What is your name and department? Heather Ingraham; English department 

Did you teach at any other school or is North your first? Yes, I worked at Libertyville before here.

How would you describe most of your classes? Did students find your subject difficult? Most students I hope found my class enjoyable. Of course some students found it challenging, especially with concepts like C.E.W’s, although with good enough questions, hopefully it helped my students.

What were some fun things you did in your classes? Well, over the years we’ve had characters (like for example from “Lord of The Flies”) put into a trial, and we also have had creative projects like rap battles. One year, my students did training videos for all the jobs at Niles North, which was very fun.

Do you have a favorite song? What is it?  If I had to pick one, “Aeon” by Killing Joke. It has sort of a dark percussive sound I like. 

Do you have any pets? Yes, I have a rescue dog named Karina. 

How would you describe your fashion sense? Honestly, awful. I’m a jeans and T-shirt kind of gal.

How do you feel about teaching? Best and only serious job I’ve ever had. My favorite part of teaching after 33 years would be that I keep learning something new every single day. Seeing my students being curious really energizes me and nothing is the same every day.

Is there anything else you are looking forward to at North? I really hope they build a special room for seniors who work hard; they’ve been through a lot, and it would be a great place for them to share ideas and leadership opportunities. But I also look forward to seeing positive changes in the school community so everyone feels safe and valued for who they are.

What is a valuable thing you’d tell a new teacher? Just to be real.

What’s your best memory of teaching at North so far?  My best memory would be coaching; I loved seeing kids laughing and learning at the same time.

Do you have any hobbies? I like to volunteer at a therapy barn for horses, where I help a wide range of people manage their horses. On the other side, I also enjoy hiking and doing time trials racing a car against the clock.

One of your biggest accomplishments teaching? I’m very proud of the way my students and I used the pandemic as a way to rethink school and find ways around it.

Besides your current subject, what else would you have taught? Besides English, I would definitely say biology, it was nearly a coin toss and I would’ve been happy either way.