Tonya Rains likes to keep things colorful
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“I have always wanted to be a teacher,” says Rains. “My inspiration was a teacher I once had named Sherry Boren (now Sherry Hale) and she was really helpful. She made everything go well for me in first grade, and I never forgot it.”
There were, however, stumbling blocks along the way.
“During my senior year of high school, nearly everyone I knew told me I shouldn’t become a teacher, that I wouldn’t like it.” she said.
Hence, Rains began college at Motlow studying to be a physical therapist. It didn’t take her long, however, to decide teaching was what she was really meant to do, so she eventually switched back to elementary education, finishing her degree at Tennessee Tech.
She loves kids, and still works part-time in the extended day care program she has participated in since age 16.
Rains was very active in the coop program at the high school, and was the only sophomore in the program at that time. During coop, high school students are assigned to assist other teachers at various schools for short periods of time during the day.
“I helped Mrs. Nancy McGregor with her first-grade class, and I noticed that when the kids started reading, it was really amazing to see what they had done,” said Rains. “They come to school not knowing anything, and we get to teach them to read, add, and subtract among other things. It is just amazing!”
Tonya likes to brighten her room. She believes it is very important for the room to be colorful. “I hate for nothing to be on the walls. I’m constantly changing things. It helps to brighten the kids up.”
She also believes communication with parents is crucial. Melissa Redmon, whose son Nicholas is in Rains’ class, says, “She is really nice to Nicholas. He’s a middle child and wants and needs attention, and she is always nice to him. She helps him a lot in class, and he really likes her.”
Another of her students, Danielle Jones, cannot stop talking about Rains. “I love Mrs. Rains,” she says with a huge smile. Danielle’s mother, Amanda, says that is because Rains goes over and beyond what her duties are.
“Last summer, she was Danielle’s T-ball coach, and just last week the class had a pajama party,” said Amanda. “Each student was allowed to wear his or her sleepwear and bring a stuffed animal. They had a blast.”
Rains’ advice to anyone just beginning a career in teaching would be to always be prepared. Don’t go in thinking you can just do worksheets. Rains says one of her worst days was when a student in her class told her he wanted to drop out of school.
“Can you imagine a first grader thinking that?” she said. “I talked to him for a long time that day. You have to really listen to the students and help them, without trying to give them all the answers. They really need to figure it out for themselves.”
Tonya is married to Johnny Rains, an employee at Yorozu (formerly Calsonic). They have an 8-month-old daughter, Grace, who keeps them busy during their spare time. The pregnancy kept Tonya from one of her favorite pastimes last summer. “I love playing softball,” she says, “any chance I get.”
Unlike last summer, when she spent a lot of time cross-stitching instead of running the bases, if she’s not on the field you can most likely find her running after Grace.