As this school year comes to an end, our beloved, Mr. Yates will be turning in his time at Collierville High School. He has been a part of Collierville Schools for 25 out of his 33 years of teaching, where he primarily taught senior English with a few classes of juniors when he began. However, his time as a teacher stretched back to 8 years at Kirby High School, where he taught both seniors, and for his last 3 years he taught freshman. His time at Collierville will forever be remembered. Along with the long-lasting memories and legacy he has left on the school and all the students he has taught throughout his years spent teaching and building relationships with each of his classes. His guidance, wisdom, and support has been a blessing to the school, and by recapping his journey throughout his way into education, we are able to look back and thank a man who has forever left an impact on the school.
Before becoming a teacher, he was a youth minister, working alongside younger people, and although he loved working and spending time around them, he “still had a day job having to work construction”. However as soon as his day was over, he would come to the high school and “help coach cross country and track” which ignited a spark in him. That spark led to him going back to college at 30, although having no idea what he wanted to major in, his first English class “had an incredible teacher, and [he] knew [he] wanted to major in teaching.” Originally wanting to major in creative writing, “but that didn’t pay enough to pay the bills”, so he stuck with education in high school. He believed what inspired him most was “just feeling like [he] had something to give to the community and just helping people become citizens, not just teach them literature.”
He states that the students are what has kept him motivated throughout his teaching experience. By teaching for 33 years, he has been around many students with diverse and unique backgrounds. He particularly enjoys the “connections in the classroom” that he has made over the course of his time at Collierville. These connections that could inspire a kid like his college teacher did. The ability the kids had to “keep [him] feeling young” especially kept him moving. It provides him a kind of energy that makes coming to work and having to put up with high schoolers easier and more enjoyable. He, as well, hopes that he is most remembered by the fact that he “respected [the students]” and that he always treated them like the “adults they’re becoming.”
His time spent coaching before becoming a teacher also had its payouts. Being a girls’ basketball, track and field, cross country coach, he had dozens go on to be college athletes and become very successful. While “a high percentage of them went on to be coaches and teachers”, and although not taking credit for their turn outs, he is proud that he got to be a part of their lives and hopefully got them to where they needed to be for their success. His contributions to the school and his teaching will be remembered and be looked upon with happiness and gratitude. And while having to say goodbye is sad, we wish him a good luck in this next step of his life, and we thank him for his time.
