Remembering my Biology Teacher (the Beauty and Power of a Jewel)

 There is no HIS story unless you tell HER Story, Part IV:  The Beauty and Power of a Jewel (Remembering Jewell Whatley, My Biology Teacher).

The year was 1984.  I was starting my Sophomore year at Pine Bluff High School (ARK).  At the time, most class schedules were prepared by the school.  My school (which was the largest in the state at the time) had approximately 1600 students.  As such, there were some classes that were taught by multiple teachers.

Biology was one of them.

On my schedule, I was assigned to Mrs. Whatley.  Didn’t know who she was.  But, like all kids, you ask other students about your teachers so you can know what you’re getting.  When I said I had “Mrs. Whatley”, I would get the screw face followed by a ‘Good Luck’.   That’s all I needed to know.  A nightmare was in the making.

So, who is Mrs. Whatley?  Mrs. Whatley was a Biology teacher with a Bachelor’s Degree of Biology from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (formerly Arkansas A&M) and a Masters Degree in Botany.   She was head of the Science Department.  She was a member of the Links.  And a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

And she was Black.

The last description (her being black) is relevant in this discussion because (and I don’t know what it’s like anywhere else) as a rite of passage, if you took ANY class with a black teacher as a black student, there was a FAIRLY good chance that the teacher knew someone in your family.  And THAT piece of information meant your teacher had a DIRECT connection to someone in your personal space.

And remember, this is 1984.  Less than a decade and a half after the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and 13 years after integration fully occurred in my southern hometown.

So, upon entering the classroom of Mrs. Whatley, I would go through the same rite.

However, I had a secret weapon.  A weapon that benefitted me and made things WORSE for me every time I used it.   I was the Son of the ONLY daughter my grandparents had (They had 5 boys and one girl).  And since my mother (who was divorced) still kept her married name, teachers struggled to figure out who I was related (and I DID NOT make it easy).

Some teachers asked a couple of questions and would figure it out later in the same year.  Some teachers would ask once and then let it go.  

And then there was that DAMN AKA (the only AKA teacher I ever had) who was determined to figure out who ‘my people’ were on the FIRST DAY!

So, she stops me as I come in and the questions begin:

Mrs. WHATLEY:  Your last name is Reeves?

ME: Yes

Mrs. WHATLEY:  What’s your mom’s name?

ME:  Glenda

Mrs. WHATLEY:  Are you from Pine Bluff?

ME:  yes

Mrs. WHATLEY:  What’s your dad’s name?

ME:  Willie

After a few moments of silence

Mrs. WHATLEY:  What’s your grandparents name? 

ME:  Warneda (my father’s mother who is NOT from Arkansas. Trying to be slick)

Mrs. WHATLEY:  Is that your mother’s parents or your father’s?

ME: My dad (why is she ALL in my business?)

Mrs. WHATLEY:   What is your MOTHER’s PARENT’s NAME?

ME:  Jay and Mary (note how I didn’t say the last names)

Mrs. WHATLEY:  Wait?  Jay and Mary?? Jay and Mary Owens??  

ME: (sheepishly) Yes

Mrs. WHATLEY:  Wait?  Is your mother Glenda Owens?

ME: (realizing I have been busted) yes

Mrs. WHATLEY:  I have been friends with your grandparents for years.  YOU KNEW where I was going with this so why would you take me on this trip?  I’m going to keep my eye on you!

DEAR LORD NO!

And with that moment, my descent into hell began!  She cut me NO slack.   She made a point to remind me about how I tried her.  And it was that point, it was all about survival.  Just make it through her class.

However, it didn’t stop there.  At the end of the school year, LIGHT AT THE END of the tunnel, I was approached by her.   She told me that she was going to spear head the establishment of Pine Bluff High School’s first Advanced Placement (AP) Biology course and it was going to start the next school year.  She explained that it was a college level course and successful completion would enable students to be able to skip their first year of college Biology.  

In my mind, I’m thinking “Ok? And?  Good for you! PEACE!”.   

She followed by saying, I’m only permitted a small and select number of students to be in the class.

Again thinking “Ok? And? Good for you! PEACE!”.

Then, she said “I expect you to be in the class.”

Wait? WHAT??  The hell!

And she didn’t stop there. 

“And that wasn’t a request. You WILL be in the class.”

Ok, how do you say no to someone who has direct line to your grandparents??

So, as fate would have it, I endured TWO years of one of the TOUGHEST teachers in our school. 

But it was because of that teacher, I became a Biology major.  It was because of that teacher, I stayed in the sciences and science relate areas:  Public Health, Safety and Health, Industrial Hygiene, and Disability law.  

It was because of that teacher that my professional career has kept me so close to the sciences and has driven me to where I am today.

As an avid supporter of STEM majors and an aggressive supporter of women and POC pursuing STEM careers, I am glad I had a chance to have had a force of nature and rare Gem in my life.

Mrs. Jewell Whatley (R.I.P.)