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Voices that Inspire

Hear stories from some of our most inspirational voices — you!

Pictured: Sheri Nilles

Listen: Week of April 14, 2022

Transcript
What inspires you from WFSU Public Media? Here's this week's Voices That Inspire. My name is Sherry Nillis Marshall and I teach art and gardening at Sail High School. I do feel like I have the best job in Leon County being able to teach both those things. It's so fun. I get to do creative stuff in the classroom and then I get to go outside and enjoy growing things with the kids, which is really fun. I really love finding for that kid what really sits with them with materials because it's not gonna be, you know, drawings not gonna be for everybody. Some people just, they pick up a paintbrush and that's it and they love it. But being able to take all of those kids and finding something that works for them, you know, I have a lot of kids that'll come in in the beginning of the year and say to me, I'm not an art person or I'm not one of the art kids. Those are sometimes my favorite because I'm like, okay, here's the challenge, you know? I was like, we'll see about that. You know, and so I feel like there's not, you aren't an art kid or not an art kid. You feel like there's a little bit of creativity and everybody and it's about finding what that is for somebody. Whenever I feel that challenge of stagnation in the classroom, I'll turn to the kids a lot and ask them what's gonna do it for them? What do they wanna do? What do they wanna work on? If they're bored on board, you know? And if I'm not excited about what I'm presenting to them, that nobody's gonna be. I truly believe that happy teachers make happy classrooms and kids are gonna thrive better when their teacher comes in feeling like they can do it and feeling ready. The smaller the classes, the more you can connect with those kids that might get lost in the shuffle and those kids that are gonna sit in the back and not really communicate too much. And sometimes they have some really incredible things to say and you don't hear it when there's 30 people in the room. And I really like the opportunity to be able to do that. My name is Sherry Nillis Marshall and I am an art teacher at Sail High School. You're listening to Voices That Inspire.
Sheri Nilles - Happy Teachers Make Happy Classrooms

Sheri Nilles teaches art and gardening at SAIL High School. Creativity drives her, and she thrives on planting the seeds of creativity in her students. She enjoys the intimate setting of SAIL’s smaller classrooms which allows her to better connect with her students. She’s inspired by the results that that intimacy can foster.


Tell your inspirational story. Contact Kim Kelling at 850-645-6056 or kkelling@fsu.edu.