New freshman English teacher, Mrs. Irvin, is not exactly “new” to education. Before arriving at Kimmons, she taught junior English at Waldron and El Dorado High Schools for a total of nine years.

Mrs. Irvin became a teacher because of her “amazing 11th grade English teacher.”

“Mrs. Krudwig inspired my love of literature and language,” Mrs. Irvin said. “She was tough. I’d never worked so hard in my life! But when I walked into her room, I knew I was going to learn something. She taught me that words have layers of meaning — we just have to peel them back to see the hidden truths. Regarding literature AND life, Mrs. Krudwig taught me to keep digging, even when I thought I’d found it all. I’d always considered teaching, but I really wanted to be an electrician. By the end of the year, I knew for sure I was going to be a treasure hunter (a.k.a. literature teacher).”

Each teacher tends to have different teaching methods, something that makes their class interesting and fun. Mrs. Irvin likes to use music to teach literary elements and grammar.

“It’s less snoozy that way,” Mrs. Irvin said. “I use music to prompt discussions on tone, character development, and conflict resolution. I also use music when we discuss grammar. For example, Fergie has a pronoun-antecedent agreement problem in her lyrics: ‘I’m gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket.’ This could be fixed if she said, ‘. . like children miss their blankets.’”

So far, Mrs. Irvin has enjoyed her time at Kimmons.

“I love the students here,” Mrs. Irvin said. “They are so well behaved and polite and ready to learn. They make teaching fun.”

When not at school, Mrs. Irvin enjoys spending time with her family.

“We love the outdoors and hiking, fishing, hunting, etc.,” Mrs. Irvin said. “When we are stuck inside, I like to read, watch my shows, do home improvement projects, pin new ideas on Pinterest, and cook with my kids. I also like artsy-crafty things like crocheting. I like to stay busy so I don’t get bored.”