Ashley Worth is finishing her 9th year as an English and AVID teacher at West Hills High School, and her 15th year in the Grossmont Union High School District. She was recently recognized as the 23-24 Teacher of the Year at the site we both call home, and she credits this acknowledgement to the positive and collaborative relationships she's worked
hard to cultivate there. Outside of the classroom, Ashley is a mom to two children, rarely reads for pleasure (despite English teacher stereotypes), and is trying to figure out how to do less while taking on more.
“I don’t need you to lead me; I need you to give me permission.”
“I’m a human like everyone else. I get easily overwhelmed, so it is this juggle of how do I get involved in more things--because that brings me joy and meaning--but do it in a way where I’m not overwhelmed by a flood of tasks and kind of
knowing my own boundaries of what can I successfully do, bringing to the table skills without just being do, do, do.”
“Why am I going to add to my list [of things to do] if I don’t feel like there’s going to be a difference made because of it?”
“It is perfectly okay for me to wave my own flag and say ‘that wasn’t great,’ or ‘that didn’t help’ or ‘I should have done that differently.’”
[on teachers not always being supported] “We’re not walking into environments believing that we have every answer or that we’re right every time, but please put your trust in me that I have done the work to do the thing.”
“If people are doing the work to recognize ‘here’s where I would like to grow,’ ‘here’s where a support could benefit me,’ why aren’t we listening to that?”
[on burnout] “I can do a ton of work but if I believe in the work I’m doing, it doesn’t quite hit as hard.”
The Zen Teacher: Creating Focus, Simplicity, and Tranquility in the Classroom
Sanctuaries: Self-Care Secrets for Stressed Out Teachers
Write Here and Now: The Mindful Writing Teachers’ Guide to Finding the Zen in their Pen
