By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER

It’s Teacher Appreciation Day across the U.S. and the Moore County system bursts with smart, dedicated teachers who are making a difference in students’ lives every day in the classroom. To celebrate, The Times decided to ask around and find out who the administrators, fellow teachers, parents, and students thought stood out and one of those is Lynchburg Elementary first grade teacher Mallory Taylor.

Mallory is a native of Lynchburg who attended the Moore County school system. Readers may remember her as a proud MCHS Raiderette basketball player. She’s also the daughter of former Moore County Mayor Bonnie Lewis.

After graduation, she earned an Associates Degree nearby at Motlow State then transferred to MTSU and earned not one but two degrees, a Bachelor Degree in Public Relations and Marketing at first, then a Bachelor Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies K-6.

A calling she couldn’t deny

After graduating with a degree in PR, she went to work for a Nashville Radio station, but something inside her whispered that it just wasn’t where she was supposed to be. So at the age of 26, she started her second degree while working second shift at The Jack Daniel Distillery. Towards the end, as she was about to begin student teaching, she faced a huge decision: take a promotion at the distillery or switch careers.

“There was a big hire about to happen at the distillery, and my supervisor asked me daily about applying. It would have been huge for my family to have such a wonderful job,” she says.

She felt conflicted and that’s when a matriarch of Moore County stepped in.

“I stood watching bottles go by on the line one night with our lead, Peggy Bobo, and asked her what I should do,” Taylor says. “She looked me straight in the eye without any hesitation and told me, ‘Those kids need you. You need to be out there,’ and she pointed to the door.”

Then Bobo doubled down, “You will do so much for them.” Taylor says it was exactly the sign she’d been looking for, and she’s never looked back.

A thirst for knowledge, adventure, and service

She and her husband, John, live in the Ridgeville area with their two sons, Wyatt age 13, and Leo age five. She says her college roommate, Stacy Sanders Kennamer – a fellow Moore County graduate – was pursuing a degree in education, and it always pulled at her.

“All of her assignments felt like something I should be doing. I kept thinking I should be doing that,” Taylor says. “I can remember ending college with my first degree and missing being in a classroom. I missed constantly learning something new and the whole process of it all in a classroom.”

Taylor says she wasn’t a natural learner in school, but possessed a desire to learn, something she gets honestly. She says both her parents embody a thirst for knowledge, adventure, and service. It’s something that just naturally flows through her.

“My dad loves anything with history. We never missed a stand-up comedy show. My mama was involved with PTO, Little League, and served as the MCHS cheerleading sponsor. I was the youngest in a house where there was so much going on constantly.”

Those vibes now exist in her first-grade classroom where she tries to make learning fun, and relishes watching kids experience things for the first time.

“I just love when a kid learns to read, and lights up because they did it,” she says. “My wonderful middle school math teacher Karen Neal would always tell me that when I finally figured something out that my light bulb would just ‘turn on’ and she could almost see it above my head. I so get it now. Learning was not easy for me. So, I think that is where I get patience for kiddos trying their absolute best. I know how it feels to struggle.”

Taking a holistic approach

She taught kindergarten in the Tullahoma School System before coming home to teach. At first, administrators assigned her to teach sixth grade English Language Arts but it wasn’t the right fit.

“All that comes with that age group just felt so heavy to me,” she explains. “When they asked me if I wanted to move to teach younger kids to read, I jumped at the chance. I love phonics. I love the fundamentals.”

She takes an individual and holistic approach to teaching that considers each child’s strengths and weaknesses as well as their home life. She says she knows it’s not always an equal playing field. Some of her favorite classroom mantras are “connect before you correct” and “different is beautiful.”

“I care about their whole self,” she says. “I care if they are hungry, sad, excited, or having a hard time, if their goats are doing ok, if their clothes are bothering them, and I care about them learning and how they learned.”

She says that whole-person approach trickles down to her students and she notices when they speak to each other from a place of compassion.

“I watched a group play school one time during inside recess and some of the girls were reciting my entire lesson from that morning and it was amazing. I just sat and teared up and I thought. ‘This is it! I’ve made it.’”

Every kids needs just one person

When we ask about common misperceptions about education and teachers, Taylor is quick to answer.

“Time and pace,” she emphasizes. “Our families sometimes come last. Mentally what it requires is a lot and the speed at which we operate all day to keep them safe, and learning is intense. We have to stay two steps ahead always, and make more decisions in an hour than you could imagine.”

She says she often wishes the public could spend a day in her shoes.

“Get the background check and be a substitute teacher, and it will all make sense for everyone how much we care for our kids and how much each day matters.”

But Taylor’s not looking for external appreciation, she says. The dandelions at recess, paper crowns, hugs, or a student note written on the back of a test trying to persuade her to keep them in first grade are all the thanks she needs.

Like another educator we interviewed, she sometimes gets frustrated with our state and the nation’s obsession with standardized tests. Albert Einstein once famously said that if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is not smart. It’s a sentiment that rings true for Taylor.

“There are so many ways to check what the child knows. I pray for a future where our freedoms as teachers and best beliefs to do so would be enough for the state,” she says. “But I am so thankful to be part of LES. They really support us as educators.”

To Taylor, every new year is like writing a new novel. It’s never the same thing twice, and there’s always a little sadness when the school year winds down. She says the role of being a teacher is best summed up by an interaction with one of her current students, a little girl named Kinsley.

“I was explaining to the class that we only had a few weeks of school left. Some kids were excited while others talked about how much they were going to miss me.”

As Taylor spoke, Kinsley walked over and got serious and asked, “So every year you have to say goodbye to your class? And then you get a new class? Do we ever come back?”

“No, you don’t come back. You just keep growing, and I see you in the halls, or out in town, or at ballgames,” Taylor responded.

That’s when with the wisdom of a seven-year-old kicked in and Kinsley stated, “That must be very sad for you.”

It was a moment of wisdom and empathy that Taylor hopes she helped create.

She says every kid needs just one person who believes in them … just one person to let them know that they are loved. When you combine that with high expectations, and the knowledge of how to respect each other, the magic happens.

“Being a teacher means everything to me. I know that sounds cheesy, but it really means everything to me. I always held all my teachers up on such a high pedestal. Knowing now that I have that job now feels amazing.” •

{The Lynchburg Times is a non-partisan, locally owned and locally operated community newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee and one of the few women-owned newspapers in the state. It’s owned by a native and Tulane University-educated journalist with over 20 years of experience. It’s supported by both readers and community partners who believe in independent journalism for the common good. You can support us by clicking here. }