Over the past few months, student teachers have rolled into Clover Hill High School. Shaw Forward became a student teacher for English teachers Andy Brown and Jessica Fout on Jan. 12, 2026. Forward spoke on her experiences so far of being an English student teacher. 

Forward has been looking forward to student teaching for a while, but she was extremely nervous her first day. However, that quickly dissipated because she was welcomed with open arms by Brown and Fout. Ever since then, her teaching experience has been amazing, although Forward admits that the lesson planning has been a lot of trial and error. 

“Not only have I been learning how to be a teacher, but I have also been having a lot of fun. Student teaching at [Clover Hill] has absolutely cemented the idea that teaching is the job for me. It has been better than I could have ever imagined,” Forward said.

The end of middle school was when Forward started wanting to be an English teacher as a career. She has always had a deep passion for reading and enjoyed school. Although Forward had other passions and thought about doing other things, such as music, journalism, writing, art, or book publishing, she always came back to the career of being a teacher because she enjoyed supporting kids and prioritizing a good future for the world. Forward also enjoyed conversing about literature and art, so being a teacher seemed an obvious choice.

“So far, I think I am in the perfect career and would not change a single thing. I really love what I do. However, I do have to agree with Stephen Fry paraphrasing Oscar Wilde when he said, “if you never know [what you want to be], then you can be anything,” Forward said.

If Forward had the opportunity to be an English teacher here at Clover Hill High School, she would absolutely take it. She loved the welcoming atmosphere of the school along with the incredible students. Forward also appreciated her colleagues and the big windows in the building that offer a relaxing learning environment. Forward hopes in the future that Clover Hill will have a space for her to come back. 

Clover Hill has welcomed many student teachers this year, Forward being only one who has loved the teaching experience and cannot wait to continue on her path of becoming an English teacher.

“I’m surprised by how little time it took for me to become so immensely impacted by my students. I am constantly impressed and inspired by them, something that I would hear other teachers say but never truly understood until now. Watching them evolve as students and individuals is the coolest. I am so proud of them,” Forward said.