By Riley Droessler
Jason Edge started teaching in 2008 and it has had some important impacts on him and the students through his roles in the community. “Teaching has made me a better person and one that truly loves making a positive impact on kids,” said Mr.Edge. He is a very well-known and respected teacher here. Mr. Edge also said that teaching has made him a better listener.
“I want them to understand that we all need each other in some way”, said Mr.Edge. This is a very good impact to have because they will grow up knowing that no matter what all we have is each other at the end of the day so it's easier to get along and compromise on things. Another thing Mr. Edge told me “I want them to understand that life's path is difficult, but we can all make it along the path with some help”. This to the students is another very positive impact because if they are going through something in life they can think about that and realize that there are going to be tough times but no matter what you will get through them. The final impact he wants to have on them is “To enjoy every moment and celebrate the little things that make life awesome”. This to me is very important because enjoying the little things is a great thing and you won’t take things for granted then knowing you cherished every moment.
Teaching was not Mr. Edge's only profession; he had some other jobs before becoming a teacher. He has worked as a dairy farmer, operations manager at North-Gro Seeds, Ag/Lawn salesman for CB&C, service manager for Sloans, and Account service manager for Menards. These jobs have helped shape him into the teacher he is today by being around different types of people and having different experiences. He decided to start teaching because he said he wanted to stay involved in sports and he wanted to make physical education a positive experience for the students. This shows that Mr. Edge's goals in teaching are to give the students the best experience possible and then they will always have good memories from this experience which is a big part of shaping a student’s future.
Some tips he told me for new teachers are “stay true to yourself and listen to what the students are saying through actions/behaviors”, this is very important and doing this can help you stay involved in your class and the students will be able to have fun and enjoy class while also learning. Mr. Edge plays an important role in our community through teaching because it is the future of our community that he is teaching.