By Kaihli Mitts

Editor-in-Chief

Room 907 at Blue Springs South is filled with new faces every single year, and 2021 is no exception.

Tyler Parrish grew up in Blue Springs. He attended Blue Springs High School, followed by Southwest Baptist University, where he knew his destiny before he even finished college. 

“[I] studied music there and decided being a music teacher was what I wanted to do,” says Parrish.

Even with music on his mind 24/7, he had other interests to pursue as well. He considered computing, and ended up with a major in instrumental music and a minor in computer science. Despite his knowledge of these subjects, he went back to school to get certified to teach choir and instrumental music, and has not stopped teaching since. 

When Parrish began his teaching career, he started small and began to climb up the ladder to higher populated schools. His first building was located in Chilhowee, Missouri, several years before teaching in Blue Springs.

“C-H-I-L-H-O-W-E-E. No one’s ever heard of it,” he says. “Everyone says, oh, chill a coffee? No, not that,” he laughs.

With a population of 425, you would think an education job is a breeze at a school in this small of a town, not having to account for many students. For Parrish, it was quite the opposite. 

“I did elementary music, I did band, I did choir, and I did like, four other jobs on top of all that,” he says,” I learned a lot about how to be a teacher having to teach all of those age groups”

Parrish has changed his teaching style significantly since he started all those years ago, not only adapting to other students, but applying how he thinks as well.

“I’ve had to learn more in a visual and physical sense. I’ve discovered that you don’t really learn through one thing,” he explains, “I think that most people need two or more ways to learn something before they can really truly grasp it. I feel like I’ve got to listen, do, and see in order to learn what I really need to learn.”