ’cause they said, ‘you’re never gonna make money in teaching,’ but I enjoy the material and then I found that I enjoy communicating with people and, you know, sharing information, especially if they’re interested.”
Allen’s total teaching career now spans almost 30 years, and he transitioned to K-12 in 2023.
Allen shares his favorite part of being an educator.
“When there’s connections and the light comes on, that’s a very gratifying moment.”
Allen also explains his teaching style.
“Being vibrant and open to discussion with students and communicating in a relaxed atmosphere too, like, not being intimidating or making people feel bad if they share things, that, to me, makes things click.”
Allen describes how he felt during his first time teaching.
“I was very intimidated, and I thought, ‘can I do this?’ but then I noticed students were looking at me and I was communicating, and they were starting to communicate, and I was like ‘this is fun, I like this, I actually look forward to going to class and discussing material’ and, the more I studied the material and the details, the more I got excited about it, and so it kinda snowballed.”
For future educators, Allen shares encouragement.
“If you have a heart for, especially younger people who are still in the sort of growth process and they’re maturing, you know, I remember when I was young and, if I didn’t have good teachers, I would’ve been probably in trouble so, if you have that passion, go for it, you know, don’t let the obstacles deter you.”
Allen is now eligible for the Tennessee Education Lottery Educator of the Month award.
To vote for him or any other nominees, go to the Tennessee Education Lottery website.
To nominate an educator for our Educator of the Week award, email us at educator@wbbjtv.com.
