The bell signals the start of the school day and masses of students swarm onto the stairs and hallways, making their way to their classrooms. As they settle down in their first period class, the teacher starts speaking while handing out some papers. Many of them groan inwardly but it’s a daily routine. Little do they know, the teacher gives them sympathetic glances.

Not many people know that Jennifer Whiffin, a PreAP English I and on level English II teacher, is currently finishing her master’s degree at Texas A&M Commerce. For some students it’s hard to imagine an experienced teacher being a student again and working on an internship to become a principal. However, becoming a teacher wasn’t Whiffin’s  first goal.

“I didn’t even know until I was in the 12th grade when I had a British literature teacher named Ms. Wilson who taught us as if none of us ever really gave the wrong answer and made us feel like we were all very, very brilliant in our own way,” Whiffin said. “She explained it in a way that made it fun and so I wanted to share that knowledge with other people and so I became a teacher.”

Even though she has been one of the staff here for awhile, teaching is still a daily learning experience for Whiffin.

“Every day is something new,” Whiffin said. “Every day I have my ups and downs of course because it’s hard to sometimes see the kids struggle to learn, but when that light finally flashes and they get it, I feel like it’s a major contribution that I helped them with it and it’s fun to see that aha moment, a kind of epiphany when they learn something and that’s rewarding every day in itself.”

Although she enjoys teaching in general, she is particularly comfortable teaching here.

“The culture at this school seems to be one that’s very competitive and so even for those kids that are not naturally so competitive, it kind of gives them a boost to want to work even harder because they see all of the people around them that are wanting to make something of themselves,” Whiffin said. “And I also think that it’s a very positive school and the fact that I’ve never seen teachers work as a community so hard to make their kids succeed too. That’s something that’s new and different to me coming from other schools that I’ve taught at is that the passion behind it is so strong.”

For Whiffin, studying to become a principal means a completely new experience while getting used to not being in a classroom. However, living a double life does have its consequences and it’s taking its toll.

“It means very late nights and very early mornings of work,” Whiffin said. “Any minute that I have to spare is usually finishing up some kind of paper or running to do some kind of internship hour commitment that I have. I can’t wait until it’s over, to be honest.”

Don’t take out the tissues yet, she isn’t saying goodbye to teaching anytime soon.

“I’m not on a fast track plan to become a principal anytime soon,” Whiffin said. “But if it’s something that kind of falls in my lap in the near future, I would be definitely interested in it, but I’m still struggling with the idea if that’s even something that I want to do because I do love the classroom so much and the kids and it’s a very different job being a principal than it is a teacher and I’m seeing that very clearly through my studies.”

Fellow English teacher Lindsay Pfiffner admires Whiffin’s dedication and plans to, in the near future, follow her in her footsteps.

“It speaks to how much she loves educating students, because she’s continuing to learn and further her education, while sacrificing so much of her personal time,” Pfiffner said. “She is dedicated and determined. Teachers are essentially students for life, so I think most of us have the desire to continue growing professionally, intellectually, and personally.”

Even some students applaud Whiffin’s aim for something higher in the education system.

“I think it’s inspiring because she’s also teaching which means she needs to grade a lot of stuff,” freshman Ruth Wang said. “The fact that she can balance out school both ways is amazing.”

Regardless of the outcome, Whiffin definitely does not regret going back to school, even if things may not turn out the way expected.
“Getting my Master’s is that something I’ve always wanted to do,” Whiffin said. “So even if my future does not hold being a principal, it’s a goal that I’ve always had and so I think that in itself will change my life because I reached it.”