New this year at Jacksonville High School, Amy Ross was eager to bestow her love for reading and writing to her students. Coming from Roodhouse, IL teaching was always her number one career choice. With her interests ranging from quilting and bike riding to reading and writing, Ross has always been drawn to the world of literature.

Receiving a degree from Illinois College and teaching a total of two years before arriving to JHS, I was curious as to what had inspired her to become a teacher. Ms. Ross said that what had inspired her to teach was being “a tutor in high school and helping other students pass.” Her desire to help others through schooling started at a young age. When asked what her favorite subject in school was she stated, “I liked English and art. I took four years of art and one year of pottery. My high school did not provide any extra English courses, but I always enjoyed reading and writing.” Having taught at Glenwood High School and now Jacksonville High School, Ms. Ross states that teaching at a high school level has always been something she was interested in and wanted to do; “I wanted to have meaningful conversations about books and help prepare students for college, so I chose to teach high school.”

Since her first school year of teaching here at JHS is coming to a close, I had three questions for her. When asking what she liked most about teaching (whether here or in general) Ms. Ross said, “I like the teaching moments when you see a student grow and fully understand the material.” The life lesson or piece of advice she tries to instill in her students is that she wants all of her students to have an appreciation of reading and writing when they leave school; she wants them to continue to explore literature. The final question for our new English department member was what she has enjoyed most about teaching at JHS. Having reflective thoughts over her first year she stated, “I like the support that I receive from the staff, parents, and administration. I also enjoy the students and their willingness to try new activities in the classroom.” Well, Ms. Ross, Jacksonville High School is happy to have you. We hope you’ve had a memorable first year and have many more meaningful years to come.