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Ethan Jones
For my Professional Profile I chose my mentoring teacher at Madiba Prep Middle School in
Brooklyn, Ms. Jennifer Middleton. Ms. Jennifer, in her own words and recollection, paints a
picture of herself that is far more enlightening than I could ever manage on my own. To wit,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Ms Jennifer Middleton:
1. Where are you from? Born and raised in NYC!
2. When/why did you begin teaching? I’ve been workin’ with kids since I was 14 as a (day
camp) counselor and a volunteer, and I was always around kids. I used to take dance
classes and I was always around other kids my age, and eventually I just started to help
my teachers in school with certain things like putting things away and helping the kids
line-up, so it just started to go along that way as I got into middle school and continued
to HS and I started working more with kids and eventually I became a dance teacher at
the age of 18 and later I became a daycare teacher. And then it went on from there into
public school and then it grew on from there.
3. Where did you teach before coming to Madiba Prep? Oh boy.. Well, my first teaching
gig was in the early nineties, in my old community, in my elementary school. I taught
there, because I was replacing someone who was on maternity leave, and then, from
there, doing substitution around different parts of New York, I found a school, in the
Bronx, and I was there for about 12 years. Teaching Common Branch, first. I was a
common branch teacher, teaching math, social studies, language arts.. But I always
incorporated all types of art into my lessons. And eventually I just said, well, let me just
focus on the arts. And that's what I did.
4. How long have you been a teacher and how long do you plan on continuing the Work?
Teaching since i’m eighteen.. I’m 54 now, but.. According to the BoE, I’ve been teaching
almost twenty... This is my 25th year:) in the BoE!
5. What do you love best about teaching art? That I have the freedom to create my own
curriculum. And still incorporate all my other arts that I love. Like film and theater as
well. And I get a chance to share the things I do and I show them samples I make so they
can actually get more ideas and I also show them work from past students throughout the
years, so that can motivate the kids to say oh ok it's not too hard, i can do it too. So I
wanna see them try before they say they can't do it, cause we have kids who say they can't
draw like the traditional artist, who can draw a sketch of a face. I don't teach that. I
teach them how to think on their own. To add their own style to their artwork. And ask
them to be comfortable and to be more expressive. And they get that opportunity here. I
want them to have the opportunity to feel comfortable and come up with their own ideas.
That's why I want them to plan, to think.. Using all the tools I have, how can you make
yourself shown throughout your art?
6. The Fun Stuff
7. *What is the Best sandwich? THE best sandwich is a safari(?) salami sandwich with
monterey jack cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomatoes on a hero. That's the best
sandwich in the world; I had it yesterday haha!
8. *What is your favorite grade to teach art to? Um, sixth grade. The most. Out of the
..since I do middle school- sixth grade. They're still elementary level/middle school-level,
so they are still at that level where they actually listen more and they really show more
excitement and wanting to learn. And that's what I like. The enthusiasm they show.
9. *What is your least favorite grade to teach art to? (without missing a beat) Eight.
Hahahaha High School; I won't do it, but eighth grade is more challenging, because they
feel that um, well since they’re almost out of.. Middle school? They feel they don't need to
do too much, so they get a little lazy, they’ll just do things just to get through it. So,
they..they rush. They don't give me the best quality. Only the ones that really are serious
about entering the art field, or entering a school that involves art, are the ones that give
me their best work. The majority is more like “I don't wanna be here or do this because..
I wanted this..I’m bored.”
10. *What's one thing you own that you really should throw out? (long contemplative
pause) I think, no.. I don't have anything, actually...
11. *Most memorable moment as a new teacher? Oh boy. My most memorable was when I
did my first school play with my brand new students, my very first year of teaching and I
had kids who were very shy and they [were]. After I finished having them rehearse and
practice, they just surprised everybody. They was up there being expressive and they was
very dedicated, they came to rehearsals, so it was exciting to see my first big show in
middle school when I first started teaching, my very first year. That was the only one, the
only shows so they always relied on me to have my students do the shows. Once they did
one, for any celebration they wanted me to have my students perform and I said
“sure!''so, my very first show in middle school - that was exciting.
