This year, Jason Mormolstein is taking on a rigorous schedule at Niles North – but this time he’s the teacher here and not the student.

Mormolstein was part of the 2011 graduating class at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where he received his B.A. in English with a minor in Secondary Education.

Aside from his prior student experience at Niles North, Mormolstein spent the majority of the 2012-2013 school year as Daniel Horyn’s primary substitute. Now, Mormolstein has his hands full as he faces his first year of teaching with an Honors College Prep course and an English elective called Images of Literature.

Mormolstein never felt strange about coming back to his former high school as a teacher. In fact, when asked, Mormolstein implied that it was the obvious thing to do. “I still feel similarly about Niles North. I liked it when I went here and that’s why I came back. When I was thinking about where I would want to work, Niles North always came to mind – so coming back seemed like a very natural thing to me.”

With his student perspective at Niles North still fresh in the back of his mind, Mormolstein is truly able to acknowledge why this high school is a dream for students and teachers alike. “Teachers worry about a lot of different things, for example if a school doesn’t have enough rooms for them or enough resources; but you don’t have to worry about that here. I honestly can’t think of anything Niles North isn’t able to provide. And community wise too, this school has a great environment and the people are all very friendly.”

Although it’s only the second week, Mormolstein feels very strongly about the courses he’s teaching. Honors College Prep is an English class for seniors that provides a unique helping hand by focusing on college applications and personal statements. “I like College Prep because I feel like it’s a very useful class. In most English classes you’re reading a bunch of texts and you don’t always know why, but in this course you’re doing it because you are applying to college.”

Mormolstein’s other class provides a quirkier twist on your regular English class. It’s centered around movies and their cross-curricular applications.

“With Images [of Literature] you’re watching a lot of movies, which is a fun experience because it’s a different way of looking at English class since movies are never really the focus.”

Outside of the classroom Mormolstein’s passion lies in art, specifically animations, cartoons and comics. “Whenever I see anybody doodling in their notebooks, that’s what I would have been doing in class.”

In time, Mormolstein could possibly become a regular comics contributor for North Star, but he said he definitely wants to take his first year of teaching slow and focus on his courses before taking on too many extracurricular activities.

In regards to how Mormolstein hopes his first year of teaching goes, he said, “I don’t want to have any fights, I don’t want any furniture to be thrown, I want everyone to do as I say, never be late. But in all seriousness, I have high expectations for all of my students.”