As summer begins its slow turn toward autumn, students and parents all over Baldwin County are walking back into classrooms, eagerly anticipating what this fresh chapter in school life will bring. Baldwin County teachers are also aglow with enthusiasum as they greet the new school year.

One of those enthusiastic teachers, Jim Ayres, is looking forward to meeting his newest class of third graders at Daphne Elementary School.

"We're excited,” he said. “We have been in our classrooms getting ready for a new, successful year and we are ready to go."

Good teaching is about heart-deep commitment to the well being of children. This heart-deep dedication keeps Ayres coming back to the classroom in Daphne year after year, although teaching was certainly not this Pittsburgh native’s goal when he finished college with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

"I was a child teachers had to keep their thumbs on when I was in school, and I thought I would never darken the inside of a classroom again," Ayres said.

After working in advertising and managing a restaurant for several years, Ayres began to re-evaluate his life course. His wife was a kindergarten teacher, and Ayres began keeping her company and observing in her classroom.

“I thought, ‘This looks like fun,” Ayres said. “I like little kids, and it would be exciting to run your own class."

So he earned his certification in early childhood education and began his teaching career in a third grade classroom in Spanish Fort. Ayres had finally found his calling—he soon realized he loved interacting with children on a daily basis.

"They ask zingers of questions and have their own ways of explaining things," Ayres said.

Ayres enjoys incorporating his love of writing into his teaching. While teaching in Spanish Fort, he created an original play about the solar system. His students created paper-mache planets and performed the production for the school assembly. An assistant principal at Daphne Elementary asked Ayres to share his play at her school, and he was soon asked to join the faculty there, where he has taught for 11 years.

Ayres has since completed his master’s degree and is currently enrolled in the specialist program at the University of South Alabama.

Ayres is a believer in giving his students a positive experience during the nine months they spend with him.

"Students drop out way before age 16," he said.

He sees his role as a learning facilitator, and the students take full responsibility for what they learn—by doing, not just by listening to him lecture all day. He feels that by teaching in the elementary grades he can have a more positive impact and encourage good habits early on.

"These early grades are critical,” Ayres said. “Kids need a good role model. Children want to please their teachers, their parents, and themselves—even at a young age—and when they make a poor decision, I try to help them question that choice and determine better ways to respond, thereby encouraging responsibility for their own behaviors.”

He wants his students to enjoy the time spent with him and believes it is truly a "fresh slate" when they begin third grade with him as their teacher.

"I tell them that it doesn't really matter what went on last year or in another classroom—you are starting a brand new year when you walk in this door," Ayres said.

Not only does Ayres provide fun, educational activities that help his students meet the goals of the grade, but he also believes in sharing the values he was raised with so his pupils can become model citizens in both their schools and communities.

He sees his function as an educator to adapt to the challenges and assaults on family life by training students through positive role modeling to begin the journey to become successful adults and future parents.

On the difficult days when the well is running dry, he pushes harder at the challenge and follows his own words of wisdom: "Just because you run into situations or people you don't like does not give you the right to not perform."

Above all else, Ayres seeks to help his students be successful academically and as future citizens. He especially wants them to continue to be inquisitive learners and grow into good decision-makers.

"When my students leave this classroom in May, I want them to love school as much, or more, as when they come in on the first day," Ayres said. "Call me a dreamer, but I feel very hopeful for our future. It is an exciting time to be a teacher."