Branford woman earns degree from the University of Florida against all odds and stands her ground against the FCAT



As she sat at a back table in Nell's Restaurant in Branford, barely a soul walked in whose name, occupation and family history Quintilla Lynch didn't know. Her story has no major news hook. She's saved no lives and has never climbed Everest. But those who read it may feel a touch richer.

Lynch has lived in Branford since her birth in 1932, a time when the town had no water system, only one paved road, and everyone cooked over a hardwood stove. Life in Branford, however, was not much different than it is today, except for the abundance of outhouses, back porch water pumps and a movie theater. Kids still spent summers swimming in the springs and working on local farms.

"We all worked together, played together, we did everything together," she said of her childhood friends. Lynch still remembers when Branford got its first street light.

"People would come from four blocks around and we would have a cookout in the middle of the street under the only light in town," she recalled.

Lynch's family moved to Branford in 1916 when her father opened Branford's first blacksmith shop.

"He put up shop under a chinaberry tree. My brothers and sister and I would shoot the hard berries at each other," reminisced Lynch as she stared out of a window at Nell's. Lynch's father, Drew Fletcher, known by everyone in town as "Uncle Drew," later opened Branford's first gas station as well.

As a teenager, Lynch worked long hours in tobacco fields. "There wasn't anything else to do," she noted. She spent all her money on new clothes and at the twenty-five cent movie theater that thrived in Branford at the time. At just 15 she graduated high school and received the school's highest academic honor. "School was really wonderful, I loved learning," Lynch recalled. "I decided I wanted to teach at a young age because of how much I loved school."

However, her dream of becoming a teacher was put on hold when she placed second in a state scholarship contest and won no money for college.

This small setback did not hinder her dream for long.

After marrying and having two children, Lynch began taking classes at North Florida Community College, then only in its second year of existence. There wasn't even a building yet.

"We had classes in the Women's Club or the library, wherever we could find space," said Lynch. Lynch would ride a bus daily from Branford to Madison, leaving at 6 a.m. and returning to Branford 12 hours later.

"I still cooked breakfast and dinner for my kids. This is why I do not understand when people say they can't do it. I did it and raised a family at the same time," said Lynch.

After nine years, illness, raising a family, working several part-time jobs, and commuting everyday over two years from Branford to Gainesville, Lynch completed her degree in education at the University of Florida.

"I wanted that degree. I wanted to teach," said Lynch as she turned up the volume to a classical music station during the drive to her home just outside of Branford.

After graduation, Lynch faced yet another roadblock on the road to becoming a teacher. There were no openings in Suwannee County. Eventually, Lynch was able to find a teaching spot in Columbia County. And in 1974 Lynch began teaching social studies full-time. "That was my bag. I love social studies," she said.

In 1998, Lynch was named Columbia County's Social Studies Teacher of the Year.

"Most students couldn't care less about ancient civilizations. So I would rack my brain and come up with ideas to keep them interested," according to Lynch. One technique Lynch used to spark interest, was to have her students create a chronicle of their lives from birth through sixth grade.

"I would encourage them to think of the past as a jumping off point for the future," she said.

Lynch retired in 1998 after the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test was implemented.

"I always said I'd never teach to a test," said Lynch, the lines in her forehead deepening. "Students should be learning from subject books, not FCAT sample tests and standardized testing handbooks."

Lynch said she feels standardized testing has been allowed to hinder students' education.

"I can size something up without measuring it," she said matter-of-factly.

Lynch believes her purpose on earth is and has been to encourage everyone - not just her students, but everybody she meets - to be curious about the world. "Learn everything you can, there are no limits," said Lynch as she flipped through pictures and awards from her teaching years. "If I have encouraged people to be curious, I feel I've done something worthwhile."

Lynch lived through World War II, taught during integration, earned her degree despite the odds, and never gave up on her convictions. The principal at L.C. Bradley once said of her, "Once in an imperfect world, we knew someone who fought and conquered. Who fought ignorance and conquered it with knowledge, who fought hatred and conquered it with love."