Abby Jaynes

Abby Jaynes is a Biology teacher for 11th grade. She was raised in Brookline, Massachusetts and now lives in Jamaica Plain. She went to Florida Ruffin Ridley and graduated from the high school in 2018. Ever since a geology and seismology project she did in the 7th grade, Abby has known since that science is for her.

What was your favorite thing about Brookline growing up?

First off, [Brookline] is walkable and there were so many things where I could just walk around or go hangout with my friends. I also liked the people here. Specifically in BHS, I was a part of the African American Latino Scholars Program, so I made friends there, and we would hang out in the scholars room. That was fun.

What do you like the most about teaching kids?

Honestly, I enjoy getting to know the children. It’s very interesting to get to know how they work as a student, but also how they are outside of school. Being here, I remember how teachers were always there for me, so I want to be there for them–be that support system that they have. They can lean on me whether it’s personal stuff, academic stuff, whatever. I always want to be that person for them.

What do you do when you aren’t teaching?

Right when I get home, I still check over everything [school-related], switch the agendas if we didn’t get to everything and, after, I usually eat dinner, hangout with friends if it’s Friday night or just watch Netflix and catch up on my shows.

What do you specifically like about biology?

Honestly, I’m more on the environment side. Macrobiology is more what I like: ecosystems and how they work together, how we destroy them, how they still adapt and how animals adapt to work with us. Living things are very interesting: plants, animals and cells. Cells and microbiology is a lot harder for me, but I still think it’s interesting, like genetics, punnett squares are always fun to do with my class.

What was your worst subject in school?

History. History is too much memorizing the dates and all these facts about what happened before. It was too much for me, and I could not do that.