Jill Worley teaches 8th grade ELA and reading ACT prep to juniors and seniors at Cornersville High School. She believes it is important to introduce and foster the love of reading to students.
My Career in Education – By Jill Worley
As a young girl, I played school constantly. I would set up my classroom with my dolls and stuffed animals and teach my heart out. I read them books and taught them many things. I would go into our living room, which was “off limits” to us kids, and teach math using the side of the piano as a chalkboard. I thought I was being sneaky, but now, I think my mama probably knew.
I come from a large family of teachers that started with my great-grandmother. She began her teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse and continued her career in education until retirement. She launched a family of four generations of teachers. I was determined not to follow this path and tried other majors before I decided on education. When I was in college, my sister was teaching middle school, and I would visit her classroom. I loved the atmosphere; I loved the classroom; and I remembered my love of education. Middle school students are at a challenging age, but they can be so much fun to teach. I knew this was where I wanted to be.
From there, I never looked back. I graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in the spring of 1998 and began teaching at Cornersville High School in the fall. In my 26 years at Cornersville High School, I have taught special education and sixth, seventh, and eighth grade English/Language Arts. I currently teach 8th grade ELA and reading ACT prep to 11th and 12th graders in the high school.
I love teaching ELA. I feel that it is my job to help students learn to think for themselves. Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” I believe this. Our young generation has this power; they are our future. I want my students to be capable of reading, understanding, and making informed choices. In addition to this, teaching literature also gives an opportunity to teach empathy, kindness, and compassion. Our students are struggling more than ever. It is important to introduce and foster a love of reading. A love of reading can take you to so many different places and allow you to experience things that are impossible to experience in our small community. Reading can truly open our students to a new place. A new place to help them escape their current reality; a new place to help them see a bigger picture of our world; a new place that can allow them the opportunity to see a way to make our community better.
I am very happy that I chose a career in education. I have never wanted to be anywhere else but the classroom. I have been blessed to teach at CHS for my career, and I have taught with some wonderful educators throughout the years. I appreciate all those who guided me along the way as a young teacher. So much has changed, yet so much has stayed the same. Our students still come to us with needs beyond the prescribed standards, and as teachers, we do our very best to meet our students where they are and help them grow.
