Today we’d like to introduce you to J.K. Lynch.
Hi J.K., it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am a Virginian, through and through. I was born here and raised here. I am a proud graduate of Old Dominion University and I was blessed to have a twenty year career as a Social Studies educator and dipping my toe into leadership roles throughout my career, such as becoming the Social Studies Department Leader at the two schools that I worked at, and ending my career as the International Baccalaureate Coordinator at my second and final school. My entire teaching career (except for my Student/Teaching Experience, which was done in Norfolk, VA) was done in the Central Virginia area. After years of sharing anecdotes of my daily adventures as an educator and being encouraged to write a book, I did so and it was published in mid-2025. This came after finding the courage to write my solo work after seeing my name in the “Movement” textbook series that I contributed two pieces to. “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Stories of a Tired Former Teacher” takes readers on a humorous, yet introspective view of teaching in the 21st century (you can find the book on Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, GoodReads, 2nd & Charles (in Central Virginia), and even at the local libraries in Central Virginia). I believe that anyone who is related to an educator or is an educator can empathize (and sympathize) with the sentiments shared in my book. This year, as a dear friend said, I have ‘caught the bug’, and I have begun work on my second book, which focuses more on the last seven years of my career with a little more of a microscopic lens (my former students from the classes of 2026 and 2027 will be excited that their stories will appear in this new book).
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nope!!!!
I started my book in 2020, during the pandemic. I needed something to do while I was in the house (other hobbies I attempted to pick up were not sticking)!
As an educator, life kept rolling. I had to shift my entire curriculum from being hybrid- some paper and some electronic to 100% electronic, interactive and engaging. Then I had to adjust to working from home to going into the building through several iterations during the 2019-20 and the 2020-21 school years. To be a glutton for punishment, I was crazy enough to agree to sign up to teach a class (one of the best decisions ever) that made me potential cannon fodder for the school division I worked for and the political powder keg that was happening in 2020.
When 2022 rolled around and I was asked to contribute to the ”Movement’ textbook series, I was humbled at being recommended, but I also leapt at the opportunity.
Can you see that I am not mentioning anything about writing my book?
In the fall of 2023, I came home after a long workday and saw that the publishers of the textbook sent me a copy and I saw my work and my name on the printed page (16 months after writing the pieces). Two months later, I was hosting a holiday game night and my sister asked where the books were that had my name in them. As I pulled them out of the obscurity of my home office and showed them to the game night participants, I mumbled something about me having a manuscript on my Google Drive and I was encouraged to finish what I started three years prior.
Over the next 1.5 years, I was met with editors who were more concerned about the ‘bottom line’ than my best work being reflected, a cover artist who had my first cover looking more like a crime scene than a piece of art, and a host of others who were junior saboteurs to progress who need not be mentioned. I was also met with rejection- a few who read my book gave me advice that left me more discouraged than encouraged to finish. It took two wise friends who said, “what do you really want” to pull me out of my rut.
Taking that question to heart helped me redesign my book and helped me to have to product I am proud of today. I look back at my first draft and cringe that I thought that what it was a good idea to publish that copy.
While I have had overall praise for my book, there are those who have different expectations for my book- one wanted the stories to lead into a ‘where are they now’ for former students and colleagues and a couple who wanted my book to be less introspectively humorous and more vicious. There are enough educators on social media out there whose persona is angry, underpaid, and unappreciated- I didn’t want to be another one. Also, my book was a cathartic therapy that I didn’t know I needed when I left the classroom in mid-2024.
Now that I am writing book #2, I am taking the hard lessons from 2024 and early 2025 to jettison me to greater success, hopefully a little faster this time.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
“You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Stories of a Tired Former Teacher” shows the journey of a boy thinking that he wanted a career as a computer programmer having an epiphany at seventeen that wasn’t the life for him. It shows the boy’s journey through college, changing majors and landing where he feels like a duck to water- teaching Social Studies to high school students. It then shows the ebbs and flows of a twenty year career through reflection, humor and commentary that many still in the education field wish they could say, but cannot due to fear of job security.
I am proud of the journey I took to get this book published. It cost money, time, and my social calendar, but I am grateful that I get to share this book with the world. I was humbled when the sister of a former educator purchased my book at a book fair said that she was sending my book to her sister, who now resides in Europe. Who knows what impact I can make in a land I never walked in!
What sets me apart from other educational authors- my way wasn’t the only way to have a successful classroom. I am not bitter leaving education as some works of former educators reflects. I knew when I entered the profession that I wouldn’t retire from it. I didn’t fathom that I would be in education for 20 years before beginning a new career. I also dare to believe that some of the stories in my book could be plot lines for shows like “Abbott Elementary”, or any type of show or movie that highlights the shenanigans of educators, parents and students.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Now that is an interesting question. No one memory comes to mind as a favorite memory when I think about childhood.
Seventh grade was a memorable year for me. It was the first time that I felt that I could do math. I don’t know if it was because of the way the teacher taught or the fact that he looked like me because representation matters (I learned this as a teacher and how that impacted the growth and aptitude of many of my former students)- I don’t know. It was definitely memorable because most of my teachers that year made sure we took awesome field trips, had fun projects and I started to take my education seriously.
When they tell you that math is everywhere- it is. I learned that scoring my bowling score manually on one of those field trips and interviewing five of my relatives about their day-to-day responsibilities at their jobs for a project.
Pricing:
- Amazon: $14.99 (printed book)
- Audible: $18.44 (without a subscription)
- Barnes & Noble: $17.99 (printed book)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ycmtsu-jklynch.com
- Instagram: @ycmt.su