12. *Most memorable moment as an experienced teacher? Ohh! Well, I had a student in the
eighth grade who loved art and I helped her do a portfolio and she got into the school of
her choice which was FIT and she does, not only is she an awesome artist who does
beautiful self portraits, she also likes to design clothes, so I helped her.. And this is when
we were remote; i taught her remotely, she was able to develop a great portfolio which
got her into the school of her choice. Her first choice at that. And did it remotely. That
was exciting. That I was helpful with that.
13. *What is the scariest animal? Scariest animal? Oooh.. the scariest would be like hmm
rats and tarantulas. I can't stand rats and tarantulas-just lookin at em. it freaks me out.
Haha ‘cause they [are] big, too! Big and hairy lol
14. *What is the scariest/toughest grade? (8)
15. *Apples or oranges?Hmm can I say both? Green apples are my favorite. Washington red
apples and also, oranges? It'll be Navel.
16. *Have you ever asked someone for their autograph? (long contemplation) Oh yeah!
RuPaul! RuPaul was in my neighborhood, in park slope, filming something from the
movie SMOKE (1995), and he had that little piece and he was right downstairs, and I ran
him down and (short enthusiastic retelling) he was beautiful and TALL. All I saw was
this! (getsures up)
17. *Is there a teacher whom you model yourself after? Why? Mrs. Martin. My 6th grade
teacher. This is Miss Martin. She was my 6th grade and 8th grade teacher in my
elementary school. (Removes a picture from the wall behind her desk) This is Ms Martin.
She came to my bridal shower! When I was 30 and she was here. I loved her class where,
you know.. Elementary and sixth grade.. Her class, she taught everything. And she would
teach us songs, and we would sing songs in her class all the time. We would um, she
would let us have parties and lunch together in her class. She taught us so many things.
Like the alley cat dance. We all used to do it, She taught us more than just school things.
She taught us old traditional things that she learned growing up down south. And we
would sing songs all the time. All the traditional songs too. In different languages.
LOVED Ms martin. She was very close to my family. She was wonderful. I always
wanted my class to be as comfortable as her class was. So I always wanted to have that
same feeling I had in her class, in my class.
18. *What is your/do you have a teaching philosophy? My philosophy is, um, well you
know.. Everybody Is Reachable, you just have to find a way to reach them. That's how I
feel. ‘Cause, um, I was a very shy person too.. The only thing that really brought me to
shine was art and dance, but you know, middle school, elementary school, you're
learning the basic stuff and it was hard to teach me how to do math and science, but
everybody is reachable so I was able to.. Once I got to college, it took awhile, but I
learned how to do trigonometry in college, so somebody did reach me, but they taught me
in another way. There's always another way to reach a child, no matter if that child can’t
speak the language, or not. I mean, if they don't get it, you have to find a way to do it.
There's a way to reach them- that's our job as a teacher. You're here for a reason, not just
to teach. But, the ones that don't get it, you have to show them how to get there in another
way. That's just what it is. They may have to go through a maze, but they just have to get
to that point.
19. *What do you think happens when we die? My thing is, when you die, you first go to a
place where you meet God and you have a conversation and he’ll tell you everything he
knows about you and what you’ve done, and whether or not you deserve to be here.
There’s always a place. And if he feels you shouldn’t be here yet, maybe he’ll send you
back in another way so you can rectify what you've done and come back. Like you’ve been
given another chance but you are living your life in a whole new- not the same person,
but another person- or you’re being born again, and you get the chance to start again.
20. *Favorite action movie? Hmm, well action? I'm not into action like that. I know I've
always loved gangster films and I’m talking about the ones from Old Hollywood ..
“Angels With Dirty Faces”.. (I’ve been a )Fan of James Cagney since I was a little girl. I
even attended his funeral when he died. Um, LOVED him. That was like the first movie I
watched when I was four and I used to watch all the old movies and silent films, but that
movie really caught my attention about films and actors and scenes, so Angels With Dirty
Faces was my very first gangster film I REMEMBER as a kid at 4 years old. So that's my
number ONE. HE;s my number one gangster actor hahaha
21. *Favorite teacher movie? Oh, Teacher Movie… LEAN ON ME I like a loft, but um..
