Meet J.K. Lynch | Former Educator & Up-and-Coming Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with J.K. Lynch and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi J.K., how did you come up with the idea for your business?
When I first started teaching, something crazy would happen in my classroom- a kid said something or did something, or worse, I’d do something crazy. I just felt like I had to tell someone, so I started emailing friends at work and some relatives. Eventually, I had a mini-mailing list of co-workers who wanted to hear my stories. It was then when coworkers and friends suggested that I write a book.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I was a Social Studies educator for 20 years and left the profession in 2024. I worked in what the politicians and educational bureaucrats would call “hard-to-staff” schools (think the beginning of “Lean on Me” minus the gratuitous nudity and violence in the first 15 minutes). I stayed for as long as I did because representation matters. I was proud of being a positive black male role model for my students and showing them that success didn’t always mean that you had text chats full of ‘boo thangs’ or an athletic skill. I also stayed as long as I did because the longer I was in the profession, I desired to become a voice and an advocate for my students and the buildings that I worked in.

I loved exposing my students to different experiences that they would talk about for the rest of their lives. I recently watched a conversation on Facebook between two former students who were discussing a project I did 15 years ago and they reminisced about how good the food was that was associated with the project. I made sure the kids went on field trips, role played (we did quite a few court reenactments), and met local legends and icons. I refused to have the kids leave high school and not have one experience that left them with an “I can” or “I will” attitude. I also refused to have them leave high school and I was just another Social Studies teacher who just spouted dates and facts, but didn’t leave my kids asking “why?”, “how?”, or “what could have been done differently?”. It was these types of experiences that I provided for my students and I attempted to inspire in new teachers who I mentored that allowed me to earn my building’s Teacher of the Year Award in 2020 and the Servant Leader Award for Social Studies Teachers for my school division in 2021.

When I left education in 2024, I was one of two Coordinators for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program in my school division, and out of all of the special program Coordinators, I was the only POC. How did I get there? I’m a person who gets bored easily in a professional setting, so I always appreciate when I have opportunities to grow and learn new things and network with new people. During my time as an educator, I was a department leader, a PR representative for my building, a building liaison for my school division in district budget discussions, piloting an African-American history course in a 20-person cohort for my state, and led a couple of mentoring groups on top of teaching my students Social Studies and life lessons. One of the biggest challenges I experienced was feeling heard by the right people so change could happen in my classroom, my building and my IB Program. How did I overcome? I learned to keep getting louder, but I also continued to network until I ran across the right people who would listen and were about change and not optics.

Another challenge was teaching and leading in the post-pandemic world and that was one of the reasons I walked away from the education field. The pandemic revealed that there were so many cracks in the educational system that were finally revealed; race and economics could no longer be used as excuses for lack of student achievement. Three years after the pandemic, I saw how the sacrifices I was making for my students and their families was taking a toll on my physical, mental, and spiritual health. The solution was difficult- but I had to walk away to live a high quality of life. I saw too many colleagues who sacrificed their health and sadly, their lives, attempting to be all things to all kids. That was one of the greatest and hardest lessons I learned- the building will still function after they close your coffin.

What I want the world to know is that my book, “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Stories of a Tired Former Teacher”, isn’t a tale of a teacher who ran screaming from the classroom after three to five years and used their experiences as a case study for their Master’s or Doctoral Research. It’s a series of relatable stories that show struggle, victory and everything in between. I want it to show that my life as an educator wasn’t some fairy tale that Hallmark would buy and make into a film; it shows grit, failure and where tough decisions had to be made to protect the lives of the students in some cases and the educator in others. I might tell my story through a humorous lens, but that struggle, grit and failure shine through as well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a great question! When friends come to town, I am the chief tour guide. If they are coming to Richmond, VA, I will take them to some cultural sites such as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Maggie Walker House, Monument Avenue (to show them that street post-pandemic), Bryan Park (the site of the planning of Prosser’s Rebellion) and I may even take them on a riding tour and talk about how much Richmond has transformed since I was a teenager in the 90s. I would also take them to some of the scenic portions of the city, such as the Pony Pasture, Forest Hill Park and Churchill. If we’re in less of a cultural mood, I would take them to the Richmond Draftcade in Short Pump and we would eat at as many Mom and Pop restaurants that our bellies would allow such as Bistro 804, The Little Nickel, Mama J’s, Speakeasy Grill, and Moore Street Cafe’ (can you tell that I like to eat!). If we have the time, I’d drive down to Petersburg, VA and we’d try out Croaker’s Spot restaurant and see old town Petersburg, Richmond’s former sister city.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family for hearing me banter on and on about my former career as an educator, as well as my former colleagues at the first school I’ve ever worked at, who believed in me enough to think that I could be an author.

Website: https://ycmtsu-jklynch.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ycmt.su/

Twitter: https://x.com/ycmtsu2025

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575225324896

Other: These are two podcast interviews that I did mid-2024 about my journey with the book and being and educator:
https://youtu.be/XkWhiCSbDiw?si=6Oh8AZMzYIRxGe9N and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFNotUwzjgY

Image Credits
RehmanX (book cover); my property since I paid for the cover art