All About Jill
I am an energetic and supportive educator who strives to keep growing by increasing my skills and knowledge in my professional life. I am a very busy wife and mother of two children (and three dogs) in my personal life. Often, however, those two parts of my life are intricately intertwined. By living and working in the same town, we have created a sense of community for our family. My children get to see me as a professional when I see my students around town, and my students get to see me as a human being at the same time. They go together so well that when I registered to attend a Kneading Conference to expand my bread knowledge (where I helped make that fantastic brick oven above), we scheduled the family vacation around the event.
I've learned through the years that being creative in the kitchen is very rewarding. This is helpful professionally because I teach beginner bakers to be open to trying new things in the kitchen. It is also useful in my personal life because I can often be found experimenting with the creation of a new recipe in my spare time. Cooking and experiencing foods from around the world is one of my passions as well. I have brought this passion to the classroom by incorporating ethnic recipes into the curriculum and projects that require students to research foods in other cultures. I've also become more comfortable with the fact that recipes don't always work out well on the first try(!), which has translated into more patience and understanding in the classroom. My students are encouraged to stretch themselves and be creative in the kitchen without fear of failure. My motto is, "Failure isn't a bad thing! It's a chance to learn from our mistakes."
Even though teaching is a deeply ingrained part of me, I also like to do other things sometimes! I'm an avid reader of fantasy fiction novels. Each summer, I grow a garden so my kids can experience a smidge of what I did growing up on a farm. I repurpose old chairs by weaving new seats in them with bright colors of paracord. The search for another creative yet useful project is what fills the rest of my time.
I've learned through the years that being creative in the kitchen is very rewarding. This is helpful professionally because I teach beginner bakers to be open to trying new things in the kitchen. It is also useful in my personal life because I can often be found experimenting with the creation of a new recipe in my spare time. Cooking and experiencing foods from around the world is one of my passions as well. I have brought this passion to the classroom by incorporating ethnic recipes into the curriculum and projects that require students to research foods in other cultures. I've also become more comfortable with the fact that recipes don't always work out well on the first try(!), which has translated into more patience and understanding in the classroom. My students are encouraged to stretch themselves and be creative in the kitchen without fear of failure. My motto is, "Failure isn't a bad thing! It's a chance to learn from our mistakes."
Even though teaching is a deeply ingrained part of me, I also like to do other things sometimes! I'm an avid reader of fantasy fiction novels. Each summer, I grow a garden so my kids can experience a smidge of what I did growing up on a farm. I repurpose old chairs by weaving new seats in them with bright colors of paracord. The search for another creative yet useful project is what fills the rest of my time.
From Another Perspective
"Jill is a coworker that anyone would like to have. She is generous with not only delicious baked goods, but her advice and knowledge. Jill is kind and strives to make learning fun, but relevant to her students. She aims to build student confidence in their baking abilities, as well as project the joy that baking can bring." - Jess (Jill's Colleague) |
All photos on this site are the work of Jill Kalyankar