Jessica Gamblin is preparing for her 13th year of teaching overall, and third as a first grade teacher at Woodland Heights, as helping children has always been one of her greatest passions in life.
“I always knew I wanted to work with kids,” Gamblin said. “When I was in college I volunteered in a classroom and fell in love with it and realized teaching is what I wanted to do. As I’ve gone through my career there’s been opportunities for me to do different things, but it’s always been in my heart to be around kids and help them. I also teach children’s church and VBS so everywhere I go I feel like God wants me to be with kids.”
Regarding her connection to younger children, Gamblin said, “Little kids, especially the first graders I teach right now, they have such joy about learning, they’re excited to learn. When you’re working with them they’re so happy and get excited about it. I’m a pretty silly teacher, I’m pretty corny I would say, and the kids love it. They think everything you do is hilarious.”
The decision to become a teacher came as somewhat of a surprise to Gamblin, who stated she didn’t enjoy school as a young child.
“School was not my favorite,” Gamblin said. “When I was in school myself I didn’t love school, I didn’t enjoy school. Then I got to third grade at Ranger Elementary and I had this teacher, Ms. Stewart, that I just loved and she really got to know me and built a relationship with me. She’s the one that made me enjoy school and turned it all around for me. I wanted to be that for somebody, the teacher that could help shape who a kid is. For kids who maybe didn’t have the best life or were struggling, I could show them that education is important. Even if they didn’t turn around and become a teacher, they could learn and grow and I could help guide them in the right direction. You watch these kids grow up and when you’re out eating these kids run up to and ask ‘Can I please come back?’ and it’s a sweet feeling.”
The most rewarding aspect of her job, Gamblin said, is “The relationships you make with the kids and the parents, and even the other teachers. So much of what I’ve learned from teaching has been from my co-teachers and teaching partners that I’ve taught with. You make relationships everywhere you go, and my husband is also a teacher so we’ve moved to several districts throughout our marriage, but I still have relationships with those people even though I’m gone. Now I have friends and kids I’ve taught all over the state of Texas. It’s a sweet, beautiful thing to see them grow up and all the things they’ve accomplished and how far they’ve come and feel like you were part of that village that helped raised that baby up.”
Looking ahead to the future of teaching, Gamblin said, “As the world changes people still need teachers and kids still need teachers and kids still need connections to help them get excited. Kids still need to learn all the basics we’re teaching them, but as teachers we have to adapt to new ways to get engaged and that’s pretty exciting. So much about education has changed, but at the root of it, it’s just having a relationship with your students and building a fire in them for learning. That’s never going to change no matter what else changes.”
A Granbury High School graduate who went on to attend college at Tarleton, Gamblin made teaching stops at Bangs, Eastland and Jacksboro before arriving in Brownwood.
She and her husband Caleb, who teaches Ag at Bangs High School, have three sons – 9-year-old Miles, 6-year-old Holt, and 3-year-old Lake.