English teacher Jessica Barnes poses in her room next to poem How to Never Succumb to Boredom by Regie Gibson.

Jessica Barnes graduated from Elmhurst University in the spring of 2020 with degrees in secondary education and English literature. After completing student teaching down-state and a year of teaching remotely during COVID, she decided to move north and interview at Antioch Community High School. She now teaches English 2, English 3 and Composition.

Barnes always knew she wanted to pursue a career where she could build relationships with others because that is what gives her life purpose. She could never see herself at a desk job since she enjoys being around others. She chose English specifically because of how expressive it is.

“Both verbal language and written communication is awesome to see,” Barnes said. “You learn so much about your students by being an English teacher.”

She immediately fell in love with the English department at ACHS and knew it was where she wanted to be. Barnes has enjoyed the variety in student opinions at Antioch.

“When we’re having that critical thinking, discussion based learning, it’s important to have students with very different opinions because that’s when you learn the most,” Barnes said. “I’ve been really impressed with the diversity in outlooks on life and perspectives on social issues in my classes.”

When it comes to planning for classes, she constantly strives to rethink curriculum and collaborate with other teachers to create the best possible lessons. She constantly finds herself modifying things to best meet her students’ needs.

One takeaway she hopes that her students will have from her class is the importance of reading. To her, there is great value in reading because it allows people to continue learning throughout their whole life.