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This is why first grade teachers play such an extraordinary role. They introduce foundational skills while also nurturing curiosity, independence, and a love of learning. A teacher who brings joy and passion to the classroom helps students see school as a place where they belong and can thrive. Their influence doesn\u2019t end in June \u2014 it echoes throughout a child\u2019s entire educational journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At East Lincoln Elementary, first grade teacher Kaila Walls embodies that impact every single day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walls has taught for eight years, with seven of those spent at East Lincoln, where she has found her calling in the first grade classroom. Her path to teaching wasn\u2019t straightforward, but it was unmistakably meant to be. She credits her sister\u2011in\u2011law, Lindsay Vanzant, for nudging her toward the profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy sister\u2011in\u2011law actually talked me into it,\u201d Walls said. \u201cOriginally, I wanted to go to dental school. I had my premed in dental. I went to my first day of shadowing someone, and I learned that the profession just wasn\u2019t for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once she stepped away from dentistry, teaching quickly became the clear next step. Walls had always loved children and learning, and the idea of spending her days helping young students grow felt natural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always loved kids, and I\u2019ve always been a nerd at heart,\u201d she added. \u201cI just enjoy learning every day anyway, and I thought teaching would be a good fit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She began taking classes at Middle Tennessee State University and soon found herself in local classrooms, student\u2011teaching, and observing. It didn\u2019t take long for her to realize that the younger grades were where she belonged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s their willingness to learn,\u201d she said. \u201cYou know, once they hit a certain age, sometimes they\u2019ve just decided, \u2018Oh, I can\u2019t do it anymore.\u2019 The younger kids come in, and they thrive on wanting to learn. They come in, and they are ready to listen to you. They look at you like you just know everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her goals for her students are simple, but profound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy goal for them to leave me is to be able to read,\u201d Walls said. \u201cSometimes they come to me at the beginning of the year and don\u2019t know all of their letter sounds yet. I really want them to be able to read more sentences and also be able to write them before they leave me to go to second grade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walls\u2019 passion for teaching was shaped in part by her own favorite teacher, Ms. Goodman at Westwood Elementary in Manchester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHer name was Ms. Goodman, and she was my reading and grammar teacher,\u201d Walls said. \u201cI loved her quirkiness. She turned things into songs, and she would get up in front of us and dance and sing these songs that she would have us sing with her, and I always really enjoyed the enthusiasm she had for teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That same enthusiasm now lives in Walls\u2019 classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than anything, she hopes her students carry with them a sense of safety, confidence, and possibility<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI hope that they remember that I\u2019m always there for them and that, whether they need help with something at school or something outside of school, they can come to me and that they can rely on me to help keep them safe,\u201d she said. \u201cAlso, I want them to take away from me that they are capable of learning as long as they put their best forward; they can do whatever they want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even years later, Walls said that former students will stop by her classroom to talk, ask questions, or simply reconnect. This is something that she treasures a great deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking ahead, Walls hopes her legacy is one of dedication and impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just hope that I can do a good job and that people look in and say she\u2019s doing what she needs to and helping her students get where they need to be,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her long\u2011term dream is to eventually teach future educators at the college level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to work with college students who are interested in becoming teachers and helping future educators,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to help them become equipped and prepared to take on today\u2019s society.\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE EARLIEST years of a child\u2019s education shape far more than their report cards \u2014 they influence how children see themselves as learners for the rest of their school journey. First grade, in particular, is a pivotal moment. It\u2019s the year when children begin to read with purpose, make sense of numbers, and discover the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/tullahoma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/04\/4-5-1024x683.jpg\")
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