Teacher Spotlight: Mrs. Tillery

By: Clara Rosenbarger

Mrs. Tillery is 84’s Middle School L&L teacher, she has taught for 20 years at 6 different schools. Mrs. Tilleryhas wanted to be a teacher for as long as she can remember, she said her earliest memory was in 1st grade when, “I understood the reading and vocabulary that no one else did, and I couldn’t understand why,” which led her down the path of wanting others to understand and love reading as much as she did. She says that she doesn’t have a favorite grade to teach but loves the 6th-grade literature that she teaches, and loves “teaching Percy Jackson.”

An embarrassing classroom story was when she was throwing out dictionaries for kids in the class to catch and accidentally hit a student in the face! Mrs. Tillery also doesn’t have a favorite or least favorite student. “I always try to look for something in every student that I can appreciate, “ she explains. Finally, when asked why we do Book of the Q, Mrs. Tillery explains it’s to inspire students to read more and find books that they enjoy reading. “I don’t even care if It’s a graphic novel, as long as you understand it and enjoy reading it I’m okay with it.”