What's the one where she was doing the writing? I like TEaching Ms Tingle LOL I think
that's hilarious. What is where she's that crazy teacher? That's a good movie; they tie
her up to her house cause shesvery mean lol its cool lol. But, um.. The ones where the
kids were writing.. The famous.. The teacher who just taught for the first time, she was
teaching her high school kids how to be writers. Something writing. And she was in an
inner school.. And she was a white teacher with black and hispanics and .. um Hilary
Swank was the teacher? And it was something about writing.. She got all the kids writing
in their journals all their feelings and expressing all their stuff and she had a chance to
actually read it and the kids loved her so much and she had them meet a holocaust
survivor.. And they loved her so much they wanted her to travel with them for the next
year, to the next classes. So, that's a good one.
22. *Favorite smell? Ooh Lemon?Love lemons. I love the smell of lemon. I love the smell of
roses. Um..peppermint.. And ginger. I love those smells. I know those smells right away.
Even when I was sick and had COVID for the first time ever, and I caught it from a
student, I always tested those smells. Now, I could smell those and I still had it and I was
able to smell `em. I said “oh good! At least my sense of smell still works!” But I love
those scents.
23. *Least favorite smell? Oh,Stink. Garbage. Like what we came from downstairs hahaha!
Rotting food. You know. The smell of a dead animal. Like dead mice. Ughhh.
24. *Exercise: worth it? Yeah. Physical exercise? Yeah, you just gotta make the time for it,
which is hard.
25. *Buy lunch or bring lunch? Sometimes both. Most of the time I bring alot of fruit and
make a salad, but most of the time if I know I’m gonna buy something, I normally just get
a sandwich. Yeah. Usually I'll just bring my own little sandwich or little eggs or
something like that. Fruit and things like that.
26. *Flat or sparkling? Sparkling. Yeah..
27. *Most used app on your phone? The most used? The app I use the most? Um..Amazon?
Hahaha And Spotify, you know to go to sleep I’ll put on some Spotify instrumentals. Yeah.
Amazon. My Citibank checking. You know you gotta stay on top of that.
28. *How do you like your coffee? If I’m making it myself, at home, it's black. Straight
black. If it's Starbucks, I have a toffee nut, with half and half.
29. *You get one song to listen to for the rest of your life: what is it? Oh goodness. Are you
kidding me? Haha that's hard! For the rest of my life? One song? That’d be Stevie
Wonder: Golden Lady.
30. *What number am I thinking of? Six
31. What are the best shoes to wear as a teacher? Sneakers LOL no heels; sneakers!
32. What are the worst shoes? Heels. Hard Flat shoes.
33. What do you typically have for lunch? Soup. That and crackers. That fills you up.
34. *Describe the rest of your life in 5 words? Haha this is hard! The rest of my life? OK
Creative. Successful. Calming. OH, goodness. Um.. Like.. I dunno how you’d say this;
Scattered- because I do a lot. And, um.. I guess you could say Happy; because I like a lot
of humor in things I do. I try to find humor in everything I do.
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Hello Mr. Ethan Jones!
Thanks for your thoughtful and fun discussion with Ms. Jennifer Middleton! It is a testament to your relationship and obvious care for her.
Having done interviews myself, it is clear that you have a caring and nurturing relationship with one another. Although your video was edited, I wonder if there were any pauses or breaks? These often hint at other learning we can have. Why do we resonate with some people? Why within these positive relationships do we have pause? And what does that tell us about them, about us, and about our relationship.
I do hope you share either/both this transcript and the video with Ms. Middleton. It really captures a sweet moment in time. A kind of long ritual of the old timer passing off the torch to a new generation to hopefully hold it as highly, but also in their own unique way, to light a path to a new group of youngsters during a new time and venturing toward a new future.
Thanks for all! Please be proud of yourself and this work!
Dino